The dotcom guys got each other excited and created a bust.  Banks verified moneymaking programs with other banks, but somehow, they went broke.  These groups sought to solve problems and produce value, but the solutions they devised returned the exact opposite result: problems were created and value was lost.  This phenomena is a pervasive human dilemma and Mark Twain describes it just right, “To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

As human beings, we are all susceptible to becoming the hammerheads Mr. Twain describes.  The familiar feels so safe but it costs us our vision.   When I was in venture capital, a very intelligent team of businessmen developed a complex process that would revolutionize the medical industry. But, neither VC nor medical professional could see what it was about. Another time, it was a pair of engineers with a cool device, however, they had no idea how to enter the market or sell the invention. The problem wasn’t that they were lacking in ability, the issue was that their teams were homogenous.

So how does one prevent seeing every need as a nail to be hammered?  Where does real innovation grow?  The answer begins with not staying safe.  One must go venture into unknown disciplines, and find those people who are different from her.  For example, the best associate at my venture fund was a premed, not the well-seasoned investment banker. One of the most successful scrapbooking CEOs I’ve met is not a Martha Stewart look-alike, but is a chubby, scruffy man. Both these individuals went into places they didn’t belong and created value with the teams they joined up with.  Thus, avoid working alone in a sterile lab until a cure-all is made.  Instead, rub shoulders with an opposite.

And so, when the scientist, the saleswoman, the businessman, and the designer all get together, each one becomes an empathetic explorer.  By mixing up a team, needs suddenly cease to be nails, but dynamic challenges.  It is the meeting of very different minds, which produces empathy, and it is with this empathy that the fertile ground for innovation is found.

Popularity: 4% [?]