Innovation Shouldn’t be Managed?

The Google way involves many approaches and policies that release innovation. Miki at Leadership Turn sparked my innovative synapses with her post. I focused on one item in my last post: letting people do what they want for 20% of the time. Brilliant! The second item that caught my attention was NOT managing but rather “listening” for innovation, understanding that innovation can come from places unexpected.

The idea of NOT managing innovation is an interesting concept. In the best lean/continual improvement environments supervisors and managers are taught how to monitor and elicit innovation from those who do the process. For example, a machine operator who deals with a piece of machinery day after day can offer many suggestions for improvement if the culture and managers are “listening” in a constructive and helpful way.

I prefer to call this learning how to manage and thus feel that you can manage innovation through cultural change and management techniques. I still agree that the “listening” component done in a way that the listenee perceives as valuable to him or her and the company is a key. My PMO outlook is that an organization can set up “listening” posts targeted outside the company, industry, and even your country to find innovations that can differentiate your company’s business processes.

Has your company incorporated innovation into it’s management approach? Do you feel that innovation can be “managed”?

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