The Innovation Journey
As an innovation moves from idea to application a variety of changes have to take place. The emphasis moves from divergent thinking about exploring possibilities towards convergent thinking focused on exploiting opportunities. The innovation journey of a business oriented innovation is illustrated below. An innovation intended to deliver social benefits will follow a similar path, but with different communities being involved. Each item mentioned in the diagram can be a story on its own.
Way-points in the Innovation Journey
There are many endings and new beginnings along the way, and even the end of the journey illustrated above is likely to provide a platform for a new generation of ideas. An example of this is the establishment of a network of navigation satellites, which has provided a platform for many application initiatives. Different professional communities are involved in different ways at different stages, and being at the right place at the right time with access to requisite resources is necessary to draw ongoing support for the individual innovation.
Matters of Context and Timing
Observations about there being a right time and place for everything go back to biblical times. Sometimes reference to a time/place conjunction relates to timely action, and sometimes it is a comment on inappropriate behavior (the wrong time or action). This idea of a conjunction has prompted comparison with the ancient greek notion of kairos - the moment of inspiration and/or timely action. In the context of rhetoric and debate, it is injecting the right thought at the right time in the appropriate way. In the context of a hunter, it is being in the right place to observe the hunted and releasing an arrow at exactly the right time, which requires some skill and equipment. In the context of innovation, for example what is the best place to start the innovation journey and what resources are needed? Clearly, that also depends on the nature of the idea being developed or the goal.
Place/idea/Resources/Time
It is argued here that the interaction of place, idea, resources and time illustrated below conditions the nature of a succession of timely actions throughout the innovation journey.
Unpacking the Kairotic Moment in Innovation
Innovation involves thinking something different and doing something different We are describing the conjunction of creative thinking and innovative action as a kairotic moment consistent with the concept of the Ancient Greeks. Each of the four influence factors have subsidiary components as illustrated below.
In the context of innovation management, the place factor has associated components of location and mindset. There may be particular places that stimulate concept creation and facilitate creative problem-solving. Access to both intellectual resources and physical/funding resources may be needed to implement an idea. Such resources may be clustered at a particular place. The time factor has has associated components of background rhythms; for example in relation to market or funding cycles. There are significant bodies of literature about each of the items in this diagram.
The Utility of this Concept
The concept of the kairotic moment has been used to examine cases of successful and unsuccessful innovation. Some were attempts to establish places that stimulate and facilitate innovation. Some were longitudinal studies of the evolution of a particular innovation. Some technology road-mapping studies considered the intersection and possible impact of macro-trends. Some looked at building the absorptive capacity of innovative firms.
What has been observed so far is:
- That a particular organisation or individual is more likely to take a limiting world-view grounded in one of the four influence factors than a balanced view considering all of them, and
- The failure to achieve a succession of kairotic moments limits the impact of a particular initiative, even though the need for such conjunctions (but not the exact timing) could be anticipated. Failure may be due to the place, idea, resources or timing being sub-optimal.
The first observation leads to a suggestion to include a Place-Idea-Resources-Time view in strategic planning. The interaction of changes in place, ideas and resources over time can lead to the emergence of both opportunities and threats. One response may be to embrace innovation as a strategic tool - supporting creative change that delivers value to a variety of beneficiaries.
The second observation leads to a suggestion of identifying innovation journey decision points and potential risks that may emerge from a conjunction of place. idea. resources and timing (kairotic moments) and considering options based on a place-idea-resources-time conjunction in anticipating a response. The actual nature of the response will depend on:
- Perceptions of the appropriate time and place to act, the need to act, and the risk of not acting
- A capacity to act in terms of skills/resources to assess timely action, the ability to manage any constraints, and the ability to follow-through
- The extent to which creativity is needed at the kairotic moment and the extent to which prior experience can be drawn on
- The balance between the impact of the proposed action and the consequences of not acting, considering direction compared with a prior plan, the minimization of risk and the maximization of opportunity.
