Andrew Hargadon, a University of California, Davis, researcher focused on the roots of innovation,
sent a thoughtful and fun (noting folks ranging from T.S. Eliot to Thomas Jefferson) reaction to my post on the work and ideas of Eben Bayer,
one of the Rensselaer Polytechnic students who founded Ecovative Design. The company, in upstate New York, is turning fungi and farm waste into biodegradable packaging. Here’s Hargadon’s “
Your Dot” contribution:
Andy Revkin’s recent post on Eben Bayer’s company Evocative, “A Young Green Innovator Turning Fungi into Jobs Muses on the Path to Breakthroughs,” tells the story of a young entrepreneur bringing his idea out of an entrepreneurship class, the Inventor’s Studio at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It includes a great short essay by Eben on his experience at Davos, where he participated in a brainstorming session on saving the world and realized the limitations of really smart people thinking a lot.
As Eben put it, the idea that came out that meeting is still in the Swiss mountains, shivering and cold, “pondering its own existence and cursing its casual creators.”
Eben makes a great point about how brainstorming can and usually does go wrong. Bob Sutton and I once wrote about how brainstorming rarely produces the desired effect (more and better ideas) yet can still play a powerful role in organizations. (Here’s Bob’s latest comment on this subject and the original article we wrote.)
All things considered, I can think of few brainstorming conditions worse then what Eben went through in Davos.
That said, Andy Revkin viewed Eben’s piece as a challenge to the role that networks play in innovation. After all, such an elite crowd — brought together from a wide-ranging network spanning industries and occupations — should be able to come up with something new and unusual, right? That’s where ideas come from, isn’t it? It’s also where hubris comes from. And it provides a great example of the differences between networks. At least the one that make a difference.
Pigs and Chickens
Networks are valuable when it comes to having an idea because, in fact, broad-ranging networks give you access to lots of ideas to choose from. Call these idea networks. No one idea will likely be any good but, with enough ideas, one will. More importantly, however, no idea is going to be good enough. The act of making it real will change it beyond recognition—and that’s where very different networks, action networks, are required.
As an old story goes: A pig and a chicken open a diner together, selling ham and eggs. The chicken says, “This is fun, we’ll split the profits.” The pig looks down for a while, then at the chicken, then says: “I don’t think so. You’re contributing but I’m committed.”
With that in mind, idea networks are wonderful in their time and place. As Thomas Jefferson said: “My knowledge is like a candle; with it I can light your candle, and now we both have light.” The other side of that is, in giving you his idea, he didn’t commit much. Idea networks are low-commitment networks. That’s why they can range broadly. I have hundreds of friends on Facebook; others count theirs in the thousands, or more. And people are very generous with their ideas. I’m happy to give you advice on your next car, or next movie, or new start-up.
When it’s time to do something, it’s necessary to switch over to action networks. Whether it’s in a big company or a startup, This entails a very different approach (and very different set of skills). Discussions have to happen: about ideas, about goals, about timing, about roles, and about what has to happen next. Leases are signed, credit cards are maxed out, jobs are quit, and doors are closed.
Davos seems, according to Eben, is a great place for broad and free-ranging chickens to gather and cluck about what should be done. They should be reminded, by T. S. Eliot, that,
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow.I suspect Eben is up to his eyeballs building his own action network now. The dangers with startups, especially in the sustainability space right now, is that there are so many people willing to help. Professors, incubators, Department of Energy grants, company demonstration projects, utility validation programs, and many others are willing (even eager) to contribute. That’s nice, but it won’t make the difference. Not like real customers, recurring orders, committed investors, and the other signs that an action network is forming around an idea, and making it a reality.
Here’s a relevant video interview I conducted with Hargadon in 2009: