A time of crisis requires every organization to innovate to survive and thrive. But a common question is, how do you go about innovating? Matt Ridley’s book, How Innovation Works and Why it Flourishes in Freedom, shares valuable principles that answer that question.
Five of his recommendations have an application to
associations.
1. Innovation occurs incrementally. Often, we expect new solutions to come with a
flash of inspiration. “But the deeper
you look,” Ridley maintains, “the less likely you are to find a moment of
sudden breakthrough, rather than a series of small incremental steps.”[1]
For membership, this might mean regularly tweaking and updating your renewal system with improvements instead of starting over from scratch.
2. Innovation comes from trial and error. It is a foundation of good marketing to have
an ongoing testing strategy. Some of the tests will prove very successful, and
others will be a flop. Innovation requires a tolerance for error. As an
example, before finding the proper filament for the lightbulb, Thomas Edison
conducted 6,000 tests.
3. Innovation often emerges through the combination
of existing components. Mixing and
matching can be one of the best ways to come up with new solutions. An example would be associations that create
a tiered membership structure. Typically,
this involves adding existing products or services that already exist in the
association to enhance the current membership category.
4. Innovation depends on a team effort. Changing
any system in an association can be complicated. By collaborating and getting
input from others with specialized knowledge solutions come faster and are
more effective. Ridley notes that “Innovation is a collective phenomenon that happens
between, not within, brains.”[2]
5. Innovation thrives with collaboration. Why are so many technology companies formed
in Silicon Valley? Specialized communities drive innovation. So, interacting with other people outside
your organization is essential. Associations should promote that they create this
collaborative environment and community as a value proposition to recruit and
retain members. Likewise, an association's staff needs to go beyond their own
organization to interact with other membership professionals, consultants, and suppliers
to gain new ideas and insights.
Ridley adds one additional thought that we all should
remember as we feel the need to improve and change. He says, “An element of playfulness probably
helps, too. Innovators who just like
playing around are more likely to find something unexpected.”[3] So despite the serious need to make changes,
keep in mind that enjoying the process can lead to better outcomes.
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