Transcript Sustainable Innovation - Arts Education Partnership

Sustainable
Innovation
AEP Forum
Judy Estrin
October 22, 2010
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Copyright © Judy Estrin 2008
1
Influences on My Perspective
Academic
Entrepreneurial
Corporate
Computer science
• UCLA
• Stanford
• Early networking
research
Advisory Boards
• Bridge
Communications
• NCD
• Precept
• Packet Design, LLC
• CTO Cisco
Board member
• Disney (current)
• FedEx
• Rockwell
• Sun Microsystems
• Mother!
Author - Closing the Innovation Gap, McGraw-Hill, 2008
Over 100 interviews with innovators, leaders, educators
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Copyright © Judy Estrin 2008
Innovation is Not Just a Soundbite
Innovation drives economic growth,
quality of life and is the only hope of
addressing the major challenges
that we face
It is also very personal, impacting
our lives in and out of the office
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Copyright © Judy Estrin 2008
Innovation Doesn’t Just Happen
• Innovation needs to be nurtured
• It is messy - you need to be
willing to invest without knowing
the outcome
• Talent is critical - skill, aptitude,
passion, drive
• Small teams of diverse
perspectives (“no larger than a
jazz band”)
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Copyright © Judy Estrin 2008
IDEAS
Innovation Builds on Innovation
1 Breakthrough Innovation
Invention of something completely new
(transistor, credit card)
2 Incremental Innovation
Enhancement of current product or process
(higher performance system, private labeled credit card)
3 Orthogonal Innovation
Combination of existing innovations for use in a completely
new way (iPod, debit card, Better Place)
1 & 3 can be “disruptive” creating new markets and industries
2 is necessary, just not sufficient
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Copyright © Judy Estrin 2008
Interrelated But Not Equal
• Creativity: originality of thought or
expression
• Innovation: new thing or method
• Sustainable innovation: environment
that enables ongoing innovation
(requires both of above)
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Ecosystem For Sustainable Innovation
Ecosystems must be in balance to sustain life
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Core Values = Capacity for Change
Questioning
Curiosity, self-assessment, non-judgmental, free flowing
Risk
Vulnerability, attitude toward failure, fail early, learn from failure
Openness
To imagine, new data, sharing, surprise, change
Patience
Tenacity, patient capital
Trust
In oneself, in others, safety net (bankruptcy, healthcare, education)
Values need to be in balance.
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Many Opportunities for Innovation
• Future depends on creation of new industries and
disruption of existing mature industries (education, food,
transportation, commerce, entertainment…)
• Driven by 21st century realities
• Energy independence and sustainable environment
• Health - expanding to include wellness, enhancements
to delivery of care to sick, elderly or disabled and
additional focus on affordability (personalized medicine,
mhealth….)
• Other applications requiring “touch” – direct or cultural
such as education or entertainment
• Technology – affordability, security, mobility
• Intersection of disciplines – bio, nano, IT, social
sciences, design…..
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It’s a Two Way Street
Technology inspires the art and the art
challenges the technology (Pixar)
• Technology innovation impacts the arts
• Creation
• Distribution
• Experience
• Creative works advance science and technology
• Importance of design
• Virtual worlds, video games
• Communication, education, engagement
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
National Landscape
•
“Recovering” from a perfect storm
•
Related but separate phenomena
• Financial Crisis
• Economic recession
• Decade of zero job growth, vanishing middle class
• Increased productivity (technology, working more)
• Globalization – competition and off-shoring
• Shift in percentage of GDP growth from “empty
calories” – value placed on trading and flipping
over building and creating
• Level and duration of unemployment with potentially
significant long term effects on society
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How Did We Get Here?
• Decades of decline in our innovation ecosystem has
resulted in an innovation deficit
• We have become increasingly shortsighted in business,
government and our culture
• Decreasing recognition of importance of science and
the arts (investment, respect for, education,
“discretionary spending” ….)
• Insufficient attention to demographic shifts (safety net
spending, education)
• Sustainable growth (vs looking for next bubble) comes
from focusing on building, creating and caring - not just
trading/manipulating money
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Copyright © Judy Estrin 2008
There Is No Quick Fix
• Significant growth surges will only come from innovation
driven start-ups and new industries.
• Connecting investments in innovation with job growth in
the U.S. requires scaling here, not just starting here
• We must plant seeds for the future while implementing
policies, incentives and projects that stimulate spending
and provide safety net for short term
• Multiple problems with entrepreneurial ecosystem need
attention including sources of $ and talent
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Future Generation Innovators
• Our most precious seeds
• Our education system and culture are currently working
against innovation – undermining core values
• Problems are numerous and complex. If we don’t frame
the right questions we can end up going in the wrong
direction (and we have)
• Need both incremental and orthogonal innovation – try
many approaches, share/learn from success and failure
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Copyright © Judy Estrin 2008
21st Century Requirements
• Adaptive - ability to learn, capacity for change
• Framing questions, not just answering them
• Playfulness, exploration, experimentation
• Active patience
• Collaborative
• Interdisciplinary: deep and wide foundation
(tech+creative, engr+biology, tech+sports,
science+investigation, science+law….)
• Scientific and technologic literacy and creativity
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Copyright © Judy Estrin 2008
The Role of Government
• Government is not the entire solution, but it must stop being
viewed as part of the problem
• Leadership and inspiration - holistic view from the top can ignite and
maximize benefits of bottom up innovation
• $ for research and education/retraining (and short term job stimulus)
• Policy to incent short and long term behaviors - new requirements
and re-evaluate existing policy that reinforces status quo (subsidies,
regulation)
• If government is “bad”, how do we attract the talent to make it work
for us?
• Regulation can accelerate acceptance of innovation by
increasing confidence or trust, but beware of unintended
consequences
• New models of collaboration in government, large and
small business, academia and non-profits
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Hard Questions
• Is this time really any different or do we need to “let the
system work”? What happens when capitalism/free market
economy becomes too short term focused? Democracy
requires an informed public – do we have one?
• How do we ensure our competitiveness while accepting
and benefiting from globalization (competition and
cooperation)?
• How do we connect investments in innovation with job
growth in the U.S.? Who is “marketing” our workers?
• How do we extend the horizon of capital markets and
corporations and unlearn a generation of bad habits?
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Harder Questions
• How do we reset expectations of levels of wealth
without losing the concept and inspiration of the
“American dream”? Standard of living does not
necessarily increase with levels of consumption. When
did aspirations for prosperity turn into short-term greed?
What can we do about it?
• Do we have the courage and patience to solve our
problems – education, healthcare,
energy/environment…..?
COPYRIGHT © JLABS, LLC 2010
Fear Works Against Change
• Fear comes in many forms: safety, failure, not
fitting in, criticism, funding, litigation, political
agendas….
• Great leaders turn threats into challenges to
inspire and rally individuals
• Energy dependence/climate change/sustainability,
healthcare, security are all opportunities for
innovation that can drive the economy
• During hard economic times need to be smart about
where to cut and where investment is critical - at personal,
organizational and national level
• Not everyone wants to, or can be, a leader of other
people, but each of us is our own leader - responsible for
our path
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[email protected]
www.theinnovationgap.com
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