If your board or managers agree quickly and easily on almost every issue, it could be a sign of restricted innovation through lack of diversity.
In a blog for The Guardian, President and chief executive of The Advertising Club of New York Gina Grillo suggests that diversity of thought is both desirable and beneficial for innovation. She cites a 2012 McKinsey & Co report that showed that US public companies with a diverse executive board enjoyed a 95% higher return on equity over those without.
The reason, says Grillo, is simple “Diversity creates a better understanding of your customer base … There’s something inherently wrong with a group of middle-aged executives deciding how to reach trend-setting millennials, and conversely a group of millennials dictating how to communicate to baby boomers.”
Diversity is distruptive
The way diversity affects innovation is inherently disruptive to the process, and that, suggest Grillo, is actually the key to its success. “Diversity in backgrounds, lifestyles and thought creates dissent, which leads to the more thorough and thoughtful development of an idea.”
Such dissent, and the ensuing debate, is already at the heart of most successful innovation management solutions. The ability to discuss ideas on a level footing, to comment, and to disagree, is essential to the evolution of good ideas into great ideas. As Grillo says, “The act of questioning, debating and throwing ideas back and forth is what leads us to the breakthroughs, the innovation, and the great end result.”
Recruit with an open mind
Such diversity of thought won’t happen by accident; from the first stages of recruitment, managers and HR professional needs to be as open-minded as possible. The temptation is to hire like-minded people, what Grillo calls the “groupthink trap”. Instead, it takes courage and commitment to hire new blood with different worldviews, and that’s not just about recruiting young guns either. (You only need to watch some of the adverts on tv to realise how out of touch some ‘trendy” agencies are with the mindset of older demographics, and how easy it is to resort to stereotypes.)
Grillo sums it up succinctly: “Having employees who differ in thought processes, background, culture and beliefs is paramount to developing innovative ideas and to pushing the status quo.” The next stage is to ensure that your innovation systems allow this diverse workforce to engage and interact from first idea submission to final celebration.
So, next time you’re recruiting, push that status quo, and interview people who don’t tick all the boxes. Expand your innovation networks as far as possible to include more people. If your systems allow, invite suppliers and customers to engage with the innovation process, for a wider view of your company, your business, your services.
“There are no rules for which type or size of company most needs greater diversity of thought; but no matter the company, backgrounds, cultures, ideas and thought processes, it will only lead to a better end result.”
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