{"id":459,"date":"2008-09-06T09:52:05","date_gmt":"2008-09-06T09:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/?p=459"},"modified":"2008-09-06T09:52:05","modified_gmt":"2008-09-06T09:52:05","slug":"the-truth-about-innovation-max-mckeown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virtualchaos.co.uk\/blog\/2008\/09\/06\/the-truth-about-innovation-max-mckeown\/","title":{"rendered":"The Truth about Innovation – Max Mckeown"},"content":{"rendered":"

All the way back in May of this year Max<\/a> sent me a preview copy of his upcoming book entitled the Truth about Innovation<\/a> and asked if I’d read it and offer some feedback or write a review. I did read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it but didn’t get around to reviewing it due to a myriad of other commitments – so apologies Max :).<\/p>\n

The other day I was watching a documentary about Pixar<\/a> much of which focused on the culture of Innovation at Pixar. I immediately recalled some things that Max had written in his book, in fact many of the sentiments in the documentary were directly echoed by the observations Max had been making. Feeling somewhat abashed I re-read The Truth about Innovation over the last couple of days and think it’s about time I wrote a (pre)-review (the book is scheduled for release on September 12th according to Amazon). <\/p>\n

The book is well written and well researched, Max makes great use of examples from industry to illustrate his fifty or so “Truths” about innovation. For me It\u2019s a great book because it shows that innovation is about keeping our eyes and minds open, and constantly questioning what we know. Max has previously tried to sum up innovation as:<\/p>\n

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\r\nThe term innovation may refer to both radical and incremental changes \r\nin thinking, in things, in processes or in services ...\r\n<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
I’ve always liked this definition, it feels practical without feeling overly idealistic. There was always a danger with this book that in presenting what he thought were his 50 truths about innovation he would fall into the trap of sounding overly idealistic or offering advice that was either vague or not particularly practical. Thankfully this is not the case. What he has written is short, sharp and extremely focused, yet tempered by an honest down to earth style that makes it not only easy to read but also easy to identify with.<\/p>\n
Some of truths really hammered home for me because they resonated so much with what we are trying to do at Talis<\/a>, not just in terms of the technologies we are building but also in terms of the culture we are trying to create and I completely agree with Max when he says in Chapter 31:<\/p>\n
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\r\nCulture is the sum total of the values, beliefs, assumptions, and traditions\r\nof the organization. Culture is established at the time that the company is \r\nfounded and it develops based on the experiences of the people in the \r\norganization. It is not the same as a neatly typed mission statement and \r\ncannot be transformed with half-hearted attempts or superficial \r\ndeclarations.\r\n\r\nThere are differences in character, rhythm, preferences, traditions, jokes,\r\ndiscipline, and priorities between the most successfully innovative \r\norganizations and the rest. Turning great insights into practical solutions\r\nis the result of what is done and the way it is done. Making the transition\r\nto an innovation culture is difficult because it doesn\u2019t depend on policies \r\nor processes in isolation.\r\n<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Max also goes onto differentiate between cultures that encourage innovation and those that discourage innovation, thankfully for me Talis<\/a> fits squarely in the first column but only because thats where we, as individuals, and as a group, want it to be:<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Cultures that encourage innovation<\/strong><\/td>\nCultures that discourage innovation<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Emotionally connected<\/td>\nDispassionately disconnected<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Power Sharing<\/td>\nPower Hoarding<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Visionary & Forward Thinking<\/td>\n Tied to routine & past practise<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trusting with minimal rules<\/td>\nControlling and negative<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Positive and highly principled<\/td>\nHighly financially focused<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
People identify with leaders<\/td>\nRemote managers issue edicts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Customer service obsessed<\/td>\nPerformance freaks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Thirst for listening and learning<\/td>\nExcessive denial psychology<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Valued people like the company<\/td>\nBest people feel devalued<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Decisions are based on merit<\/td>\nHierarchy slows progress<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n
In chapter 25 Max talks about hiring people for how the learn and not what the know. This is critical in my view for any organisation and goes to the heart of innovation, but in my mind its not just about learning new things its about a passionate willingness to want to learn new things, as Tennyson says to strive, to seek, to find<\/em>  or as Max puts it:\n<\/p>\n
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\r\nFar more important than what a person knows is how the person learns.\r\nWhat a person knows matters, you want experts, you want knowledge, \r\nbut it should be taken as a given. If the person can\u2019t do the basics then \r\nyou shouldn\u2019t hire them with the expectation that they can. You need \r\nenough people in the company who can make whatever it is that you \r\nare trying to sell. The way that people have learned what they know and \r\nthe way they intend learning what they will need to know in the future is \r\nthe difference between candidates. It\u2019s also the difference between companies. \r\nLearning new things is at the heart of innovation.\r\n<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
I could easily go on for hours but I wont. This is a wonderful book full of practical advice and insights into how some of the most respected organisations in the world have succeeded and failed to be innovative. I thoroughly recommend reading this book.<\/p>\n

Click here to buy from Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n
I’m going to do something I wasn’t intending to originally and that’s to list Max’s fifty-ish truths,  because it occurred to me that actually these chapter headings say more about the book and the message that Max is trying to communicate than any short review could:<\/p>\n