Darwinian Innovation and The Maverick as a Chameleon

Most of us attribute the concept of “survival of the fittest” to Charles Darwin.  Yet, according to the recent book Driven, Darwin actually never used the phrase.  Rather, Darwin’s ideas on evolution had more to do with survival of the most adaptable and less to do with survival of the strongest.  Survival goes to the species that can generate variations, select the best one and retain it for future generations.  Isn’t this what corporations are attempting to do when they seek to innovate?

Unlike the entrepreneur, the established corporation has to deal not only with this sometimes tumultuous evolutionary process in the market, but also it has to deal with variations, selection and retention internally as well.

Dealing with what Arie de Geus (The Living Company, 1997) calls the corporate immune system is a chronic management challenge for established companies seeking innovation.  Corporations, just like the human body, can and will produce antibodies that respond to innovation efforts as threats to corporate health.  Some corporations anticipate this immune response and turn to mavericks, their mentors and their methods for a way out.

The accompanying articles lend some insight and perspective on the corporate immune response system and the growing interest in mavericks, their mentors and their methods as a practical management framework for these challenges.

In addition, Vincent & Associates is planning a pilot study with younger and more mature companies to map out how they are dealing with their organizations’ immune response systems. If you have interest, please call Lanny Vincent for a prospectus of the study.

The Maverick as a Chameleon

By John Raley

Discontinuous innovation is defined as new innovations that are tangentially related to a company’s current business, which offer substantial opportunity for company growth and renewal.  An essential player in the arena of discontinuous innovations is the maverick.

The maverick finds discontinuous innovations by exploring outside the company’s “comfort zone” of products and technologies.  When the maverick finds a potential connection between something new and the company’s core competencies, the maverick is now faced with the challenge of how to bring the innovation back into the company.  And the challenge is a significant one.

By the very fact of the innovations being discontinuous and outside the company’s normal sphere of operations, the maverick cannot assume that others will see the same connections and value to company growth.

So how does a successful maverick bring a new, discontinuous innovation back home?  The secret is that a successful maverick must e a chameleon, one who is able to change how they relate to individuals depending on the functional orientation of the individual.  And the maverick must do so in a believable and credible manner.

When talking with technical people, the maverick must be able to effectively discuss the technical aspects of the new innovation and how it is tangentially related to the existing competencies of the technical organization.  When talking with marketing and business people, the maverick must be able to describe how the new innovation is compatible with the overall vision of the company.  When talking with financial people, the maverick must be able to conceptually discuss the dollars and cents of what it would take to implement the innovation and the financial benefits to the company. 

Not only does the successful maverick have to be somewhat fluent in discussing different aspects of the innovation, but also the maverick must be able to do so convincingly.  This requires credibility throughout the company that can only be obtained over time via ongoing interaction with the different functional areas.  The credibility that is developed not only aids the maverick in bringing new innovations back home, but it also aids the maverick in discovering innovations by viewing possibilities from a variety of points of view.

If you are looking for a successful maverick in your organization, look for someone with a broad range of interests and who networks well with different functional areas.  This is the person who is most likely to be able to see new, discontinuous innovations for your company and also efficiently and meaningfully explain the discovery to others.

John Raley is a business leader with state-of-the-art experience in global intellectual asset management. He is based in Maple Grove, MN, and can be reached at john_raley@pitnet.net.



These articles were originally published in Innovating Perspectives in March 2002. For this and other back issues of our newsletter, please visit our website at innovationsthatwork.com or call (415) 387-1270.