Why Inexperience Supports Innovation
by Hillary Kirtland

“Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.” –Howard Aiken

When I look around the workforce, at all the people who are considered experts and bring “credibility” to a topic, conversation, or theory, they’ve all inspired belief in their words and ideas through years of creating successful outcomes. That’s the thing about something new, isn’t it? It’s never been done before, much less proven successful. It is, therefore, a risk to one’s credibility, should it fail. To many executives, that kind of reputational risk is frightening. So, it is up to those of us, without experience with the fallout of perceived failure, to risk a break with the status quo and drive change. 

“If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.” –Charles Kettering

The Center for Creative Leadership lists organizational impediments such as “…internal political problems, harsh criticism of new ideas, destructive internal competition, avoidance of risk, and an overemphasis on the status quo…” as factors that suppress innovation. There is no greater reason for these impediments to persist than “…when the core business is successful and doing well.” Humans are biologically risk averse and we put our faith in those who have a track record of success. Historically, risk could have literally led to death, but in today’s business world, “…lack of openness to new ideas and a willingness to experiment and take risks…” is what causes most to fall competitively behind or out of the market all together (e.g. Kodak.) Companies such as Uber, Netflix, Airbnb, etc. would not exist if someone didn’t decide to take a look at “what ain’t broke” and “fix it” anyway.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” –Albert Einstein

There are two types of people I see who are not afraid of failure, in any organization (public or private): (1) those who don’t know any better, and (2) those who know that failing fast will lead to even faster corrective action and long-term success. Those who don’t know any better are not experienced enough with the fallout of perceived failure to fear it, and those who know how to fail fast never experience the fallout long enough for it to matter. Both are able to see the possibilities and are brave enough to try to connect the dots in a way they’ve never been connected before. In my own life, failure is how I achieve my goals, because it’s an inevitable part of the journey to success. True failure only persists if you stop continuously improving along the way.

“If you insist on certainty, you will paralyze yourself.” –J.P. Getty

The biggest barrier to experimentation is the ability to get executive sponsorship or corporate/ departmental funding, which “…is vital to creating quicker and more successful changes within an organization.” Most people who aren’t already at the executive level aren’t fluent in the language by which executives communicate. When executives look for the “right” idea, they usually mean the one that already has the business case attached. They are looking for the low-hanging fruit that’s easiest to sell to their own bosses. This is where most creative and innovative opportunities are missed. You would never blame a student for having a bad question when the teacher didn’t take the time to understand and deliver the right material. So, why blame the employee who questions old practices, simply because their leader didn’t take a deeper look into a potentially “right” idea? Seeing opportunity, however off-the-wall the idea sounds, is more powerful than shutting something down because it doesn’t line up with how it’s always been done. You wouldn’t want to have been the publisher who turned away J.K. Rowling because Harry Potter was “too radical” a story, would you?

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” –John Cage

At the end of the day, there will always be some level of credibility that needs to back up an idea for anything to materialize from it. The irony is not lost on me that I brought credibility to this piece with the quotes and stories of well-respected inventors, visionaries, and pioneers. However, it is our relentless search for validation that may be hindering our progress in the first place. The success of yesterday will only get us as far as we are today; we need to innovate for tomorrow if we are to even keep pace with the disruption occurring in every aspect of our economy. We cannot fear failure and let the lack of credibility behind an idea stop us from trying something new. The experimentation that drives innovation needs to be part of every organization’s DNA, not just something we pay lip service to.   

Hillary works as a Senior Strategy Consultant at IBM. She found her passion for her new job in the two years she took off work to pursue a full-time, Global MBA degree at George Washington University in Washington DC. She is driven by her constant curiosity and her truest love is for travel and adventure. Having moved to California in early 2019, outside work you can find her planning her next trip, exploring her local beaches, reading a book, or wandering along a new hiking trail.