KARACHI:
Not everyone is cut out for innovation. To get through the most trying situations, you need guts, determination, a dash of chutzpah, and a sense of humour. I decided to write a book titled Medjack – the incredible journey of an ordinary hack after a decade-long exploration of low-cost and low-tech “ICE” (Innovation | Creativity | Entrepreneurship).
In Medjack, my coauthors and I take the reader on a remarkable journey of creativity involving the unlikeliest of people, approaches, and environments. We describe the innovation gaps that existed at our parent company in the book. Then, we give an explanation of what we did, why we did it, how we filled those gaps, what we discovered, what worked, and what didn’t. We then share our approaches with the readers so that they can, if needed, modify them to suit their own needs or those of their organisations.
This essay offers key low-cost ICE treatments based on the book. How is the book’s content relevant to me, the reader, is a question that I, the author, am frequently asked. In other words, what is the essence of the book? Is the future that is anticipated for any form of innovation characterised by bright sky or by stormy skies?
This essay is your CliffsNotes, organised below as seven innovation maxims, if you are hesitant to read the book (for whatever reason) but are interested in low-cost innovation procedures for your own organization/department/entity.
Maxim 1: Incorporate innovation at the systems level
I would contend that it is entirely doable to create a bright and successful innovation future if viewed through the lens of systems level innovation as a fundamental driving factor for sustainability. In fact, I’d argue persuasively that integrating organisational innovation at the systems level is an essential next step for development and entry into the twenty-first century as a powerful innovator and (intra)entrepreneur. The WHO SDGs and the 21st century learning skills both discuss the need for innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship among other things at the systems level, which is not only pertinent but also supported by evidence.
Maxim 2: proactive creation of the innovation ecosystem
Realizing that innovation is on a spectrum with creativity and entrepreneurship is a fundamental prerequisite for the efficient implementation of innovation; hence, the abbreviation ICE. Ultimately, ICE’s concept must be ingrained into organisational DNA for it to succeed in low-resource healthcare or other settings. We think that only then will there be long-term “success” since at that point, the “innovation ecosystem” or “culture of innovation” establishes itself and becomes essential to an efficient ICE. When you encourage quick problem identification, refining, and experimentation with quick, inexpensive remedies, the ecosystem thrives. This is especially true for dynamic situations like the COVID-19 epidemic. To avoid the risk of your organization’s innovation ecosystem not becoming fully embedded, I would advise against hopping on the innovation bandwagon as a seductive knee-jerk reaction to such urgent issues.
Maxim 3: Synch top-down and bottoms-up innovation
It is crucial to take into account a multi-pronged strategy including top-down and bottom-up approaches in tandem in order to improve the innovation culture or ecosystem. As crucial as, if not more so than, the C-suite executives or leadership at the very top of the pyramid are the people at the organisational bottom who are eager to safely share their thoughts and intelligence to create for the good of the organisation.
Maxim 4: Celebrate the inventiveness of your workforce
Consideration for building a balanced innovation portfolio including early-, mid-, and late-stage businesses will probably work well for an employee-centric approach. However, it is crucial to shift away from a mindset that is constantly focusing on numbers – of revenues, grants, publications, companies, etc. – and towards one that connects with passion and purpose of the people from the ground up if innovation is to flourish widely across an organisation and even to go beyond its boundaries. To keep them focused on their vision or goal, it is important to promote nonhierarchical, nonjudgmental, and collaborative idea development that represents people’s inspirations. Your organization’s ethos should be to nurture, promote, and celebrate creativity in all forms among all ranks of your “human resource” (apologies to those who cringe at this archaic term). The organisational innovation agenda must continue to be honestly championed by employees for whom innovation has become their raison d’être. The strategy might therefore be to value these people who offer unconventional answers by rewarding them and keeping them that way rather than allowing potential or present competitors to entice them away.
Maxim 5: Accept innovation risk
Tied into the innovation mindset should be an aspect of risk tolerance or acceptance of some failure; for instance, ‘failure is ok for ICE to prosper’ or the ‘fail and fail fast and then pivot’ mentality, as was mentioned at the outset. For organizational dynamics and operations consider the use of innovation as a tool for enhanced efficiency and outcomes. This may be particularly useful for those institutions that are massive, bulky and not very open to new ways of approaching problems; and unwilling to engage with students, employees or teams who are able to provide such tools through intrapreneurial means. Internally disruptive innovation in a disciplined manner, while the core business continues, may be another good addition to the innovation culture’s armamentarium to transform such organizations.
Maxim 6: Identify the factors that promote and hinder innovation.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that unneeded obstacles at all levels not only irritate people but also kill creativity in general. Therefore, it might be important to rigorously identify the organisations’ innovation ecosystem’s facilitators and disablers. Progress in ICE for healthcare or other purposes will be facilitated by strategic engagement with both. For the hardcore creative, innovator, and (intra)entrepreneur, remembering that organisational bureaucracy cannot simply be disregarded or sidestepped will make life easier. The understanding that bureaucracy must be handled rather than battled will go a long way in this regard.
Maxim 7: Establish oversight for innovation
An innovation committee may have a function in providing supervision as the innovation ecosystem develops. Consideration may also be given to centralised versus decentralised innovation models. Both have benefits and drawbacks. Although committees have their own set of issues, a more centralized approach with support services like HR, finance, and legal will be a more progressive step for the organisation when it comes to technical aspects of innovation, such as IP rights, patents, ownership, etc. The monitoring and centralised functions for innovation, especially where and where they are desperately lacking, may enable transparency, accountability, gender equity, etc. because organisational culture may be evocative of not always speaking the talk.
In conclusion, a strong innovation ecosystem or culture’s future performance depends on a variety of internal and external to the company variables. As an illustration, consider people resource, knowledge, money resource (for salaries, consulting, programmatic support, initial funding, etc.), space (both physical and virtual infrastructure), technology, and time, to mention a few. The most important factor, if not the most important aspect of all the aforementioned, is an individual’s genuine devotion to creativity, regardless of rank or title. Therefore, even the most daunting innovation obstacles can be overcome by fully empathising with your people’s demands.
Author’s footnote
Because of my extensive, innovation-based experiential learning, I have the audacity to refer to the aforementioned seven principles as maxims. I firmly believe that Mian’s Maxims can help lead your company to a successful innovation outcome. Please be aware that even though I’m making your life easier, reading the entire book will still improve your learning in today’s environment of extreme distraction caused by the pings, boings, and alarms of numerous devices.
At the Aga Khan University, Asad Mian, MD, PhD, works as an emergency room physician as well as a freelance writer and researcher. He writes about anything from humour and popular culture to healthcare and education. This essay has been modified from his books “MEDJACK: the remarkable voyage of an ordinary hack” (2021) and “An Itinerant Observer” (2014). The writer alone is responsible for all data and facts presented.
