Geniuses vs crowds
Posted: December 9th, 2009 | 5 Comments »Why innovation will never only be about asking people what they need, but also the fact of dictators geniuses like Steve Jobs:
“design research is great when it comes to improving existing product categories but essentially useless when it comes to new, innovative breakthroughs. I reached this conclusion through examination of a range of product innovations, most especially looking at those major conceptual breakthroughs that have had huge impact upon society as well as the more common, mundane small, continual improvements. “
Don Norman, Link
It depends on how one defines one’s design space. Truly innovative products are most often the result of reassessing the broader system, the broader ecology in which they fulfill their function. If one is asked to redesign the car, it is most likely the result will be … ‘a car’, only slightly different. A product focus is highly likely to lead to incremental than more radical innovation. The latter requires a more systemic look at things. Regarding the example given earlier, the question could/should have been: rethink and redesign mobility. Then, solutions way beyond the car are more likely to pop up. There are plenty of design research methods around that work perfectly when looking at things from a more systemic viewpoint, questioning their underlying assumptions. It is the design space, the perspective rather than design research as such, that enables or hinders breakthrough innovation.
Innovation will occur when people are “pissed” about wacky processes where they leave their nerves and time. There will come a time when they think that they have to give up and do something else. Letting go!
… then when the right circumstances are there, room, time, connections, conversation – in general the social field: the mircacle in form of innovation will evolve:-)
(based on my very personal experience and seeing it happen elsewhere)
What has been your experience?
My experience is that three models co-exist:
- Apple, one guy who terrifies everybody with a (relevant) vision and makes it happen, allowing a whole ecosystem to emerge
- Twitter, where crowdsourcing is in the DNA of the company which is listening constantly to feedback and suggestions, and follows the flow
- Google, where crowdsourcing is less evident but happens (probably?) via looking at behaviors of users, beyond the simple feedback, to avoid focusing only on what people think they need, but also explore what people don’t know what they need.
In my industrial designer point of view, Innovation with a big “I” comes always out of a Vision, which is the result of one guy, at one moment, having suddenly a clear connection between apparently chaotic, anachronic and unreasonable elements.
The genius is to make it happen afterwards, using the dictator or the social crowdsourcing way.
Good point that we should separate the idea from the realisation. Idea has to come/be driven by one person, while making things happen is better done with the help of a community.