So, as an innovator, are you more like Albert
Einstein or Martin Luther King?
It's not as strange a question as you might
think. We've been talking this week about the book "Originals: How
Non-Conformists Move the World", by Adam Grant. Today we pick up
Grant's discussion of how new ideas actually come about.
While we all have the image of new ideas
arriving as a bolt of lightning, many innovations are the result of years of
experimentation. I bet you can think of examples of each kind.
On one hand, Einstein's key insight into the
theory of special relativity came from a burst of inspiration. He was
riding on a streetcar and thinking about what would happen if his train
travelled at the speed of light. (Something that I admit is NOT what I am
thinking about when I'm on Amtrak.) This thought problem triggered an
insight, and while Einstein remained creative throughout his career, Grant
reports that toward the end of his life, Einstein actually struggled with
accepting new ideas, like quantum physics. So that is one model of the
creativity, the conceptual innovator, well known by the signature
"Eureka!" moment.
This is in contrast to Experimental Innovators,
who "Test and Learn." In an example that I've never seen
unpacked before, Grant uses Martin Luther King's approach to writing the
"I Have a Dream" speech as an example of how years of speaking about
civil rights led to the creativity and one-of-a-kind impact of Dr. King's
words:
"Despite being just thirty-four when he
gave his "dream" speech, it was his twentieth year of speaking
publicly about civil rights. At fifteen, he made the state finals for
delivering an original speech on civil rights".
Is there any greater way to refine your
approach than twenty years of struggling to convince numerous audiences?
Clearly, it was a long road that led to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and
a true innovator who spoke to the nation that day.
In virtually every field, experience informs
innovation. Experimentation is the backbone of scientific
discovery. Even Picasso said "Learn the rules like a pro, so you can
break them like an artist." You get the feeling that Picasso knew
just which rules to break to give his art the jolt of the new.
So, are you looking for a Eureka moment, or
using your experience to gain new insight? It looks like, either way, you
are in very good company.
- Laura
