Innovation, Thomas-Edison Style

Posted on February 25th, 2010 by Keith Ferrazzi
thomas_edison

History remembers Thomas Edison as a lone genius. Wrong! He created his most famous invention with a team of 30.

Machines systematize; people innovate. And so it’s no surprise that relationships are a major factor in producing those innovative ideas that lead to better, faster, more elegant solutions. Remember, Thomas Edison didn't invent the lightbulb alone - he was part of a team of 30!

Why does innovation so often boil down to relationships? Here are a few reasons:

1.    Greater Risk Taking: Trusting, caring relationships help people feel comfortable taking risks. Without those relationships, people don’t open their mouths to voice potentially good ideas because they’re afraid of looking stupid.

2.    Creative Collision: When candid exchanges between people collide, the fusion generates entirely new insights, new ideas, and new approaches that might never have been considered independently. But people need to feel comfortable “colliding” with colleagues. That requires a deep base of trust and mutual respect.

3.    Less Rigid Hierarchy: Strong relationships help communication flow beyond traditional hierarchies. A boss who truly cares about and respects his employee is more likely to listen to new ideas, not reject them out of hand.

So leaders: Give employees time, space and structure to build deeper relationships! Individuals, make it your responsibility to make your work relationships deep. Don't wait for the company cocktail hour!

According to Tom Rath’s Vital Friends - great book by the way, I cited it in Who's Got Your Back - only 18 percent of people work for organizations that provide opportunities for social bonding in the workplace. And many of the companies who do provide those “opportunities” don’t structure them in a way that really serves the goal of deeper, stronger relationships. Throwing people in a room with chips and booze does not make for a productive event!

If I could wave a wand and change just one thing this year in the landscape of American business, that would be it. The results could be incredible.

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3 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

  1. Having personal connections is particularly important when you are traveling abroad and want to make the most of your trip. After reading about your trip to Guatemala with Cultural Embrace, where you served children in need, I contacted Emlyn Lee at CE and wrote a profile about her company on my blog, http://uncommonlifestyle.com/. CE helps international travelers find ways to connect with the people and culture they are visiting. These ways might include volunteering, teaching English, interning at a company in that country, etc. All this is made possible through the extensive contacts and relationships that CE has developed in numerous countries.

  2. Great that you bought up! He was a persistent and determined man.

    "When candid exchanges between people collide, the fusion generates entirely new insights, new ideas, and new approaches that might never have been considered independently. But people need to feel comfortable “colliding” with colleagues. That requires a deep base of trust and mutual respect. "

    I can give a instance from the life of Edison. He had a brilliant young scientist in his team who joined him from Serbia. The young man had a letter from his supervisor, Charles Batchelor which read "I know two great men and you are one of them; the other is this young man." This young man made one of the most important invention in this century - AC current which clashed with Edison's DC current. Both were stubborn men and the young man lost his job had to dig graves to fund his project and later rejected a chance to become first billionaire in the world, by tearing down the contact of Westinghouse.

    Edison later regretted firing this young man and cheating him. But their battles have created some great inventions.

    Oh BTW this young man was none other than Nicola Tesla who was known to have been the most brilliant scientist in the world.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

  3. Edison could have done much more if he had read Keith Ferrazzi, for he actually bungled many relationships and hindered innovation with some of his bad behavior, as exemplified in the case of Tesla. Also was notoriously poor in sharing credit, which must have made it discouraging to be part of his team.

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