Perspective # 16 – Diversity is the mother of Innovation

Diversity is the mother of Innovation : Guess who said “We are a nation of communities... a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.” ? Don’t be surprised ! It is George W. Bush :)

Well! Jokes apart .. Diversity is perhaps the only mandatory prerequisite for Innovation. We have seen that patriotic organizations with isolationist cultures are poor in innovation. There are organisations like IBM and Emirates who got this right though.As Indian companies fared low on this aspect (most of the top brass are in same age group, male and even look alike! ) they are in a race to ‘clock’ diversity by enrolling different nationalities and women.

What many miss is that diversity that can spark innovation is more than gender and race – it includes physical and mental capabilities, demographic differences, differences in religion, cognitive differences, sexual orientation, political and social differences – more diversity the better – the more the merrier!

Diversity also is not just people – it includes products, technology and markets. It is much challenging when it comes to ‘supplier diversity’ which is a global concern for corporates who compete using their global supply chains.The challenge is to invest and develop existing ‘trusted partner’ suppliers,but at the same time encourage supplier diversity which brings in Innovation.

The challenge lies in managing diversity – we all come with our own mental models and it is not easy to value diversity . Though we all love to talk about 'inclusive diversity' , by human nature we love like minded social networks!

We also dont buy the 'diversity is the fountainhead of innovation' argument as we are taught that only smart Einstein types can ideate. But like it or not – If you want to drive innovation embrace diversity. Period. As David Ogilvy said "Diversity turns out to be the mother of invention (not necessity, as the mechanists thought)."