"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it is going to be a butterfly" - Buckminster Fuller

Many creativity and innovation consultants are commenting on the new 2007 Innovation Tracker study from futurethink, so I thought I would add my two cents as well.  For those of you who haven't analyzed the results and reviewed the opinions, please click HERE to obtain a free copy of the report.

Overall, this is a fantastic report that, I believe, captures the true direction of creative thinking and innovation approaches within corporate environments today.  However, the main title, along with the overall theme of the report is a bit misleading.  For example, the title reads: The Shift from Creativity to Value.  The report's executive summary also states:

"In the 2007 Innovation Tracker, we learn that the conversation around innovation is getting more serious.  People are looking at innovation less in terms of 'creativity' and more in terms of business needs and delivering value."

The report makes it sound like creativity is no longer as important as "value delivery" when looking at corporate innovation programs.  However, my argument is that you cannot separate the two.  Indeed, value delivery, or the creation of a new product/service that serves a business need, is the end result of a well-managed innovation program.  In truth, however, the value delivery concept differs very little from the true definition of innovation, which is the conversion of creative, new ideas into profitable products and/or services.

Taking a look into the actual responses provided by the survey participants, especially with respect to the attributes of what makes a company innovative, "Creative Thinkers" ranks at number 3.  This attribute dropped one spot from last year in the rankings.  The attributes of "Ability to Generate Business-Building Ideas" and "Having a Clear Innovation Strategy That Generates Real Results" ranked numbers 2 and 4, respectively.  The interesting finding that resulted from these attribute rankings is that each one moved up the ranking charts four and five positions, again respectively, from last year.  These results appear to be the foundation for the statement that there has been a "...Shift from Creativity to Value."

But let's take a more in-depth look at some of the other survey responses to get a better picture of the importance of creativity as part of the overall innovation system.  When asked, "What are the biggest hurdles to innovation in your company?", the second most cited reason was the "Lack of Creativity."  And when asked, "If money weren't an object, what are the top two things you wish you had to help support your innovation efforts?", the number one most cited wish was "Smarter, More Creative People."

Therefore, while "value creation" or "value delivery" are being demanded by corporate leadership as part of an overall innovation program, (and rightfully so) the main driver of the profitable results being sought is recognized as "creativity" or "creative thinking."  The two are inexorably linked together.  In essence, it is more of a matter of an input/output argument.  Creativity, as an input, is REQUIRED to deliver innovation value, as an output.

Despite this noted disparity, all of the other findings reported in the survey fell directly within the range of my personal experinces with my client consultation engagements over the past year.  There are many more valuable innovation-related nuggets of information in this report, and again, I urge you to check it out and apply the findings toward improving your own innovation program. 

Have A Great Week!!!