Tag Archives: Emergent Innovation

Disagreements Can Be a Good Thing

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Disagreements Can Be a Good Thing

GUEST POST from Mike Shipulski

When you have nothing to say, don’t say it.

But, when you have something to say, you must say it.

When you think your response might be taken the wrong way, it will.

When you take care to respond effectively, your response might be taken the wrong way.

When you have disagreement, there’s objective evidence that at least two people are thinking for themselves.

When you have disagreement, confrontation is optional.

When you have disagreement, everyone can be right, even if just a little.

When you have disagreement, that says nothing about the people doing the disagreeing.

When you have disagreement at high decibels, that’s an argument.

When you have disagreement, disagreeing on all points is a choice.

When you have disagreement, if you listen to sharpen your response, it’s a death spiral.

When you have disagreement, it’s best to disagree wholeheartedly and respectfully.

When you have disagreement, if you listen to understand, there’s hope.

When you have disagreement, it’s a disagreement about ideas and not moral character.

When you have disagreement, intentions matter.

When you have disagreement, decision quality skyrockets.

When you have disagreement, thank your partner in crime for sharing their truth.

When you have disagreement, there is sufficient trust to support the disagreement.

When you have disagreement, sometimes you don’t, but you don’t know it.

When you have disagreement, converging on a single point of view is not the objective.

When you have disagreement about ethics, you may be working at the wrong company.

When you have disagreement, there are no sides, only people doing their best.

When you have disagreement, the objective is understanding.

When you have disagreement, it’s the right thing to have.

When you have disagreement, there may be disagreement on the topic of the disagreement.

When you have disagreement, you are a contributing member, even if you stay quiet.

When you have disagreement, why not be agreeable?

When you have disagreement, it’s okay to change your mind.

When you have disagreement, you may learn something about yourself.

Image credit: Unsplash

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Futures Research and the Emergence of New Technologies

Case Study 1: Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as one of the most transformative technologies of the 21st century. It is revolutionizing industries and reshaping our daily lives. However, the development and widespread adoption of AI were not merely strokes of luck. Futurists and researchers began exploring the possibilities of AI decades before it became a reality.

In the 1950s, the field of cybernetics paved the way for AI research. Early pioneers like Alan Turing envisioned the idea of machines that could simulate human intelligence. Despite numerous setbacks and disappointments, researchers continued to push the boundaries of AI. They invested in understanding the underpinnings of human cognition, machine learning, and pattern recognition.

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, futures researchers forecasted the potential impact of AI on various industries. They envisioned advancements in robotics, autonomous vehicles, natural language processing, and expert systems. The research and anticipation led governments, academia, and industry leaders to invest significantly in AI research, creating a snowball effect that eventually propelled AI to its current state.

Case Study 2: Renewable Energy

The quest for sustainable energy sources has been a recurring theme in futures research for decades. As concerns about climate change grew, researchers and futurists focused on the need to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. They recognized the finite nature of conventional energy sources and the environmental harm they inflicted.

In the early 1970s, during the oil crisis, the importance of alternative energy became evident. Futures researchers explored the possibilities of harnessing solar, wind, geothermal, and tidal energy. They analyzed trends in energy consumption, resource availability, and technological advancements. By identifying barriers and potential catalysts, they highlighted the need for investment and policy changes.

As a result of futures research, governments and companies began investing heavily in renewable energy. The development and affordability of solar panels, the increase in wind turbine efficiency, and the rise of electric vehicles can be attributed, in part, to the foresight provided by futures research.

Conclusion

Futures research enables us to anticipate and prepare for the emergence of new technologies by analyzing trends, assessing potential scenarios, and shaping policies. The examples of AI and renewable energy highlight the power of futures research in influencing and accelerating technological advancements.

By investing in futures research, governments, businesses, and individuals can make informed decisions that shape a more sustainable, equitable, and technologically advanced future. Embracing the insights gained from futures research will allow us to navigate the complexities of rapid technological change and ensure that emerging technologies serve the greater good of society as we move forward into a new era.

Bottom line: Futurists are not fortune tellers. They use a formal approach to achieve their outcomes, but a methodology and tools like those in FutureHacking™ can empower anyone to be their own futurist.

Image credit: Pixabay

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Directed Innovation for Strategic Success

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Directed Innovation for Strategic Success It seems like every organization has a vision and a mission statement, and some even have mantra’s. My personal innovation mantra is to make innovation and marketing insights accessible for the greater good.

At the same time organizations are creating their mission statement, many take the time to create an organizational strategy, only to then neglect the creation of an innovation strategy.

I believe that every organization should create an innovation strategy with the same diligence and precision that they attempt to create their organizational strategy with. Has your organization created an innovation strategy?

An innovation strategy, what’s that?

An innovation strategy sets the innovation direction for an organization. It gives members of the organization an idea of what new achievements and directions will best benefit the organization when it comes to innovation. As with organizational strategy, innovation strategy must determine WHAT the organization should focus on (and WHAT NOT to) so that tactics can be developed for HOW to get there.

There are two main kinds of innovation – directed innovation (or intellectual innovation) and emergent innovation (or instinctual innovation). An innovation strategy benefits both types. An innovation strategy provides the contraints that the organization’s directed innovation needs, while also providing the focus that helps emergent innovation, well, emerge over time as members refer back to the innovation strategy.

Innovating Inside the Box Best practices indicate that innovation succeeds best when it is constrained. But for some people, it doesn’t make sense that innovation needs to be constrained. – “Don’t great ideas come from giving people free reign?”

The short answer is no. By giving people constraints, it actually sets their creativity free, but in a directed fashion.

A well-defined innovation strategy helps the organization define which innovation challenges to focus on and what tactics will best help the organization overcome those challenges. An innovation strategy provides a map to refer back to as projects and ideas are being evaluated.

An innovation strategy should communicate to the organization the kinds of innovation that will be most valuable to the organization in helping it achieve its corporate strategy. It is best practice for an innovation strategy to support the organizational strategy.

Without an innovation strategy, an organization can find itself pulled in many different directions, dissipating its innovation energy and preventing it from accelerating its innovation pace by combining the outcomes of strategically-related innovation efforts.

Finally, even those organizations that have successfully created an innovation strategy, often miss the most important part – to communicate it out very clearly to all members of the organization, so that members know exactly what the innovation strategy is and precisely how to contribute. If you’ve done a good job of this, you won’t be afraid to ask your members the following question – What is our innovation strategy?

Are you afraid?