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NEWS | April 25, 2012

Every leader an innovator

By Col. Erik Hansen 437th Airlift Wing commander

"Innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we've been thinking about a problem" - Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was a leader and an innovator, never happy with the status quo, always pushing the envelope. His products failed almost as much as they succeeded. Do you remember the cube, or the Apple II? But his failures didn't deter him from innovating and many times his 'failures' led to future successes.

Who would you call at 10:30 p.m. (2230 for us military types) when you have an idea or when you realize you've found a new innovative way to do something? Very few innovations in history have actually been the work of a lone genius but rather the vast majority of innovations come from cognitively diverse groups working together over time. What if you get that 2230 phone call? What will you do with that idea? Will you help your fellow Airman by challenging their idea, helping them expand it, see potential shortcomings and work through them? Will you encourage them to engage their supervisor or commander to help the idea come to light? More importantly, if you are the supervisor or commander, what would you do? What if the idea has merit, but may cause you more work to develop the idea?

Leaders in our Air Force have an obligation to create environments which foster open communication and innovation. Leaders must encourage and even demand that our Airmen analyze everything we do and look for ways to improve. Innovation is a necessity in any modern organization and our Air Force is no different. There is a wasteland of failed businesses and militaries that could not innovate.
 
A recent example is the Kodak Company. Kodak invented the core technology used in digital cameras today, but failed to develop it out of fear of how digital technology would impact their film product lines. Predictably, Kodak filed for bankruptcy earlier this year after failing to innovate. In the business world the failure to innovate and adapt may result in reduced market share, loss of revenues, or perhaps even the closing of a company.

For the military, the failure to innovate may lead to higher losses on the battlefield, failing to achieve tactical and strategic goals in battle and ultimately failed national strategies. Fortunately, our Air Force has embraced innovation and changed history in the process.

- Think how our military, and the world, would be different had we not had the F-117 and B-2 during the first Gulf War, or if we had not had precision Global Positioning System bombing during the Balkan conflict.

- How would our World War II bombers have accomplished their mission in the Pacific if innovative thinkers hadn't figured out how to take off and land escort fighters from ships?

- How would the first months of the war in Afghanistan looked had innovators not transitioned the aging B-52 from a long-range nuclear bomber to a world wide rapid-response bomber capable of delivering up to 70,000 lbs. of precision tactical munitions.

- How many more Soldiers would not have come home had our senior leaders not called for the rapid development of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle?

- Would the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden been accomplished had innovative thinkers not pushed for a separate Special Operations Command that could concentrate on equipping and training our nations most elite forces?

While we have had successes as an Air Force, we cannot rest on our laurels. The challenge for leaders and supervisors remains to create a culture where innovative and disruptive thinkers can survive and even thrive, because often innovation disrupts the way we currently do things. Innovation is not merely coming up with ideas, rather it is sharing ideas so they can be developed, determining whether they are feasible and whether they provide increased value to an organization and finding ways to implement them.

To innovate, we must destroy any paradigms where older noncommissioned officers and senior officers are averse to change or where young officers and or junior enlisted members are too young and inexperienced to add valuable ideas. We have the most educated force we may ever have. Many first term Airmen arrive with college credit, some with degrees and a few with advanced degrees and leaders must find ways to tap into this intellectual goldmine. Leaders must allow and even encourage Airmen of all experience levels to question the status quo. Why do we do things this way? Why don't we find a better way to do this if our current process isn't working? Why haven't we taken the time to explore other options? We had a different way of doing this at Base X and it worked great, why don't we try that here? As leaders, allowing these questions can be uncomfortable and cause a leader to feel he or she is losing control.

Another reason this can be uncomfortable is because while innovation can ultimately make an organization better, it can take time and resources away from an organization's current mission. In the near term this can result in lost productivity that must be absorbed by other members. This alone is often an excuse to not move forward. However, leaders must have the vision to see beyond the initial outlay in cost and effort and envision how the innovation will result in organizational gains.

It is no secret that tomorrow's Air Force will operate with fewer personnel and smaller budgets. Innovation will be key as we transition to a leaner more efficient force. We will have to find ways to make each Airman more efficient and effective. We may have to accomplish more complex and diverse mission sets with fewer people and less resources. To get through these times, we need leaders who can harness the intellectual resources within their organizations and leaders who don't let formal authority, titles or resource constraints get in the way of a good idea. Leaders must create an organizational culture where no process is sacred and the status quo is always challenged. Leaders must be the agents of change.

Somebody, somewhere in your office, flight, squadron or other workplace has an idea which could save untold resources. What are you doing to do to help this idea come to light? The initial seed of an idea may come from anywhere, perhaps from the quietest voice in an organization. When that idea comes, whether it is in a maintenance back shop, an office workstation, or a quiet cockpit somewhere over the Atlantic, will you be listening?