April 2000

September 2000

PARTNERS FOR INNOVATION, INC.

www.partnersfi.com

Innovation Tips

…ideas to help you foster collaborative genius

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Implicit Rules—the “Hobgoblin” of Innovation

Implicit rules are unspoken habits of mind that often direct our behavior and the way we think about challenges—often unconsciously. When problems have us bound up, when they seem to be beyond a reasonable solution, some implicit rule usually has us trapped in the problem.

Consistency breeds implicit rules. Obedience to consistency is a powerful inhibitor. No matter how innovative we may think we are, we all, somewhere in our lives, are blindly following some pattern of consistency without being fully aware of it. We are all occasionally subject to the “hobgoblin of little minds” as Emerson referred to foolish consistency, in some aspect of our lives.

Certainly, consistency is necessary for much of the world to function. You wouldn’t want to wake up every morning to learn that someone had changed the rules of the road and altered the meaning of traffic lights and signals. But when implicit rules obstruct some solution that needs to be born, they become our prisons; and we may have to stage a jailbreak!

As Picasso noted, “The act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.” And as the presocratic Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, said, “The way down is also the way up.” We often need to first identify the implicit rule or pattern that has us bound up in a problem, that took us “down” into feeling that the problem could not be solved, and find a way to break that implicit rule. Then we can often find the innovative solution that allows us to transcend the problem and find our way out of it.

Virtually every significant innovation in civilization was born from broken implicit rules. Beethoven broke the rules about how to conduct a symphony. Napoleon broke the rules for conducting a military campaign. Copernicus broke the rules about the earth’s station in the universe. Leonardo da Vinci broke virtually all the rules all the time and gave birth to thoughts and inventions that would not materialize for hundreds of years. Einstein broke the rules about the nature of light and energy.

What implicit rules may be retarding the innovative growth of your organization? Identify them and reduce their hold, if they are impeding you. When you do, you will find your way to a more enlivening, successful and creative way to work.

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