Before leaving on my current world-wide innovation tour, I packed Robbie, my two year old Bernese Mountain Dog, into my car and drove to Top O’ The Hill Farm in Ayer, Massachusetts, to participate in a two day tracking workshop. It made for a fascinating weekend as Robbie and I learned the methods of tracking and observed our classmates in the process. Of course, I am always on the lookout for innovation lessons in everything, and this event provided many. Here are a few innovation lessons I took away from Robbie’s first foray into the world of tracking.

Every dog can track, but some have a real nose for it
There were many different dog breeds involved in the workshop, and by the end of the weekend all the dogs had learned the basics. But, it was clear there were differences in the abilities of each dog. Watching the bloodhounds in the workshop it was clear that tracking is in their blood. The miniature poodle on the other hand required lots of coaching and special attention before it caught on to the concept.
We must keep our eyes open for those that exhibit the talent and hunger to drive innovation. These individuals should be cultivated as masters of innovation methods and used as leveraged human assets in the organization. By putting them in a role of being lead innovators and mentors to others, you both maximize their output, but also ensure that key resources are well engaged and help the team achieve maximum effectiveness in its mission of corporate value creation. However, everyone in the organization has a role to play in innovation and we must provide basic innovation skills training for all employees in the value creation cycle if we are going to achieve optimal capability

Break problems down
The miniature poodle just didn’t get it. It figured its owner had simply brought it out to really big field to cavort on a very long lease. So, the workshop leader asked the handler to lay a very short (5 feet) track and practice on that. After a few times of doing this successfully, the tracked was lengthened, and the training exercise repeated. If the dog faltered, the training track was shortened. This technique was repeated until after a short while, the poodle was successfully following 100 yard tracks.
Sometimes when one is presented with a big innovation goal, the scope of the problem can be overwhelming. The worker will say, “I’m not sure where to start.” The answer lies in breaking the problem down. Analyze the situation and understand what is the real challenge you are trying to overcome. Are you looking at one problem, or a system of problems? Is the issue the real problem or merely a symptom? The most important part of innovation lies in defining the problems you need to address accurately and at the right level. Don’t short cut this step and rush to a solution.

Don’t lead your dog
When working with a tracking dog, a handler will sometimes believe they know where the track is laid. As a result, they will subtly signal the dog where to go. This can lead to problems if the handler was mistaken and leads the dog off track. In innovation practice, a similar phenomenon occurs. This happens when a strong member of the project team starts with a preconception of the solution to the innovation challenge. In this situation, there is a temptation to lead the team down a

You do not have flash or javascript support.

Average (1 vote)

Reply