Darwinian Ecosystems and Innovation: The New World for Masters Students April 11, 2011

Lecture day for 30 masters students at the University of Leiden…

Friend/colleague/associate Hans Le Fever invited me for the second year in a row to talk about The New World to his Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) MSc. students. A lot of fun, and a very engaging and engaged international group. Started off with the Darwinian Ecosystems material from the Club of Amsterdam evening, then moved on the Old World/New World debate and, after the break, a personal real-life case study in failed technology and business process innovation.

The first part was fun for everyone, because it was about flashy technology, current business models and how incredibly fast things are changing and morphing into glorious weirdness. Lots of laughter, “aha” moments, comments, lots of questions.

The second part was more serious as we explored the reasons why good ideas often die in Old World companies.  It’s not at all about the innovation you have thought up and prototyped and believe is the best thing since sliced bread. It is everything about how you bring the innovation into your organization and to the market. Just because you think that your idea, your baby, is the most beautiful, perfect thing ever invented does not mean that others perceive the same thing as you do. Your baby may in fact be the ugliest thing they have ever seen for any number of reasons.

To be successful in realizing your innovation, we discussed, you have to get your baby past many different stakeholders. Are you scaring stakeholders with your idea? Not because it’s not good but because it impacts them? Have you identified all your stakeholders? Those who can help you and who want you to win? Those who wants you to fail? Why should anybody help you?

Newton’s third law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  In organizations: people create change, people constrain change. In the New World: Stakeholders rule, OK!

Food for thought for this next generation of business and technology architects.