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Feature Story: Busting Innovation Stereotypes
By Sarah Miller Caldicott, great grandniece of Thomas Edison and author of “Innovate Like Edison”
IBM recently ran an intriguing series of TV ad’s designed around what I would call “popular innovation
stereotypes.” In one ad, a chubby caped superhero with an “i” emblazoned on his chest zooms onto the scene to
inspire Innovation Day at a large company. Moments later - presumably after making his grand entrance – he
slumps away feeling dejected and unappreciated. “Nobody understands me,” he moans.
In a second ad, IBM caricatures the role of creativity in the innovation process by showing scores of executives
lying on the floor at a company retreat. One of them receives a call on her cell amidst the hush of the meditation
session being held, complete with dimmed lights. Presumably in response to the question, “What are you doing?”
she secretively whispers to her caller: “We’re ideating.”
Innovation Is A Force
Both ads point to classic misperceptions about innovation. Rather than a start/stop process that gets handled
between 2 PM and 4 PM on your calendar, innovation is a force. In fact, Thomas Edison – still considered America’s
greatest innovator - described innovation as a social force. Edison felt innovation not only impacted business, but
politics, education, and virtually every other area of our lives.
In Edison’s laboratories and manufacturing facilities we see a true representation of this “force” at work. For
Edison, innovation was a continuum of actions and processes generated by employees bringing a positive, solution-
orientation to their work. In a sense, Edison’s teams were like mini force-fields operating on behalf of their
customers, continually striving to bring value to the marketplace.
And these force fields were always in motion. Rather than “innovating between 2 PM and 4 PM,” Edison and his
employees constantly maintained an open mind, watching for patterns in the results from their experiments.
Rather than have meetings to report on findings, Edison preferred to have “working sessions” where teams would
actually share ideas and then conduct experiments jointly. This reinforced a culture of information-exchange and
learning-by-doing that yielded world-changing results.
Edison realized he could not legislate a force as big as innovation to operate only during designated hours.
Instead, he allowed innovation forces plenty of room to expand rather than be constricted. For example, Edison
set up his laboratories to encourage what today in the world of design is called “spontaneous interaction.”
Employees would criss-cross the lab floor to use equipment Edison placed along the walls, stopping midstream
when they encountered a colleague on their way. In this way, new ideas developed immediate “buzz,” gradually
building momentum as employees further tested their findings.
Importance of Communication to Innovation
Edison intuitively recognized that to expand the creative impulses of his employees, he also needed to create a
communications environment that allowed thought processes to operate with few constrictions. One way he
encouraged this was allowing employees to work in solitude (which Edison himself practiced almost daily). Modern
neuroscience confirms that having time in quiet or solitude allows the hemispheres of the brain to connect more
frequently, and more powerfully. Edison asked his employees to record their ideas in notebooks expressly
designed for capturing insights generated during solitude, as well as during team work. This practice not only
helped Edison’s employees track their insights, but allowed these insights to be immediately at hand whenever
colleagues gathered to share ideas, or have working sessions with Edison.
To further expand communication in his organizations, Edison encouraged debate not only between colleagues -
but with Edison himself! Imagine being able to go toe to toe with “Mr. Edison” and never have your disagreements
show up in your employee record. Edison admired those who had leading edge ideas they wanted to run by him,
even if the idea was at an early stage of development. Edison was known to encourage outside-the-box thinking
from all his employees, and knew how to make the exchange of ideas feel “safe.”
Creating a Collaborative Culture: A Strategic Asset
Scores of company leaders today are seeking to create innovation momentum within their organizations. To be
successful, not only is it imperative for these leaders to view innovation as a “force” rather than a thing, it is critical
to recognize that the most rapid shift toward an innovation mindset comes when company leadership drives – and
models – collaboration.
In his December 2007 newsletter, business guru Tom Peters stated that having an innovation culture today is not
a nice-to-have, it is a strategic asset. Peters stated his belief that the primary job of every CEO today was to
develop a collaborative culture in their workplace. Encouraging collaboration is a primary driver of innovation. Is
collaboration a key cultural value in your organization? Is it considered a strategic asset?
Edison knew that innovation thrives when open exchange and collaboration come together. In contrast to IBM’s
caped crusader’s experience, every day in Edison’s laboratory was “innovation day.” No one needed to lie on the
floor in an ideation session. All Edison’s employees had to do was pull out their notebooks, and charge ahead!
Check for Innovation Stereotypes in Your Organization
Look to see where in your organization you can stomp out innovation stereotypes, and begin to champion the
force of innovation. Check your communication patterns – are they open and collaborative, or are they confined
and restricted? How does the physical layout of your company – or the structure of your meetings – contribute to
information exchange? To welcome the force of innovation in your organization, take a page from Thomas Edison’s
innovation best practices handbook, and start a notebook of your own. It’s one of the quickest ways to bring the
force of innovation right to your doorstep.
About the author: Sarah Miller Caldicott is the great grandniece of Thomas Edison, and co-author of “Innovate Like
Edison: The Success System of America’s Greatest Inventor”. She is also an innovation speaker, trainer, and
consultant. You can learn more about Sarah and her work at http://www.sarahcaldicott.com or email her at
scaldicott@powerpatterns.com.
By Sarah Miller Caldicott, great grandniece of Thomas Edison and author of “Innovate Like Edison”
IBM recently ran an intriguing series of TV ad’s designed around what I would call “popular innovation
stereotypes.” In one ad, a chubby caped superhero with an “i” emblazoned on his chest zooms onto the scene to
inspire Innovation Day at a large company. Moments later - presumably after making his grand entrance – he
slumps away feeling dejected and unappreciated. “Nobody understands me,” he moans.
In a second ad, IBM caricatures the role of creativity in the innovation process by showing scores of executives
lying on the floor at a company retreat. One of them receives a call on her cell amidst the hush of the meditation
session being held, complete with dimmed lights. Presumably in response to the question, “What are you doing?”
she secretively whispers to her caller: “We’re ideating.”
Innovation Is A Force
Both ads point to classic misperceptions about innovation. Rather than a start/stop process that gets handled
between 2 PM and 4 PM on your calendar, innovation is a force. In fact, Thomas Edison – still considered America’s
greatest innovator - described innovation as a social force. Edison felt innovation not only impacted business, but
politics, education, and virtually every other area of our lives.
In Edison’s laboratories and manufacturing facilities we see a true representation of this “force” at work. For
Edison, innovation was a continuum of actions and processes generated by employees bringing a positive, solution-
orientation to their work. In a sense, Edison’s teams were like mini force-fields operating on behalf of their
customers, continually striving to bring value to the marketplace.
And these force fields were always in motion. Rather than “innovating between 2 PM and 4 PM,” Edison and his
employees constantly maintained an open mind, watching for patterns in the results from their experiments.
Rather than have meetings to report on findings, Edison preferred to have “working sessions” where teams would
actually share ideas and then conduct experiments jointly. This reinforced a culture of information-exchange and
learning-by-doing that yielded world-changing results.
Edison realized he could not legislate a force as big as innovation to operate only during designated hours.
Instead, he allowed innovation forces plenty of room to expand rather than be constricted. For example, Edison
set up his laboratories to encourage what today in the world of design is called “spontaneous interaction.”
Employees would criss-cross the lab floor to use equipment Edison placed along the walls, stopping midstream
when they encountered a colleague on their way. In this way, new ideas developed immediate “buzz,” gradually
building momentum as employees further tested their findings.
Importance of Communication to Innovation
Edison intuitively recognized that to expand the creative impulses of his employees, he also needed to create a
communications environment that allowed thought processes to operate with few constrictions. One way he
encouraged this was allowing employees to work in solitude (which Edison himself practiced almost daily). Modern
neuroscience confirms that having time in quiet or solitude allows the hemispheres of the brain to connect more
frequently, and more powerfully. Edison asked his employees to record their ideas in notebooks expressly
designed for capturing insights generated during solitude, as well as during team work. This practice not only
helped Edison’s employees track their insights, but allowed these insights to be immediately at hand whenever
colleagues gathered to share ideas, or have working sessions with Edison.
To further expand communication in his organizations, Edison encouraged debate not only between colleagues -
but with Edison himself! Imagine being able to go toe to toe with “Mr. Edison” and never have your disagreements
show up in your employee record. Edison admired those who had leading edge ideas they wanted to run by him,
even if the idea was at an early stage of development. Edison was known to encourage outside-the-box thinking
from all his employees, and knew how to make the exchange of ideas feel “safe.”
Creating a Collaborative Culture: A Strategic Asset
Scores of company leaders today are seeking to create innovation momentum within their organizations. To be
successful, not only is it imperative for these leaders to view innovation as a “force” rather than a thing, it is critical
to recognize that the most rapid shift toward an innovation mindset comes when company leadership drives – and
models – collaboration.
In his December 2007 newsletter, business guru Tom Peters stated that having an innovation culture today is not
a nice-to-have, it is a strategic asset. Peters stated his belief that the primary job of every CEO today was to
develop a collaborative culture in their workplace. Encouraging collaboration is a primary driver of innovation. Is
collaboration a key cultural value in your organization? Is it considered a strategic asset?
Edison knew that innovation thrives when open exchange and collaboration come together. In contrast to IBM’s
caped crusader’s experience, every day in Edison’s laboratory was “innovation day.” No one needed to lie on the
floor in an ideation session. All Edison’s employees had to do was pull out their notebooks, and charge ahead!
Check for Innovation Stereotypes in Your Organization
Look to see where in your organization you can stomp out innovation stereotypes, and begin to champion the
force of innovation. Check your communication patterns – are they open and collaborative, or are they confined
and restricted? How does the physical layout of your company – or the structure of your meetings – contribute to
information exchange? To welcome the force of innovation in your organization, take a page from Thomas Edison’s
innovation best practices handbook, and start a notebook of your own. It’s one of the quickest ways to bring the
force of innovation right to your doorstep.
About the author: Sarah Miller Caldicott is the great grandniece of Thomas Edison, and co-author of “Innovate Like
Edison: The Success System of America’s Greatest Inventor”. She is also an innovation speaker, trainer, and
consultant. You can learn more about Sarah and her work at http://www.sarahcaldicott.com or email her at
scaldicott@powerpatterns.com.