If you can, scrutinise every buzz and sound byte hyped by government and corporate leaders on innovation, you will see that they almost always link the concept closely to science and technology.
Well, science and technology are not the only major players of innovation – they are mere enablers. In its purest sense, anyone can produce an innovative idea that cuts across business, politics, ideology and prejudice to benefit those willing to accept improvements in their lives.
Some innovations result in creating new wealth, but this is not the only criteria or definition of innovation. Innovation is also about moving towards a way of life that makes living meaningful, productive, fruitful and profound. Innovation buckling either of these ideals is mental junk.
Before digging deeper into the nature of innovation, try this simplest form of innovation; a cliched but still useful initiative — don’t just work hard, work smart too. If you understand this idea and can make it work, you are in a fortunate minority. Working smart as a means to innovate is filled with trial and error experimentation but in the long run, the idea is to make everyone work smarter. Try also this other innovative wisdom; whatever your parents, elders or bosses implore you to do, try contemplating the exact the opposite too. It will be hard, especially if the instruction hurts your conscience, but imagine the possible outcomes of doing things differently.
When you question what everyone has taken for granted, you are likely to uncover some powerful truths that can have profound impact on the world. Steve Jobs did, and he gave us the iPad. The keyboard arrangement on your computer is another example that humans, as a rule, do not stop to question age-old wisdom that may no longer be relevant in today’s world.
The keyboard was arranged in the QWERTY manner to stop people from typing too fast, as this made the mechanical keys of the original typewriter jam up. The inventor had to slow typists down, so that he had fewer complaints to deal with. Isn’t it just ironical that we use the same key arrangement on the electronic keyboard of our computers?
In Malaysia, our working lives are crowded, complex and difficult. Innovation is needed to ease and simplify problems so that it helps us enjoy the real value in our lives, which could be lucratively productive work without deserting family, friends or a favorite pastime.
That is why I am pitching for innovation in the truest sense — the liberation of the mind from traditional but knotty precepts that curbs us from improving our lives.
Understand that you don’t need to become a scientist, surgeon, lawyer or computer geek to create or conceive innovation. You can be whoever you are, working in any position that requires your expertise. The one essential skill you do need is that of critical questioning. Life-changing accomplishments require innovation of the mind – a leap of faith, thinking out of the box, paradigm shift, lateral thinking – and we must also understand that innovation is a continuous human aspiration. Without innovation, we might still be living on trees and in caves. All human progress is a direct result of our ability to question and innovate ourselves out of our predicaments.
Net week Part 2 will deal with innovation and progress.
Dato Dr Kamal Jit Singh dubbed ‘Dr Innovation’ by industry leaders is an ardent advocate of thinking skills and he holds a Doctorate in Strategic Management and is the founder of GIRC. Not only was Dr Kamal the pioneering spearhead who encouraged British Telecoms to set up an Asian Research Centre in Malaysia, he also went on to be its CEO for eight years. Dr Kamal is regularly invited to speak at international industry events and sits on numerous government and industry advisory boards and panels.
Dr Kamal is currently the chief executive officer of ‘Unit Inovasi Khas’, a special purpose vehicle within the office of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, established to fast-track the development of innovation in the country.
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