In 2002, Robert Sutton published the
book Weird
Ideas That Work: 11 ½ Practices for Promoting, Managing, and Sustaining
Innovation. His ideas, perspective
and style immediately got my attention.
It was the first time I
read anything that described creativity and innovation with phrases like:
“You just need to be
skilled and motivated at gathering knowledge from diverse sources, and then at
figuring out how it might be put to new uses.”
“In the right hands,
nothing succeeds like failure.”
“…all great technologies
are blends of other technologies”
“They automatically think
of every possible permutation instead of assuming that existing ways are best.”
“…ability to see links
between otherwise disconnected fields.”
And finally: “My weird
ideas spark innovation because each helps companies do at least one of three
things: (1) increase variance in available
knowledge, (2) see old things in new
ways, and (3) break from the past.”
Professor Sutton’s ideas
can be viewed as a “menu” for innovation. As with any good menu, time will introduce variations, additions, and
adjustments, but the foundation is a solid base with which to start.
- Get the right people (Ideas 1, 1.5, 2, & 3)
- Build the right environment (Ideas 4, 5, & 6)
- Work on the right projects (Ideas 7 & 8)
- Filter out the noise (Ideas 9, 10, & 11)
Over the next several
posts we’ll cover them all. Hopefully
when we’re done you’ll be interested in learning more about Professor Sutton
and his more recent weird (and not-so weird) ideas!
Updated 8/23: Professor Sutton covered these today on his blog. As a result, I made a few edits to more accurately reflect his thoughts.
Check this out: Tom
Peters interviews Bob Sutton about his weird ideas!
http://managetochange.typepad.com/main/2006/08/the_last_three_.html
The last three of Robert Sutton’s Weird Ideas That Work tell us to ignore sources that most people consider “good” counsel: customers, critics, financial experts, people that have solved our problem before, and our own past successes. There is a
Weird Ideas That Work: The Right Projects
As we continue to review Robert Sutton’s weird ideas, we need to consider what to do after you get the right people and build the right environment to encourage innovation. How do you know which ideas will lead to successful
Weird Ideas That Work: The Right Environment
Today is “environment day” in our continuing overview of Robert Sutton’s Weird Ideas That Work. Once you have hired the right people, how should you manage them? Weird Idea 4: Encourage People to Ignore and Defy Superiors and Peers(PS –
Weird Ideas That Work: Get the Right People
In continuing our overview of Robert Sutton’s Weird Ideas That Work, let’s talk about people. “Driving out variation makes sense when organizations do proven things in proven ways that still work…When innovation is the goal, however, organizations need…