"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Learn1: Complex Solutions to Yield Simple Products
The power behind social innovation is going extra steps above existing systems and using already existing inertia to propel an agenda to new heights. Change without innovation is simply evolution - a true Social Innovator sees a complex solution that augments current offerings to create a simple-to-use product. By simply upon already-existing systems, the innovator makes the product easily adoptable to the existing customer base. Henry Ford once said: "If I had given the people what they asked for, I would have designed a faster horse." Paul Polak's point about listening to what people have to say is only the first part of the equation - a true social innovator has a vision above that, looking 2+ steps ahead of a simple solution.
In fact, I disagree with the notion that true social innovation is simple. A REAL solution should be anything BUT simple. This doesn't mean that the end-product isn't simple: creating systems/products that are easy to use is a fundamental aspect to social innovation. Rather the strategic mindset behind a solution should be complex enough to account for future iterations and improvements of the current solution itself. Had manufacturers been thinking 2 or 3 steps ahead decades ago, maybe we wouldn't have destroyed out atmosphere to the extent that we have.
Social Innovators also learn to plan, operate and produce on tight budgets with extremely limited resources, meaning that truly successful innovators are adept project managers. Auren Hoffman discusses how well-run companies should plan carefull... Since most social innovators operate on nil budgets, this practice of well-planned, carefully-resourced projects is essential for a social innovator to understand. Especially because this practice will help the innovator to focus on the truly important part of the project!
Ultimately, I feel that a true Social Innovator can't focus on the granular, drilled-down details of any given solution - rather a true Innovator should understand only the most complex portion of a problem/solution and focus on that. In fact, having too many moving pieces can drastically complicate and eventually bog down the innovation process. Invariably, the success of that project will hinge on the success of that particular portion and the true Social Innovator will have addressed the issue well in advance.
In fact, I disagree with the notion that true social innovation is simple. A REAL solution should be anything BUT simple. This doesn't mean that the end-product isn't simple: creating systems/products that are easy to use is a fundamental aspect to social innovation. Rather the strategic mindset behind a solution should be complex enough to account for future iterations and improvements of the current solution itself. Had manufacturers been thinking 2 or 3 steps ahead decades ago, maybe we wouldn't have destroyed out atmosphere to the extent that we have.
Social Innovators also learn to plan, operate and produce on tight budgets with extremely limited resources, meaning that truly successful innovators are adept project managers. Auren Hoffman discusses how well-run companies should plan carefull... Since most social innovators operate on nil budgets, this practice of well-planned, carefully-resourced projects is essential for a social innovator to understand. Especially because this practice will help the innovator to focus on the truly important part of the project!
Ultimately, I feel that a true Social Innovator can't focus on the granular, drilled-down details of any given solution - rather a true Innovator should understand only the most complex portion of a problem/solution and focus on that. In fact, having too many moving pieces can drastically complicate and eventually bog down the innovation process. Invariably, the success of that project will hinge on the success of that particular portion and the true Social Innovator will have addressed the issue well in advance.
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Comment by Bruce Haynes on March 3, 2010 at 11:13pm
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Greg iv awarded you local insight, but really this is universal insight you are sharing here.. we need all perspectives to come up with creative solutions.. and i value the time you have taken in adding to our collective knowlegebase:)
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