I couldn't have put it any simpler. The title says it all really. That one sentence captures the essence of my latest post on 'Of Mason & Merseyside'. So, if you'd like to know what in the world I'm jabbering about, read on.
This blog is the direct result of the influence a certain Innovation & Capability Building Programme had on me and my thought process. I had the good fortune of attending this programme, after I had volunteered to being an 'Idea Champion' in my project (I know, I tend to be a little over-zelous when it comes to stuff like this. :)).
Well, off I went on a balmy Monday morning to the training center, expecting to become an Einstein/Newton as a result of this training programme. I couldn't have been more wrong. If there was one thing I took away from the session, it was the fact that one doesn't need to become an Einstein or Galileo to innovate. After all, as we so often tend to forget, Einstein, Newton, Galileo & all those other luminaries were human too!
It started off with the instructor Geetha giving a small discourse on what the term 'innovation' meant. Innovation, she said, was not the random generation of a pot-pourri of ideas or solutions. Innovation, in her words, was 'people creating values by implementing new ideas'.
Next up on the agenda was the 'Innovation Igniter'. Taken by innovation evangelist Kumar Sachidanandam, a pioneer of the Innovations group in Cognizant, it was one of the more fun-filled hours of training I have ever attended. It had everything, right from the classical tutor-teaching-the-pupil routine to role-plays and games which exercised the mind, packed into an action-packed hour. Kumar thought us to broaden our minds, and contrary to popular refrain, told us all to 'think inside the box'. He reasoned for this by saying that only when one is given boundaries, or is confined by constraints, will he/she tend to force his mind to think for a solution, and as a result, innovate. It was an eye-opener of a session.
When the session resumed in the afternoon (after a lip-smacking lunch, all provided for), the topic of discussion revolved around the various problems faced in a typical project, and the ways to come up with solutions for them. The first step to idea generation is defining the problem correctly and concisely. Once that is done, we were then taught how to create solutions for it by a technique called 'Brain Writing'. The next step involves evaluating all of these ideas based on their merits , benefits and potential impact. Finally, an idea proposal has to be prepared with details on how the idea is to be implemented, the timeframe involved and the tangible benefits from implementing the idea.
Ok, I've bored you enough. The key thing to be understood here is, innovation does not simply mean sitting in a corner and striking a pose implying deep thought. It is much more than that. In fact, as Geetha and Kumar were at pains to point out, idea generation is but the first step to innovating. If the idea one has generated has not been tried in the real world (no matter if it succeeds or not), the idea itself is wasted.
So, folks, I hope this blog cleared a few cobwebs in your head on what innovation meant, and what it means to 'innovate'. So, what are you waiting for? Start innovating! :)
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