What does lean thinking have to say about innovation? First, I think the word\/concept gets overused. Does new or novel mean better? There\u2019s somehow the perception that \u201cinnovation\u201d is further up the food chain, higher up the evolutionary scale than lowly \u201cimprovement.\u201d Ever hear this: \u201cOh, that\u2019s a nice incremental improvement, but what we need is innovation!\u201d Radical innovation. Disruption innovation. Well, sure. We want to be ahead of the curve. To set the trend. Henry Ford. Steve Jobs.<\/p>\n
But, while an innovation by definition has \u201cvalue,\u201d an improvement by definition means the new way is better than the old. From that standpoint, improvement is underrated; it could use an image makeover.<\/p>\n
And, I bet you agree, it has become all too common to draw too deep of a distinction between the two. Almost all innovations are actually improvements on things or ideas that already existed. Not much new under the sun. No? What\u2019s under the sun are, literally, the four forces of nature. Just four.<\/p>\n
Branford Marsalis (the less famous brother), in reference to the tremendous creativity and innovation that is jazz, observes, \u201cEverything you read about jazz is: \u2018Is it new? Is it innovative?\u2019 I mean, man, there’s 12 f-ing notes. What’s going to be new? You honestly think you’re going to play something that hasn’t been played already?\u201d Very interesting. Of course, tremendous creativity comes from combinations and the very constraints imposed by the \u201c12 f-ing notes.\u201d Still, Coltrane, Miles, Gershwin \u2013 they\u2019re just playing around with the same 12 notes. The universe has four forms of energy.<\/p>\n
Lean Thinking<\/strong><\/p>\n Lean thinking itself was an innovation (new and valuable) and an improvement over what preceded it (and what still exists in so many places) that contains within itself the means of further innovation and improvement. Masaaki Imai, to whom we owe much, gave us this framework about 30 years ago:<\/p>\n Imai\u2019s framework is useful in thinking about types of problem solving (though we should add one more, a topic for next time!). Lean thinking suggests, however, that we be careful to not draw the lines between them \u2013 sustain + Kaizen + innovation \u2013 too harshly. There\u2019s much overlap, with one bleeding into the other. As lean thinking is itself an innovation, within it are specific methods for innovating (as there are for kaizen and sustainability, as well) such as set-based innovation, Lean Startup methods, A3 and kata techniques, and most importantly the fundamental approach of engaging everyone in the act of innovating in their own work. Innovation is not the purview only of a chosen few to be applied in only special situations.<\/p>\n So what?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s taking that thought further that highlights the deepest contribution of lean thinking \u2013 the role of innovation in<\/em> the work. We think of the iPhone as a tremendous innovation, like the internet, the automobile and now autonomous driving. But, the actualization of each of these, the underappreciated enabler that propelled them to change our lives was, first of all, the many technical innovations that preceded them (no iPhone without iPod, without Macintosh, without Apple II\u2026). And secondly, the innovation in the work<\/em> to be done<\/em> entailed in bringing them to life. Here\u2019s an animation that tries to tell that story. I\u2019ll be curious to hear what you think.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shook_innovation-1.jpg\")
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