Skip to content

Ingenuity

Ingenuity is the key ingredient to creating innovation. Ingenuity is the smallest element of innovation … the spark that starts it off. Innovation is the outcome of applying an individuals ingenuity.

Phil McKinney
Phil McKinney
1 min read
Ingenuity

In a recent BusinessWeek article, Bruce Nussbaum made the proclamation that innovation is dead.



“Innovation” died in 2008, killed off by overuse, misuse, narrowness, incrementalism and failure to evolve. It was done in by CEOs, consultants, marketeers, advertisers and business journalists who degraded and devalued the idea by conflating it with change, technology, design, globalization, trendiness, and anything “new.”

I agree (previously mentioned in the August 27, 2006 Killer Innovations podcast on the Corporate Corruption Of Innovation).  I don’t agree that the next thing is “transformation”.  Bruce puts forth the rational behind transformation as:



It implies radical transformation of our systems—education, health-care, economic growth, transportation, defense, political representation. It puts the focus on people, designing networks and systems of their wants and needs. It relies on humanizing technology, not imposing technology on humans. It approaches uncertainties with a methodology that creates options for new situations and sorts through them for the best quickly.

In stead, I would put forward that we need to focus on the key component that enables innovation and transformation – ingenuity. What is the difference?  A definition of innovation I like is:



Innovation is the embodiment, combination, or synthesis of knowledge in original, relevant, valued new products, processes, or services.

Ingenuity is the power of creative imagination; the quality of being cleverly inventive or resourceful; inventiveness

Ingenuity is the key ingredient to creating innovation.  Ingenuity is the smallest element of innovation … the spark that starts it off.  Innovation is the outcome of applying an individuals ingenuity.

In my opinion, we are squashing ingenuity out of our students and workers.  We reward conformance in approach and doing well on tests.  Rote memorization is the skill of success rather than creative problem solving.

So, I would put forth that for 2009, we should focus on improving and nurturing individuals inherent ingenuity to create innovations.  We need to find ways to create incentives for individuals to use their ingenuity to solve social and economic issues while also creating products and services that improve our lives.

What incentives would you create if you were in charge of a business or government?

Blogeducationgovernmentincentiveingenuityschool

Phil McKinney Twitter

Phil McKinney is an innovator, podcaster, author, and speaker. He is the retired CTO of HP. Phil's book, Beyond The Obvious, shares his expertise and lessons learned on innovation and creativity.

Comments


Related Posts

Members Public

The Punctuality Paradox: The Ethics of Time

Time is our most valuable resource, yet it is finite and fleeting. It cannot be saved, paused, or rewound. It is constantly moving forward, regardless of how we use it. Therefore, we must use our time wisely and purposefully to make the most of every moment.

An image of clock and child presenting to idea of time and how to use it.
Members Public

Automaticity: A Thinking Trap?

Just as a car can be driven more smoothly and efficiently when the driver doesn’t have to think about each action, so can our lives run more smoothly when some tasks are done automatically. For example, if you’ve ever ridden in a car with someone learning to drive, you know it’s not a very smooth […

A child learning match by building automaticity
Members Public

Future Faking Innovation

Future faking is a term that has crept into the lexicon that originated from a harmful dating practice. When applied to innovation, someone is predicting a future to get others excited about it, with no intention of making that future a reality.

Future Faking Innovation Image