Leadership and innovation

Thirty-five years ago, Bob Rosenfeld was a young, energetic, impatient chemist — brimming with ideas and working at Eastman Kodak. Today, he is a leading authority on innovation, founder of Idea Connection Systems and Innovator in Residence at the Center for Creative Leadership. Along the way, he founded the first Office of Innovation for Eastman Kodak and worked with numerous organizations to foster the ideas and enthusiasm needed for sustaining innovation. The key to innovation, according to Rosenfeld, is to "make the invisible visible."

Rosenfeld's first foray into intentionally grooming organizational innovation came while working at Eastman Kodak. He writes in his book, Making the Invisible Visible: The Human Principles for Sustaining Innovation, "I noticed that people at all levels within the company had ideas that could benefit both themselves and the company ... a few of these ideas found a supportive ear, but most of them did not ... I was convinced that if there were some way to infuse these ideas into the organization, they would be of value to the company." Rosenfeld saw that his company wanted ideas, and employees had ideas they wanted to share, but that there were no effective mechanisms to connect individuals' ideas to the larger organization.

The barriers to innovation at Eastman Kodak at that time are still common in organizations today:

Lack of language. Organizations don't have effective ways to talk about the innovation process.

Limited scope. Existing innovation processes often encourage small, incremental changes rather than new products, breakthrough ideas or unusual concepts.

Isolation. Departments and groups may be isolated, creating subcultures that are different from the rest of the organization and limiting exchange of ideas and information.

Comfort with the status quo. People are often dependent on the familiar, leaving little room or tolerance for anyone with wildly different ideas and behaviours.

A deficit of trust. Innovation requires structures that are supported by bonds of trust, confidence and respect for those involved.

To address these problems Rosenfeld, along with others at Eastman Kodak, set up the first Office of Innovation. Later, Rosenfeld was asked to help other companies establish similar systems for innovation. Over time, he began to see that the measure of success was tied less to the mechanics of innovation and more to the human dynamic.

"All new products and services come from ideas, and all ideas come from people," says Rosenfeld. "That sounds simple, but it requires innovation leaders to stimulate, motivate and encourage people in specific ways." Another crucial element for innovation is the need for sustained commitment at a high level within the company. "A high-ranking officer needs to understand the difficulties involved and be committed to the ongoing and long-term success of the program," Rosenfeld explains. "Lacking that, it will fail no matter how much compelling evidence is produced to show its value."

Finally, leaders must look beyond the mechanics, techniques and even results of innovation to the underlying — and usually unseen — principles of sustained innovation. "The most important aspects of innovation are not readily apparent," says Rosenfeld. "To become successful, the invisible must be made visible."