Some recent developments and articles of interest:
- Recent research suggests that creative people, more so than others, need to be careful about crossing ethical boundaries. “A recent article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology makes the claim that creativity walks hand in hand with loose ethics… Not only do naturally creative people cheat more than uncreative people, subjects cajoled into thinking outside of the box become cheaters, too.”1
- Francis Walsh advocates that the public service engage informally through social media, and looks at the changes that such a shift might bring. “The APS is developing strategic understandings of the social media. Now, it must apply those strategies at the level of tactical responses that can be deployed: more coherently, more consistently, more bravely, more sensitively. In the real world, caution is wise, but stasis defies.”2
- Tim Kastelle looks at three hidden factors that make innovation diffusion hard. “Ideas take longer to develop than you expect, then they take longer to spread than you expect. Consequently it takes more time and money than you expect to this effectively.”3
- Reverse innovation (innovation originating from poorer countries) can provide significant, disruptive shifts. Vijay Govindarajan looks at the possibilities for health care from reverse innovation.
- Do you have a difficult problem you are working on? Then Stephen Shapiro talks about the importance of working with people with different styles to you. “The next time you are working on a complex problem or developing a new solution, seek out someone who is different. Appreciate their contribution. Recognize that the person you like the least, may be the person you need the most. Their differences can be the key to unlocking your success.”4
As always, please feel free to identify any other recent developments or articles of interest in the comments below.
- This quote is not covered by the Creative Commons licence or Commonwealth Copyright. From Suzanne Labarre “Uh-Oh: Science Says Creativity And Dishonesty Go Hand In Hand” 20 March 2012 accessed at http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669295/uh-oh-science-says-creativity-also-dishonesty-go-hand-in-hand ↩
- This quote is not covered by the Creative Commons licence or Commonwealth Copyright. From Francis Walsh “Government as a social media hub?” 3 April 2012 accessed at http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/government-as-a-social-media-hub-20120403-1wa87.html ↩
- This quote is not covered by the Creative Commons licence or Commonwealth Copyright. From Tim Kastelle “Three Hidden Factors that Make Innovation Diffusion Hard” 9 April 2012 accessed at http://timkastelle.org/blog/2012/04/three-hidden-factors-that-make-innovation-diffusion-hard/ ↩
- This quote is not covered by the Creative Commons licence or Commonwealth Copyright. From Stephen Shapiro “Work with People You Don’t Like” 9 April 2012 accessed at http://www.steveshapiro.com/2012/04/09/work-with-people-you-dont-like/ ↩
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So being innovative has potential downsides. That’s why humans as a species have evolved diversity in many of these attributes (some research says we have the most diversity of any species). Each attribute carries with advantages and disadvantages. None is better than another, it is always context specific and getting the mix right in the group or population. The right mix being that which correlates with the most ‘successful’ outcomes whatever the relevant measure of success is. So it’s about balance; having the right number of, in this case, innovators and not expecting everyone to be one or to fashionably say that the best people are those who display one attribute over another. And that comes across well in another article mentioned about working with people who are different to you. Diversity produces success. Yet so often we tend to be categorical and absolute about these things.
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Thanks for the comment Tom – I agree with that. A succesfful innovation system will require people with a diverse range and mix of skills, characteristics, experience and perspectives. And I thought the piece on creative people being more likely to cheat interesting as I think it shows that creativity and innovation are not inherently ‘good’ – there can be downsides as well, but as you intimate, they can often be overlooked.
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