Society and Innovation
A recent article, in the Economist, compared London and Paris on a variety of fronts. What struck me as the most interesting was the comparison made between the two countries regarding their societal focuses. Paris, it seems, is focused on preserving the past and does so through the restoration of old buildings, preservation of artifacts, etc. London, on the other hand, was shown as a society who is innovative because the article argued there was less to preserve- no gastronomic tradition, per se, no noteworthy skyline, etc. The article then raised a question that I wish to take up in further detail: “How can you create a desire to innovate when the ambient culture is oriented towards preservation?”
I’d like to caveat this answer by saying that I’m not sure it is fair to generalize either city and I can think of numerous examples which break the stereotypes. However, it is interesting to discuss how to create a desire towards innovation. What is it that sparks a desire in society to lean towards innovation? Is it a natural condition- are we either innovative or not? Is it a response to crisis- global climate change could destroy low lying wetlands, we must innovate a solution? It is it a patterned approach- we have been innovate for generations, as such will we remain so?
I’m inclined to think that it is not a natural condition. We are all innovative but that doesn’t mean we will capitalize on or engage with our innovative side. I’ve seen hundreds of people do something innovative, yet they have never taken the step to define themselves by or profit from innovation. If our natural innovative nature drove our society to embrace these principles than every society would be defined by its innovation. If everyone was defined by their innovative nature we would not need to discuss it as a characteristic because it would be the norm. Instead there must be something that goes outward from our individual innovative natures to create a society that embraces innovation.
I’m inclined in large part to think that our innovative nature comes from a sense of crisis. We innovate to respond to a problem- are societies with more problems prone to be more innovative? Perhaps, yes. In America, we are facing economic, environmental and social problems and I would argue that we are among our most innovative in decades. India and China are facing widespread population booms that are affecting their agricultural and economic structures and they are arguable among the world’s most innovative nations. The countries have acknowledged imposing crises and have prompted their societies to look into the issue. Knowing trouble is coming may be one of the the biggest factors in increasing a society’s desire to be innovative. Therefore, a culture which is focused on preservation may only turn to innovation when faced with an impending crisis.
Finally, is a desire to be innovative something that emerges from a consistent focus on innovation? Do we desire to be innovative only after we see the fruits of innovation and have instilled in our minds a sense that we are innovative? I would argue that a historic understanding of the benefits of innovation and an entrenched knowledge of innovation is key to fostering desire. Yet, understanding the value of innovation is only part of the process. If you only understand innovation in your history you are engaged in an act of preservation. In order to understand innovation you must see it in part as divorced from past examples of innovation. In many forums we can only be innovative after we have thrown away all examples of the old innovation and redrawn the paradigms on which we base our understanding.
So I have yet to reach a clean conclusion on what inspires a society to innovation. I would appreciate your opinions and I have also posted this question to our LinkedIn contacts. Perhaps together we can begin to come up with an explanation about what sparks a desire to be innovative.
Tags: france, innovation, linkedin, London, the economist
