Creating an Innovative Environment

Ok, so I know I was going to post a marketing strategy. The downside is that I will not be able to get it ready this week. The upside when I do get it prepared it will be much larger and more useful. I’ll shoot to get that ready before the end of the year.

This blog is focused on a lot of things, but a large theme is making smart, evidence-based decisions. And one of the best ways to do that is to create an environment where experiments are constant, encouraged, and logged so that they can be evaluated and further implemented. As Scott Berkun says “An easy measure of innovation at work is this: how common are experiments?” So what are good experiments?

Good Experiments are Measurable

Cassie Divine at Intuit argues that “Innovators that run experiments have a key advantage: data.” And that is absolutely true. Experiments can create great data. They can tell you not just whether this particular experiment works, but what the patrons value, what they respond to, where should focus be. However, to be able to answer these questions a well-designed experiment must have a built in system to log data. With web experiments, this is easy. Other experiments are less so.

Good Experiments are Well Designed

The worst mistake an organization can make is to not put real effort into experiments. True, one does not need to devote the entire strength of an organization to any particular experiment, but good experiments still need some support. That means staff need to be given time to work on experiments. Most librarians are already overwhelmed with responsibilities, but without a chance to tinker with projects, make promotional materials and monitor results, a good idea will die without truly getting a chance.

Personally, I believe that google has the right approach. Google employees are given 20% of their work time to work on personal projects. Now, that is probably more than us poor institutional and governmental organizations can expect. However, even 5% would give a good amount of time to try new things.

Good Experiments are Part of Job Assessment

A common misperception is that innovators are a born breed not unlike musical geniuses or math wizzes. Well, just like musicians must spend years practicing and mathematicians go through countless years of school, innovators too require time. As noted in Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, creative requires time, routine, and practice like any other skill. So when running those dreaded annual performance evaluations ask “What new things have you tried this year” “What ideas are you working on for next year”.

Success or failure is not the point. The point is trial. If there is a lot of effort, success will follow in time.

Photo credits: Kid http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaslife/4041046978

painter: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moriza/126238618//