In his recent Work Matters blog post, Stanford professor and author Bob Sutton argues that some of the best innovative business models and concepts have come from unlikely individuals who have no experience in the industry in which their product or service will reside. He cites the story of how the founders of Invisalign, Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth, came up with a new alternative to metal braces. Neither founder had any experience with dentistry except Mr. Chishti who experienced the uncomfortable effects of wearing metal braces as an adult. It was their expertise in other areas, coupled with an eye-opening experience, that lead to the breakthrough in orthodontic innovation.
Ford Motor Company demonstrated their belief in this idea when they brought in Alan Mulally to be the President and CEO of the beleaguered automotive giant. Mr. Mulally didn’t come from the automotive industry. His background was in the Aerospace industry. He holds a degree in aeronautical and astronautics engineering. Mr. Mulally knew how to build Boeing jets, not Ford F100s. However, it was precisely his “ignorance” of how the automotive industry has always run that helped navigate the company through the turbulent times that Ford would face in a downturned economy.
Mr. Sutton points out some important guidelines found in his book, Weird Ideas That Work, that are great for fostering innovation:
1. Don’t study how the issue you’re facing has been approached in the past by others in your company or industry.
2. If you already have a lot of knowledge about the issue, seek out those individuals who are ignorant of the situation and ask them to help solve the problem with a fresh set of eyes.
3. Ask new hires, even those fresh out of school, to find solutions to issues you may “know” the answer to and see what innovative solutions they come up with. Note: stay out of their way while they do this.
4. Find people or companies in industries outside your own who are currently working on similar issues and ask what they’ve learned and what they found effective by way of resolving the issues.
5. If people with the right set of skills have a hard time finding solutions to problems you’re facing, try turning the questions over to those in your organization who don’t have the right set of skills and see how they would answer.
6. If you’re a novice, look for experts to help you with your situation but don’t automatically assume they are right – especially if they tell you they are.
Whether you’re developing the latest innovation for orthodontics or simply needing to improve your bottom line through better marketing and advertising, it pays to have a fresh set of eyes (and brains) look at your situation. Being too smart about the issues you’re facing could very well be holding you back from your full potential.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
