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by Robert Malone, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | Problem-solving is so yesterday. Now innovation and opportunity come from observing and acting upon changes in the environment, no matter how small. |
The old order gives way to the new, and part of the new order is a refreshed view of what innovation is. Clearly it's no longer simple problem-solving. It is thinking outside the box — or the circle. There was a time when corporate directors gave the charge: Find a customer problem and solve it. But organizational experts Peter Drucker and Kevin Kelly view that approach as non-productive. They see it as concentrating on failures — that is, problems. It is thinking inside the box and being boxed in by it. Managers who think outside the box concentrate on ever-changing opportunities, which lead to more opportunities. This position is rooted in the theory of evolution: Successful creatures respond to challenge, Darwinian thinking goes. They adapt to changes in the environment and seize opportunity for advantage. [Click to continue] |