| Some futurists claim that the "future" is approximately | | | | will find that as with entrepreneurship where necessity |
| 30 years away (ref 1). Whatever the "average" | | | | is the motherhood of invention, the same may be |
| amount of time between conception of a "new" idea | | | | observed in innovation. |
| (the future), and its attainment, the interesting question | | | | It may be useful to explore a strategy to better |
| is whether a society has the ability to "accelerate" | | | | investigate innovation. First, developing a focused |
| innovation. Is there something that society can do to | | | | definition may be useful. And second, the proper |
| increase the rate of change of innovation and | | | | context is critical. For example, innovation should not be |
| discovery? | | | | tied to scientific, patentable inventions or we will be |
| The creation of the internet emerged from the US | | | | looking a merely developing more engineers in the |
| Department of Defense that was aimed at increasing | | | | name of promoting more innovation. A definition that |
| research productivity through a shared network of | | | | allows innovation to span all types of organizations |
| scientists communicating and sharing information with | | | | (such as government, private business, and non-profits) |
| each other. Having achieved a world-wide, inexpensive | | | | may allow for a more significant path of discovery. |
| to use system, are there any other strategies that | | | | Getting to a definition is important because too narrow |
| society can harness to speed up the rate of | | | | a definition may shut out other disciplines such as |
| innovation? | | | | psychiatry, psychology, education, fine arts, political and |
| In April 2010, a team of prominent deans of business | | | | other social sciences as well as the business |
| schools under the auspices of the AACSB | | | | disciplines. |
| International (an organization that grants accreditation | | | | The next line of inquiry may be to investigate how we |
| to business programs) published their findings related to | | | | recognize what is innovative. My studies reveal that |
| the role of business schools in promoting innovation. | | | | much innovation is quite hidden from the casual |
| Lead by Dean Bob Sullivan (University of California | | | | observer or that the innovation is so prevalent that it |
| San Diego, La Jolla, California), the team suggested | | | | remains unseen and unstudied. For example, one of |
| that business schools have not exactly been invited to | | | | the major innovations that literally transformed Wall |
| table by media, governments and trade organizations | | | | Street and the merger and acquisition industry was the |
| interested in advancing innovation. The team observed | | | | development and use of electronic spreadsheets |
| that many reports dealing with the need to promote | | | | (LOTUS 1-2-3, and Microsoft's Excel). While many |
| innovation that received extensive publicity did not | | | | attribute Wal-Mart's success to their innovation of |
| include representatives from the nation's business | | | | "everyday low prices," such a strategy would not have |
| schools. The team called for efforts by business | | | | been profitable if Wal-Mart had not developed |
| schools to re-look at their curriculum. | | | | incredible logistics and inventory management systems. |
| Years ago, academe debated whether | | | | There is a body of research and commentary that |
| entrepreneurship is an innate talent or whether | | | | may help in the quest to determine whether innovation |
| entrepreneurship can be taught. After nearly a decade | | | | can be accelerated by education that includes the |
| and thousands of published studies, most business | | | | works of Schumpeter and Drucker and Chao. |
| professors concluded that entrepreneurship could be | | | | Drucker's book on Capitalism and Innovation written in |
| taught and courses in entrepreneurship jumped from | | | | the early 80's suggests seven different sources of |
| some 250 in the early 1980's to well over 2,000 | | | | innovation. Chao's Innovation Nation builds a strong |
| courses by 2000. | | | | case that America is losing its competitive advantage |
| As with entrepreneurship, the issue of innovation will | | | | in being entrepreneurial. |
| require wrestling with some basic questions: can it be | | | | The effort to investigate our understanding of the |
| taught? If so, how should it be taught and by whom? It | | | | process of innovation has significant implications for |
| is one thing to talk about behavioral issues such as | | | | management education. Managers in all forms of |
| government incentives for entrepreneurship, it is quite | | | | organizations need to be better equipped to manage |
| another to define the skills sets and information that | | | | the process of encouraging innovation while also |
| would actually train or educate a person to be | | | | having a deeper understanding of how to influence or |
| "innovative." Some will argue that being innovative is a | | | | develop an innovative culture within their organizations. |
| state of mind, like a personality trait that is either | | | | The issue of innovation is central to the rate at which |
| present or absent. But, it may be likely that academe | | | | society can cope with its challenges. Welcome aboard! |