In 45 minutes, I saved them $27 million... they didn't hire me.

In a 45 minute interview, I saved an organisation $27 million.... they didn't hire me.... here's the story...

A while back, I was approached for an Innovation Specialist contract with a government defence body. I'm cautious at these kind of meetings, I'm normally brought in as the 'wild card' they can compare against other vanilla-consultants, but the HR rep' assured me the Executive Team were interested in meeting, they were looking for 'outside the box thinking'.

It started out well, a Zoom call with three fine gentlemen in suits; one of the prepared questions they asked was:

'What's your definition of innovation and how do you see the role of technology'?

A good question, I gave them my definition:

'Innovation is the improvement of existing systems, process or tools. So while it's valuable to always be improving services, the end goal shouldn't be the production of tools. What's more valuable is the application and thinking behind it'.

Three men in suits looked confused... 'Chris, could you expand on that'?

'Sure, this is something I believe in quite strongly, so let me be clear... innovation isn't delivered by the tool. A new i-Phone every year doesn't make us more innovative or creative, the phone itself isn't that much different from last years model. It's not the tool that makes a difference, but the user'.

Three men in suits look concerned... 'This contract is to oversee the adoption of a new, innovative system that will re-position our national network'.

'I understand that. Did you design it'?

'No, it was designed by a third-party'.

'Ok, that's fine, it's a third-party product, what happens when your competitors buy this product also'?

Three men in suits look uncomfortable.

I continued... 'If I can buy an i-Phone and you can buy an i-Phone... what's going to separate our services'?

I continued... 'How do you vet innovative systems that are sold to you'?

Three men in suits waited...

'For me, there's six criteria that determine whether an idea, or a product or system is genuinely creative and effective:

Problem-solving: Does it fix something that's broken?

Innovation: Does it improve an existing system?

Adaptability: Is it applicable anywhere else in my business?

Composition: Is it of elegant design, form and function?

Emotional Intelligence: Is it ethical, legal and sustainable?

Though most importantly...

Originality: How will this uniquely position you from competitors?

'This new system may address one or two of these criteria, but at a glance, I'm unsure how it can be original for you. If I was investing in a national roll-out, I'd want to be sure'.

They thanked me for my time.

A week later I followed up with the HR rep'. She advised that the contract had been withdrawn, as the project was delayed until further notice.

I always wonder, was it something I said?

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The moral here is while new, innovative systems are pitched everyday, Leadership require the creative skills and intelligence to objectively validate ideas and innovation to determine their value and efficacy.

This creative-validation is something I breakdown in detail in my upcoming book:

WHY SMART PEOPLE AREN'T CREATIVE: Solving the billion dollar gap between ideas and innovation - coming March 10th, available for pre-order on Amazon now!

#ai #creativity #innovation #designthinking #collaboration #disruption #investment #vc #casestudy #venturecapital #validation

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Christopher S. Sellers is an International Thought Leader, Author and Speaker

on the billion dollar value of creativity