By Isabelle St-Jean

“Everything that can be invented has been invented.”
– Charles Duell, U.S. Commissioner of Patents, 1899

Over 100 years ago, Duell was so convinced of this astonishing assertion that he believed the Patents Office should be closed. From our present perspective, this bewildering statement should remind us that we are not particularly good predictors of the future.

A Dim View of Tomorrow?
In fact, we are renown for our faulty future forecasting.

“Who wants to hear actors talk?”
—H. M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
—Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

“It will be years—not in my time—before a woman will become Prime Minister.”
—Margaret Thatcher, 1974

While the quotes above carry inherent ironies, the impact of this essential lack of imagination on organizations in today’s rapidly changing, competitive environment is more concerning.

If we lack imagination, innovative possibilities all but collapse and we end up with an extremely short-sighted view of the true potential—while the competition potentially jumps ahead.

Championing the Imagination
Fortunately, in the last century, the imagination has been championed by outstanding thinkers and innovators. Albert Einstein pointed out that “imagination is more important than knowledge”. That said, in 1932, even Einstein failed to see how nuclear energy would ever be possible—”it would mean the atom would have to be shattered at will.”

When organizations and businesses truly believe in the importance of imagination and expansive vision, they integrate such values into their culture. As a result, they don’t just innovate, some even get to leapfrog.

Breakthrough Innovations
Beyond simply innovating, leapfrogging is about creating an outstanding breakthrough—something so far ahead of what might be expected that it enables the company to enjoy great advantages for an extended period.

Just imagine what might have happened in the automotive industry if not for Henry Ford’s ability to leapfrog the competition and build mass-market automobile at a relatively low cost?

Leapfroggers leave the competition gasping and stimulate industry innovation overall by setting astonishing new benchmarks. Another good example that yields multiple examples of leapfrogging is Apple: from the first Macintosh in 1984 to the evolution of online music purchasing with iTunes and the proliferation of personal devices spurred by the iPod.

Leaving the Linear Mindset
Obviously, all businesses would like to grow their potential and develop the mindset and capacities to explore and create outstanding breakthroughs. However, let’s explore both the macro and micro level changes that are needed if more Canadian companies are to enjoy a chance to leapfrog.

Looking into the anatomy of evolution in the anthology Einstein’s Business, Dawson Church reminds us that much change is sudden and discontinuous rather than linear. For example, a balloon may be steadily inflated with air, but filled beyond its capacity, it pops. Likewise, water being heated will get progressively hotter until suddenly it reaches the boiling point and transforms.

Given that our current business mindsets, especially in Canada, tend to favour steady, linear growth, HR professionals and business people would be wise to ponder a simple, thought-provoking question. How can we promote a work culture that not only includes unchanging values such as consistent productivity, but that also fosters a mindset attuned to innovative possibilities and a readiness to take risks to follow exciting insights on the outer edge of the known?

Imagination Requires Investment
On the macro end, some have identified factors that at least partly explain why few Canadian companies get to grow like the big Apple. One reason explored by Konrad Yakabuski in a Globe and Mail article of November 23, 2013 , is that Canada lags far behind in investing in information and computer technologies (ITC); compared with our southern neighbors, we spent only 57.8 per cent on per-worker business investment in ITC.

In fact, the Conference Board of Canada rates our country as a “D” in ITC investment noting that the US-Canada gap is widening and its cumulative impact has been sapping overall Canadian productivity.  This is despite the fact that there is a wealth of evidence to show that companies and institutions that continually invest in the latest technology benefit from a continuous stream of improvements in innovation and productivity.

Driving (and Protecting) Excellence
Another barrier for Canadian companies identified by Yakabuski in the The Globe and Mail is that they get blocked by intellectual property rights and often lack the foresight and capacity to deal effectively with such issues. Taking a stronger stand in defending and protecting Canadian innovators should be the concern of all, including the government. Likewise, our education system could do better at driving excellence, inspiring creativity and turning classrooms into more fertile grounds for brilliant innovative minds.

This failure to drive competitive excellence as part of Canadian culture is also showing up in professional sports. For example, the teams that played in the recent Grey Cup finals were made up of 90 per cent American players. Conversely, we see many American professional hockey teams getting on the winning edge because of the high performance of a large proportion of Canadian players. That said, although hockey started in Canada, we have not yet taken the bold step of establishing a Women’s Professional Hockey League.

Rethinking Mental Maps
Of course, bigger pictures aside, imagination comes from within—and on the micro level, neuroscience has helped draw a clearer picture of the mental maps which both define and delimit the way we tend to think. These mental maps are the invisible creations of our experience, expectations and emotional triggers, and define the landscape of our minds.

However, as with Duell in the patent office, we need to ask ourselves if it is possible that some of our mental maps are limiting our perceptions? Are we failing to illuminate the vast field of unlimited possibilities from which breakthroughs arise?

The most immediate answer is yes. After all, maps are defined by their boundaries and placeholders. Innovation requires exploring the spaces in between and leapfrogging most often leads to lands previously unknown.

Four Great Leaps Forward
How can organizations support and champion people so that mental maps are re-imagined with more expansive vision that stimulates innovation? Here are four leaps forward for any organization:

• Encourage teams to take initiatives that stimulate novelty and creative thinking. This could include meetings that focus on what’s new and exciting in a given field, as well as related fields of endeavour—and foster discussion that goes beyond short-term challenges to cast a bright light on future possibilities.
• Cultivate a healthy psychological climate. Though this seems evident, its importance is often underestimated. The very need for—and now reality of—anti-bullying legislation for the workplace reveals the challenge. Though change is often inspired by adversity, a workplace which fosters open communications and free-roaming mindsets is far more likely to inspire ongoing innovation.
• Focus on possibilities rather limitations. Attitudes are contagious; each person needs to rise up to their next level of taking responsibility and being mindful of the influence of their attitudes on others. Negative expectations, assumptions and attitudes become insidious and seriously undermine creativity and productivity.
• Remember that innovation is not a destination and that small shifts in mindset make a big difference. Even a small, sustained shift in mindset, especially from those in leadership and managerial positions, can result in an immediate, positive impact on the innovative potential of the workplace—and quite possibly a significant leap forward.

Professional speaker, author, life and business coach, Isabelle St-Jean, RSW, ACC brings over 20 years of communication, leadership and personal effectiveness to her audiences, readers and clients (inspiredmomentum.com).

P(eopleTalk Winter 2013)