Not Invented Here

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Not Invented Here

January 30, 2009. By Peter Lloyd

A lot of companies want a creative culture, but not all of them want to do what it takes to have one. Naturally they don't lead the world when it comes to inventing successful, new-to-the-world products.

When they absolutely have to have new ideas, they panic. And often call in creative experts for a shot of temporary creativity. Of course, when they do this, they don't want anyone to know that they used outside help. They want their competitors to think that their new ideas are their own ideas.

Now there's nothing wrong with adding creative power to any creative effort. And when companies with creative cultures do call for help, they have no problem admitting it.

One of the things that make innovative companies innovative winners is their ability to accept ideas wherever they happen to find them.

In its own words, "NASA encourages the submission of unsolicited proposals to receive unique and innovative research aligned with the agency's mission."

Thomas Edison once advised his colleagues to, "keep on the lookout for novel and interesting ideas that others have used successfully."

Was Edison advising his people to be imitators?

Of course not. Creative problem solvers know that great flashes of creativity can come from just about anywhere. One of the best examples is the invention of velcro. As the story goes, the inventor was inspired by the burrs stuck to his socks after a walk in the woods.

Someone said, you can get a lot done if you don't worry about who gets the credit. This is much easier to do when you admit that all great ideas are mutations of similar ideas anyway. Which makes it easier to accept and evolve ideas from anywhere.

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest business problems.

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