Does Innovation Require Some Blindness?

Here is another thought that is directly connected to yesterday's post about decision making and whether or not you can have too many voices. As I was working on a reply to Mike's comments from yesterday, I started to think about the criteria that you would need to consider to build an environment for innovation within your organization. If indeed there is a tipping point when you have considered too many perspectives, does that mean that in order to take the risk and try something new that one needs to be at least partially blind to the possible consequences of the action?

Often when we try new approaches, we find that although our actions might have resolved a previous problem that new problems arise as a result of the new initiative. On the other hand, learning is a direct result of trying new things, inquiry. If rather than trying something out, we ask around enough, someone or many people will give us an extensive list of all of the reasons that we shouldn't experiment. I think a good example is the Toronto family who has made the news recently for not revealing the gender of their baby. In short, they caused public outrage. The critics are telling them all of the negative impacts that the action will have on the baby. Yet, we continue to accept a variety of discipline practices within our society that run a fine line between discipline and abuse because we are familiar with the outcomes. I, for one, support the family. I am interested in what they will learn. Although there might be some negative impact, I feel pretty confident that it won't be the only negative impact that this child or any other child will experience in life.

So perhaps, it does require a certain level of blindness to the possibilities to be truly innovative. And perhaps, the process that is utilized by universities of passing each and every decision through many layers of decision making not only serves to infuse wisdom but limits the possibility of having cutting edge innovations emerge from the institution. Maybe, if you truly want to be an innovator, you need to work independently or at least within a small group of like-minded people so that you can take risks without considering all of the possible pitfalls. 

As for me, for now, I plan to continue to support the practice of collaborative consensus building because I still believe that it helps us to make better decisions, to develop a greater sense of ownership, and to increase commitment to the organization. But, I will probably have to resign myself to not doing anything that is particularly innovative, eh?