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Leading the Way to Innovation

By Mr. Michael Sanderson P.E., PTOE, LEED AP posted 11-09-2018 09:15 AM

  
Leading the Way to Innovation
We often associate innovation with advances in design and technology. This issue of ITE Journal
features articles on a number of these types of innovations. This type of innovation is important and
exciting. However, while we encourage and celebrate technology and design innovation, it is important
to consider how innovation of this kind happens in the first place. It requires people—people working
in organizations—to be creative. Sometimes in our profession we don’t do the best job of creating the
organizations that allow creativity and innovation to blossom.
So, I encourage us to consider how we can be innovative in the way we think about our
organizations and in our business and employment practices. Also, let’s consider how we can be
innovative in how we learn, and the ways we educate and train the next generation of transportation
professionals. Are we expecting 21st century innovation from 20th century organizations and 19th
century (or older) learning models? It is organizational innovation that is and will be fundamental to
developing the creative potential of people, who will provide a sustainable source of innovation for the
future or our profession and industry.
In our organizations, we need to make way for innovation to happen. We need to remove barriers
and incentivize a little bit of risk taking. We need to reward imaginative thinking, and sometimes it
should be okay to fail. Most of our organizations are not wired for this. I often hear people say that
they want more “entrepreneurial” thinking in their organizations. But do they really? Do they know
how many entrepreneurial start-ups fail? A lot. There is a reason that most cutting-edge innovations in
technology happen in small start-ups; the investment costs are low, but the tolerance for risk-taking and
the acceptance of failure are high. So, if we really want to attract entrepreneurs to our organizations, we
need to be realistic about what that means, what entrepreneurism actually looks like, and then make
sure our actions as organizational leaders really support and encourage that type of behavior.
In our profession, as engineers and other transportation professionals responsible for public
works, we are often very focused on standards and procedures. This is most often driven by concerns
of liability and risk management. Unfortunately, these concerns are very real to individuals and their
organizations, who face the real threat of litigation with nearly every project they undertake. But, an
over-reliance on using standards as default design is one of the biggest barriers I can imagine to real
creativity and innovation. I don’t have an answer for overcoming this hurdle, but it is crucial if we want
to unleash the absolute potential of our profession.
Are we organized in a way that pushes us to think differently from time to time? Sometimes
change just for the sake of change is good, if it changes our viewpoint and forces us to look at things
with new perspective. How do we break up silos that have stood too long? Can we reorganize our
divisions, department, and teams—organizationally but also physically—such that people of diverse
backgrounds and expertise can collaborate in new and unexpected ways?
Innovation is necessary to remain competitive and relevant. It’s true as an individual. It’s true in our
organizations. And, it’s true for ITE. With this in mind, the ITE International Board through its ONE
ITE initiative has taken strong steps toward making catalytic changes that will foster new perspectives,
creative thinking, and innovation. Some of the restructuring that the Board has proposed and already
advanced may feel difficult and uncomfortable, but that discomfort sometimes is the symptom
of sitting too long in one place. Over the next several years, the Board will continue to work with
leadership throughout the Institute to look for new and innovative ways to engage and better leverage
and grow the knowledge, power, and influence of our collective membership

This blog post is from the President's Message in the November 2018 issue of the ITE Journal


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