An Information Technology Executive's View of Innovation

Abstract

PG. 1 WHAT IS YOUR GENERAL PERSPECTIVE OF INNOVATION IN AN ORGANIZATION? WB. 1 Recently my wife came home from the library with a basket full of books that my 3⁄2 year old had chosen . One book happened to be a children’s biographical account of Thomas Alva Edison’s life and his many accomplishments. Over Thomas Edison’s life he attained 1093 patents which until recently was the highest for any individual. Many would agree that Thomas Edison might be the most innovative figure in history with inventions such as the electronic stock ticker, the motion picture camera, and of course the light bulb. What was interesting is that early in Thomas’s Edison’s childhood his mother removed him from school after just 3 months as she felt the teacher, Mr. Engle did not know how to teach a curious child. I think organizations can sometimes be similar to Mr. Engle in their approach towards innovation. Mr. Engle strove for strict completion of lesson and assignments and didn’t recognize that a budding innovative genius was sitting in his classroom. Likewise organizations can be overly focused on process improvement and driving cost containment initiatives while possibly overlooking the innovative potential within the midst of their organization that could revolutionize a team, department, organization or an industry. Every individual may not be an innovator at the level of Thomas Edison but I am suggesting that organizations may overlook a lot of undiscovered ingenuity within their own four walls.