Do innovators have certain attributes or
characteristics? What makes them move beyond creative ideas to actually
innovating? What is it that drives them?
I’ve taught thousands of students and some are memorable for the
wrong reasons. Let me introduce you to
Justin who I taught some years ago. He is in his 20’s and is currently
living in San Francisco. Justin left school and went to work at a Nature Based
school in South Africa. There he fell in love with wild animals and teaching.
He came back to Australia to complete a teaching degree in Maths and Science.
This is all rather ironic as Justin was never a great fit for school. He really
should have been expelled but I miscalculated how many times he had been
suspended. However, Justin had was an inquiring mind and great
energy. Unfortunately, this meant he was often kicked out of class because the
teachers couldn’t handle him. He was never malicious; he just always challenged
the status quo.
In his
first few weeks of teaching Justin became frustrated at being unable to assess
exactly where his students’ understanding was as the class progressed. He
wanted instant feedback and not have to wait for tests, exams or for kids to
put their hands up to ask questions. He tried various methods to elicit better
and quicker feedback but was not satisfied. He wanted real time feedback so
that he could adapt his teaching minute by minute, student by student.
This hunger for better information on his students resulted in him
designing an app. Justin has no particular advanced IT skills but worked out a
basic design. He tested it in class and realised that it was giving him better
insights into his students’ understanding. He then made contact with an old
school friend living in Berlin where there is a small hub of IT start ups.
Within a few months the app, Geddit, had developed enough for
venture capitalists in the USA to take an interest. Justin and his small team
where offered a ‘scholarship’ to live and work in San Francisco to develop the
app. Justin quit his job as a teacher and headed off to the US where he has
been for several months. (See Justin in a 3 minute video http://www.letsgeddit.com/).
Now he is working at AltSchool, the most innovative edtech start
up I believe the world has seen. (More on that another time). Justin speaks
with much excitement about the new world he is discovering and the fascinating
people he is working with.
When I look back at him and others like Justin who challenge the
status quo, it is interesting to reflect on what kind of students they were:
They were academically very strong scoring in the top 10% of the
State. They were not ‘ideal’ students in the sense they did not always conform
and didn’t give themselves 100% towards their studies. Why? Because they were
directing their energies towards goals they were caring about. Justin was
helping to start a basketball club and numerous other school initiatives (as
well as playing cricket and football in classrooms and being responsible for
numerous broken windows). They were always looking for new and better ways of
doings things and were happy to give multiple things a go without much fear of
failure. They had a broad friendship circle, curious and eager to embark on new
experiences. (For example spending a few weeks living and working with
underprivileged communities in South Africa).
They were very positive about life, resourceful and had the confidence
to self-promote themselves and their ideas.
They were seen as ‘creative’ students but creativity alone is not
sufficient for innovation. Innovation requires
developing, producing, and implementing an idea. This is what sets Justin and others
apart from “latent” innovators. (We have all a number of great ideas that have
never been implemented).
It is also worth considering what has driven them to innovate.
1.
Frustration with the status quo.
2.
A deep desire to want to do things better.
3.
A sense of purpose seen in the desire to make life easier for others.
4.
Not driven by financial outcomes but by the desire to radically improve
the way things are done. For Justin it was immediate feedback that could
revolutionize the way we teach in schools.
Besides realising that the naughty kid in the class might be the next
great innovator, we can start to consider that innovators do have certain
characteristics and drives that push them to innovating.
Do you have any ‘naughty kids’ in your team? Before you try to get them to
conform, you may consider what they could be bringing to the organisation.
By Peter Dry
2015
A great reminder, P Dry!
ReplyDelete