Case in Point: A Washington Post/Darden series “Think You Know What Innovative Looks Like?” by Prof. Jeanne M. Liedtka

Think You Know What Innovative Looks

by Jeanne M. Liedtka

The Big Idea:

Challenging our beliefs about what “innovative” people look and act like — where we find them, and how they do what they do.

as linear thinkers, not well suited to identifying and developing innovative new ideas. They were also seen as risk avoiders, reluctant to try new things that had not yet proved successful, for fear of damaging important client relationships.

Yet Dave knew that innovation required a willingness to take risks and pursue “out of the box” solutions. The group would need to learn to accept

failures in the process, but failure, he knew, was expensive, with a working prototype often requiring an investment of $25,000 or more in new software. Dave also believed that clients ought to be involved much earlier in discussions about the value of the new ideas — yet his colleagues were reluctant to show their clients “unfinished” work.

Dave wondered whether an approach was available that could help them surmount these obstacles.

The Resolution Dave introduced a set of tools, similar to those used by such heralded design firms as IDEO, to the innovation process at Crowe Horwath. He brought together multidisciplinary teams and used all the knowledge in the room to brainstorm new solutions, then translated these quickly into basic, low-cost prototypes. These prototypes often took the form of simple storyboards, which Dave and his colleagues used to engage clients in a conversation about how well the firm was serving their needs. Using the resulting feedback, the group would advance toward what they hoped was a better solution, and then seek additional input as to whether they were on track.

The storyboard sessions, Dave emphasized, were never about trying to sell clients something: They were about understanding the extent to which the new approach created value for clients and soliciting information on how to improve it.

From a financial perspective, the cost reduction was significant compared with that of prior practices. Furthermore, Dave’s colleagues discovered that clients enjoyed the conversations. Dave explained, “So now we’ve got a few hours invested in the storyboards and some guys going out and meeting with their clients. Even if the idea goes nowhere, there is always value in meeting with your client. Plus, the client always feels valued because you cared to ask them what they thought. So there is never a downside to that. And we have saved ourselves a fortune.”

The Lesson Dave is just one of the people we’ve met from various walks of life — including accountants, engineers and nurses, in addition to managers — who have demonstrated that many of our beliefs about who is “innovative” and who is not are just plain wrong. These people can bring as much innovative spirit to an organization as those in marketing and R&D, provided they are given the tools to break apart the “black box” in which we so often cast creative thinking.

Prof. Jeanne Liedtka leads a class in Darden’s innovation laboratory, the “iLab,” in which executives explored ways to drive organic growth in their company.

The Scenario Crowe Horwath is one of the largest CPA firms in the United States. Dave Jarrett joined the firm in 1975 and spent the next 20 years there as an auditor and tax expert. He was then asked to lead a group to develop new and innovative solutions for clients. The group’s goal was to generate ideas that delivered better value to Crowe Horwath clients in profitable ways, while enhancing the firm’s capability set.

Dave’s challenge was a daunting one, in large part because few people view accounting and tax firms as hotbeds of creativity. Dave knew that he and his colleagues were generally stereotyped

* Every other Sunday in The Washington Post’s Business section, Darden professors share lessons from recent cases.

Jeanne M. Liedtka is the United Technologies Corporation Professor of Business Administration at Darden and is co-author of the new book Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers.