the
innovative LEDGER
An e-Newsletter from The Innovative Edge™ Inc.
Vol.
9, No. 3 - March 2009
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Can Innovation Be Found in the Cabinet?
By Jeff Govendo
Last
month an article by noted innovation consultant and author Thomas
Kuczmarski in Business Week called upon President Obama to create
a new cabinet-level post for his administration: Secretary of Innovation.
Kuczmarski
envisions the Secretary of Innovation as being responsible for two
distinct but related tasks: 1. to lead a national innovation process
within the government and its interface with business, in order to
"unclench the lockjaw of this economic crisis"; 2. to foster
a national "innovation mindset" for stimulating innovation
throughout the private sector.
Innovation,
Kuczmarski rightly points out, is a buzzword that has long been bandied
about with little meaning or conviction by many in both the public
and private sectors. Line up the mission statements of 100 companies
or agencies at random, and there's a good chance every one of them
will mention innovation. And yet, by most measures, only a modest
percentage of these companies are likely to meet the criteria for
anything approaching "innovative."
Yet,
as Kuczmarski and many others note, planting the seeds for more
widespread and purposeful innovation is what our country desperately
needs at this perilous time. The Secretary of Innovation would
both model and lead such an effort on a nationwide basis.
To
his credit, Kuczmarski anticipates the most likely objection to this
idea: that what he is proposing is yet another government bureaucracy,
which almost by definition runs counter to what it would be trying
to achieve. He responds, rather vaguely, by comparing the post
to that of a Chief Information Officer in a corporation; a person
responsible for "assembling cross-functional teams...so that
innovation is seen as an organization-wide effort."
I
guess that means he/she would be an uber-matchmaker/facilitator of
sorts, empowered to bring unlikely individuals and groups together
to come up with breakthrough ideas.
I
like the sentiment. There is no doubt - and this is reflected in
numerous opinion polls - that Americans across the political spectrum
see a dire need for new thinking in the way things are done both in
and outside of government. This holds true for economic and fiscal
policy, health care delivery, environmental issues, education reform;
indeed, in the very political process by
which all these are (or are not) accomplished.
But
a Secretary of Innovation? That would mean a brand, new Department
of Innovation. Yet another silo in the many-siloed barn that is
the federal government, replete with its own budget and turf to protect.
Its own unique set of political dynamics. Subject to the ideological
whims of the current and future administrations.
Just
thinking about it is fatiguing. Do we really need an added layer of
complexity at this time?
In
my opinion, it's the President who is and should be the de facto Secretary
of Innovation, just as the CEO of any organization should be.
He/she does this by setting the tone, leading by example, communicating
clearly, and demonstrating in his/her actions the unique combination
of open-mindedness and decisiveness that leads to meaningful change.
Does
the president need help in bringing this all about? Absolutely. From
yet another layer of bureaucracy? I think not.
Innovation
is first and foremost the responsibility of leadership at the highest
level, whether the organization consists of 30 employees or 300 million
citizens.
I
suppose we could consider an alternative post to Secretary of Innovation.
How about... an Innovation CZAR?
Just
kidding...
