Timing is Everything

SIDEBAR: Innovation: When to Say 'No'

by Sandy Kendall

There is something contradictory in a CIO's job today. On one hand, CIOs are expected to be on the cutting edge of a company's use of technology; they are expected to be the most innovative part of the company. On the other hand they are supposed to support reliability and security. So says Danny Hillis, co-founder of Applied Minds, formerly of Disney, Thinking Machines and the MIT Media Lab.

So if being innovative and being reliable and efficient don't go well together, how much do you avoid innovation to make the system efficient, reliable and secure, and when do you stick your neck out? To help think about these questions, Hillis points out three myths regarding innovation and creativity.

The first myth, according to Hillis, holds that innovation is necessarily good. In fact, it's sort of a chancy thing. Think of it this way: if you have a heart attack and you're being wheeled into the operating room, you don't want them to say: "Hey we've got this new innovative thing we want to try." You want them to say: "We've done this a million times."

So, Hillis says, CIOs have to divide the world into places where they can afford to fail and those they can't. Innovation always puts a strain on the system. CIOs have to pay that price if they are going to be creative. And innovation is always inefficient. With every new thing, people have to learn, systems have to adapt around it. That ripple effect causes inefficiency. Bring in creativity when it's worth the risk.

The second myth, says Hillis, is that creative people are what make creative organisations. Hillis recalls being invited to some companies' let's-make-our-company-more-creative events, where people are wearing paper hats and waving their arms and basically being humiliated in order to "stretch" themselves. Hillis believes that people who go through these things say: "We have lots of good ideas but we can't get them done in our organisation." He says that managers have a gut feeling that it's dangerous to pursue these things and that lack of innovation probably results not from lack of ideas, but from organisational blocks.

The third myth, according to Hillis, holds that creativity has to be visible. The key to innovation is not whether you notice it but whether it works. For example, he says, a development feature in animation that emerged with Disney's "Cinderella" was practically invisible, certainly not consciously noticed by viewers - background colour changed with the tension of the scene. That technique has been used since. Hillis believes that those innovations that come in under the radar screen tend to be the best innovations.

For those CIOs who still want to be innovative, Hillis offers three suggestions. First, put thought into where you want what kind of creativity. In Hollywood, for example, they have "suits", who are creative about making money. "Creatives" are the ones who come up with artistic innovations.

Second, ask yourself constantly where your blind spots are. Lack of creativity comes when people stop looking at something. People develop blind spots because they get inoculated early. They're exposed to a bad version of something, and then they don't want a good version.

Third, and perhaps most important, find a way to co-opt "troublemakers". There are always people trying to do or use something different. There are a few ways to react. Hillis advises people to "Just say 'No'."

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