Leadership’s Future: Innovation
by Miki Saxon
Education innovation is on everybody’s mind, because anyone who looks at the sorry state of American education knows that something needs to be done.
Business innovation is on everyone’s mind who holds or wants a job. Without considerable across-the-board innovation, not just products, but process as well, American business and, therefore the country, is in deep doodoo.
Parenting could use some innovation, especially in terms of curtailing the hovering and we’ll-fix-it mentality of too many of today’s parents. We need to find better ways of giving kids the chance to learn about initiative, responsibility, accountability and consequences, so their intangible side can grow to adulthood in conjunction with their physical side.
I’ve been writing about all of the above for years, sharing links to research and stories of what’s being tried, following innovation that does succeed and it got me to thinking.
What’s stopping us? We have the ideas and in many cases they have been tried and have worked.
Why aren’t more of them being implemented on a wider scale?
The same reasons that have always retarded or curtailed innovation.
- The frequency of the ubiquitous “prove it” typically spoken by the “we’ve always done it this way” crowd. To those looking for new approaches, answers and products, “prove it” are not only the most dreaded two words, but also the most stupid. Just think what would have happened if the Apple board had insisted that Steve Jobs prove that the world wanted an iPod.
- The not-invented-here syndrome has extended itself to schools, as can be seen in this comment with regards to teaching Singapore Math (although it’s been proven to work).
“…there has also been skepticism from school board members and parents about importing a foreign math program.”
So the next time you find yourself chafing at the lack of innovation or the slowness of implementing it, first look in the mirror and if you don’t find the culprit there look for the person or group that is crying for proof or bemoaning the source.
Stock.xchng image credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/640941
