innovation is not salad dressing... it's the bowl.
After reading an incredibly insightful article by Stefan Lindegaard at 15inno called: How the Rubber Band Effect Hinders Innovation ... I was lead to a thought. The thought revolves around the role of Chief Officers within the 21st century organization. Stefan argues that the CEO should play an instrumental role in the innovation initiatives within that company. And I agree. However; thinking about this idea, I would argue that it goes even deeper than the oversight of the CEO of the organization.
Innovation is not salad dressing... It's the bowl.
"The bowl is your only constant in the "salad experience"..."
I know that's a strong statement, and probably "foggy" at best, but let me explain... Have you ever had a salad and the dressing ran out before all of the green stuff? What you are left with is just the green, and sometimes the green can be pretty boring. The thing that will NOT run out before the salad, is the bowl. The bowl is your only constant in the "salad experience". In fact, with the bowl, you can easily build another fantastic salad, bigger and better than the first salad, WITH MORE dressing than before. Innovation within your organization has to be viewed as a "bowl" and not just "dressing". Companies that use innovation simply to out margin their competition will generally find themselves having to revisit the "dressing bottle" or "company co-builders" more often, shaking ideas (dressing) out of them. Companies that view innovation as a bowl, view innovation as the foundation of everything they do. The bowl is important and nothing can be built without the bowl... The bowl is a consistent piece of the process. It's valued.
"Innovation can not be something that is poured on top of an organization from time to time... It must be something that is woven into the very fibers of that company..."
Apple clearly sees innovation as a bowl, BMW clearly sees innovation as a bowl, Zappos innovates in the realm of human to human interfacing (h2hi), and this innovation, for them, is a bowl, and they have managed to build a tremendous organization on top of it. Innovation can not be something that is poured on top of an organization from time to time... It must be something that is woven into the very fibers of that company, it must be fully expressed through each and every co-builder, and it must be part of the organizations foundational truths. I would argue to say, that even if your business is to make buttons, the soul of your company should be wrapped around thinking about how you can improve the button making process from the receptionist all the way through the button quality assurance department. Innovation is not just about making things "new" but it's also about making things "better", and I am willing to bet that if organizations start looking at it as the bowl, and not the simply the "dressing", we could be making better goods.
Companies that view innovation as the bowl, will produce CEO's that value innovation right alongside the P&L sheets, and co-builders who understand that the health of the company, the longevity of it's brilliance is hinged upon it's ability to innovate.



