Hey everybody!
The latest issue of Defense AT&L is posted online now and it's a doozie! Check out "My Big Slow Fail," an article that took me more than a year to write. I'd love to hear what you think of it!
09 January 2011
06 January 2011
Innovation Hurts
Everyone loves innovation. It sounds uber-fun, exciting and desirable. We're all supposed to be innovating in innovative ways, developing new ways to do new things with new tools... at least if we want to be among the 1337.
What most people don't ever tell you is that innovation hurts. If you're doing it right, innovating in ways that are truly, well, innovative, it's going to rub your friendly neighborhood Defenders of the Status Quo the wrong way. They won't like it, and chances are they'll respond by doing things you don't like. Ironically, these are often the same people who insist they want more innovation... they just don't want the kind of innovation that involves actual change. And so they trigger the Corporate Immune Response, which beats down any new ideas. That generally hurts.
Then there's the sheer effort involved in real innovation. It hurts like running a marathon hurts (or, in my case, like a half-marathon hurts) - I guess it's a hurt-so-good kind of thing, but pain is pain.
The first type of pain (i.e. the Corporate Immune Response) is probably the worst, since it's externally induced. Personally, I find self-induced discomfort, like running 13.1 miles, more manageable. But I suppose that could differ from person to person.
While the Status Quo Defenders can often make life uncomfortable for innovators, there is something profoundly cool about being punished for doing the right thing. For what it's worth, I think innovation is generally in the "do the right thing" category. Even though it's the worst kind of discomfort, it may also be the coolest.
Anyway, I'm sort of surprised this topic doesn't show up more often in the various books and articles about innovation. The phrase "innovation hurts" isn't exactly a googlenope, but most search results point to articles with titles like "Lack of innovation hurts..." Hardly anyone talks about the fact that innovation itself can hurt.
Change the search words to "innovating hurts" and you get exactly two results. They're both from a report from a 2008 Poultry Innovations Conference (seriously?) that assures its readers they have nothing to fear from innovation because "none of [the conference speakers] said innovating hurts!" Seems to me even the Poultry Innovators aren't getting the whole story.
Yeah, innovation is fun. It's exciting. It's important. But it's not all donuts-with-sprinkles and unicorn farts. There's real pain involved with innovation. Don't let anyone tell you any different.
One last observation: those first google results are right. Yes, innovating hurts, but not innovating hurts even more...
What most people don't ever tell you is that innovation hurts. If you're doing it right, innovating in ways that are truly, well, innovative, it's going to rub your friendly neighborhood Defenders of the Status Quo the wrong way. They won't like it, and chances are they'll respond by doing things you don't like. Ironically, these are often the same people who insist they want more innovation... they just don't want the kind of innovation that involves actual change. And so they trigger the Corporate Immune Response, which beats down any new ideas. That generally hurts.
Then there's the sheer effort involved in real innovation. It hurts like running a marathon hurts (or, in my case, like a half-marathon hurts) - I guess it's a hurt-so-good kind of thing, but pain is pain.
The first type of pain (i.e. the Corporate Immune Response) is probably the worst, since it's externally induced. Personally, I find self-induced discomfort, like running 13.1 miles, more manageable. But I suppose that could differ from person to person.
While the Status Quo Defenders can often make life uncomfortable for innovators, there is something profoundly cool about being punished for doing the right thing. For what it's worth, I think innovation is generally in the "do the right thing" category. Even though it's the worst kind of discomfort, it may also be the coolest.
Anyway, I'm sort of surprised this topic doesn't show up more often in the various books and articles about innovation. The phrase "innovation hurts" isn't exactly a googlenope, but most search results point to articles with titles like "Lack of innovation hurts..." Hardly anyone talks about the fact that innovation itself can hurt.
Change the search words to "innovating hurts" and you get exactly two results. They're both from a report from a 2008 Poultry Innovations Conference (seriously?) that assures its readers they have nothing to fear from innovation because "none of [the conference speakers] said innovating hurts!" Seems to me even the Poultry Innovators aren't getting the whole story.
Yeah, innovation is fun. It's exciting. It's important. But it's not all donuts-with-sprinkles and unicorn farts. There's real pain involved with innovation. Don't let anyone tell you any different.
One last observation: those first google results are right. Yes, innovating hurts, but not innovating hurts even more...
04 January 2011
What is innovation?
It's always fun to ask people to define innovation, particularly people who say they want more of it. Many definitions begin with "Um, well, er..." The definition that follows seldom stands up to even the mildest prodding (the same thing happens with the phrase "system of systems" by the way).
Here's the thing: innovation is different than invention. It's not the same as creativity. And please, let's not equate innovation with simply "thinking outside the box."
Real innovation may involve an invention or two. It certainly requires creativity. And yes, thinking outside the box helps. But innovation is more than the sum of those parts. Inventing, creating and thinking unusual thoughts are cool as far as they go, but they're not innovating. Innovation involves delivering, fielding and/or actually implementing new things. It's not about having ideas. It's about taking making stuff happen
.
Steve Martin
famously defined comedy as "the art of making people laugh without making them puke." In a similar vein, I'd like to suggest that innovation is the art of introducing something new without making people puke.
Successful innovation requires a connection to actual users and adopters. It involves bringing a new product or process to the field and seeing it implemented/purchased/used. The customer base doesn't have to be enormous, but it has to exist.
You can invent something that never gets to a market and it's still an invention. You can have a creative idea that you keep to yourself and it's still creative. But you can't keep a new thing to yourself and call it an innovation. You've got to introduce it to the world.
Keep that in mind the next time someone asks you what innovation means. Keep that in mind the next time someone says they want more innovation.
And remember, the key is to not make people puke.
Here's the thing: innovation is different than invention. It's not the same as creativity. And please, let's not equate innovation with simply "thinking outside the box."
Real innovation may involve an invention or two. It certainly requires creativity. And yes, thinking outside the box helps. But innovation is more than the sum of those parts. Inventing, creating and thinking unusual thoughts are cool as far as they go, but they're not innovating. Innovation involves delivering, fielding and/or actually implementing new things. It's not about having ideas. It's about taking making stuff happen
.Steve Martin
famously defined comedy as "the art of making people laugh without making them puke." In a similar vein, I'd like to suggest that innovation is the art of introducing something new without making people puke.Successful innovation requires a connection to actual users and adopters. It involves bringing a new product or process to the field and seeing it implemented/purchased/used. The customer base doesn't have to be enormous, but it has to exist.
You can invent something that never gets to a market and it's still an invention. You can have a creative idea that you keep to yourself and it's still creative. But you can't keep a new thing to yourself and call it an innovation. You've got to introduce it to the world.
Keep that in mind the next time someone asks you what innovation means. Keep that in mind the next time someone says they want more innovation.
And remember, the key is to not make people puke.
03 January 2011
Dan's Back!
After a book-related hiatus, I've decided to start blogging again! Tweet your twitters, poke your FB Friends(tm), spread the news - Dan's back!
Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer the short survey I put together. The fact that so many of you answered the survey in the first place was enough to convince me to return to the blogosphere... and your specific answers were genuinely helpful (even the guy who offered a critique of the survey itself).
I plan to post stuff twice a week. I'm thinking Tuesdays and Thursdays at 0700. We'll see how that goes.
In answer to the question about topics, 70% of you checked Humor, so hopefully I can be funny. Innovation was the most requested topic, with writing and the Simplicity Cycle rounding out the top slots, so I'll aim to focus on those areas. For the 9 of you who picked "cooking" as a topic you'd like me to write about, can I just say "Really?"
So, watch this space for a whole new set of hijinks. I hope to have an interesting and useful discussion about innovation - what it is, how to do it... all that sort of thing. I've also got a collection of photos captured by my oh-so-fuzzy, handy-dandy little camera phone, sure to make you laugh (and maybe even think). I'll share some thoughts about my latest novel writing experience. Maybe I'll even post a video or two. Along the way, I hope you leave lots of comments. I like getting comments. And if you see something you like here, I hope you'll tell a friend.
It's good to be back.
(Want to see what I was up to instead of writing this blog? Stop on by Rogue Press to check out my books, read previews and buy your very own copies - they're cheap and Lulu delivers super fast)
29 December 2010
Coming soon!
Yup, I'm making progress.
A fresh batch of RPL shenanigans is lined up and ready to go. The fun begins again on 3 Jan!
A fresh batch of RPL shenanigans is lined up and ready to go. The fun begins again on 3 Jan!
15 December 2010
19 September 2010
Upcoming talk
I've been asked to put together a talk based on an article I wrote a while back (Acquisition As Deterrent) - and frankly I'm a bit stumped on how to do it.
The conference coordinators also said I could basically talk about whatever I want... but they'd really like me to do it based on that bit of nightmare fiction I wrote.
So I need to decide - do I do my usual FIST presentation, which I'm constantly updating to keep it fresh, but still, it's the safe presentation... or do I knuckle down and come up with a presentation based on that article... or do I come up with something entirely different?
Watch this space for updates...
The conference coordinators also said I could basically talk about whatever I want... but they'd really like me to do it based on that bit of nightmare fiction I wrote.
So I need to decide - do I do my usual FIST presentation, which I'm constantly updating to keep it fresh, but still, it's the safe presentation... or do I knuckle down and come up with a presentation based on that article... or do I come up with something entirely different?
Watch this space for updates...
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