The Dark Side of Innovation
You believe you have stumbled on to a genius idea.
An explosive brainwave that will fundamentally shift the future of your business and brand. You might begin feeling like a latter-day Einstein, Edison or Ford and how this game-changing initiative will revolutionize the future direction of your enterprise. Your mental burst may create a better experience for your customers and your people. With joy in your heart, you begin to imagine your wonderful idea will be wildly embraced and you will be congratulated for having the vision to see your way into the future.
But, you would be wrong. Dead wrong.
Thousands of years of human history reveals that heroic innovation also attracts its fair share of enemies.
For centuries, human groups have stubbornly resisted any number of advancements including the printing press, railroads, refrigeration, relativity, rockets, transistor radios, television, rock music, rap, the internet, YouTube, Uber and sliced bread.
For leaders aiming to implement meaningful change it helps to be aware of The Dark Side of Innovation on this edition of Leaders & Legends.
Let’s imagine for a moment you are caught in the cross-hairs of a game-changing idea. One of those original brain bursts that fires through your synaptic circuitry maybe once or twice a decade.
Whatever the idea is, let’s just agree it’s beyond brilliant. It could be a jaw-dropping new product, a breakthrough service delivery model or a superb marketing concept.
Now the real work begins.
You have to go about the business of sharing news of this significant advance with the key people who surround you. Deep down, you’re praying the people you care about most can also embrace and excitedly share this new vision burning inside you.
On a call last week with a U.S. based business owner – let’s call him “Donnie” - he is absolutely convinced his new brand identity and strategy will create undeniable distinction from thousands of his competitors offering similar products and services. This new approach is completely aligned with Donnie’s personal values, reflects core elements of his beliefs and his character. This new brand strategy would also provide a solid foundation for an unlimited number of stories he and his team could share for a very long time.
Would it shock you to know that Donnie’s team is somewhat hesitant to saddle up and ride this new branding pony?
If you can relate to what “Donnie” is going through, you need to know you are not alone. Sixty years ago this month, an identical story unfolded on one of the biggest stages in the sports and entertainment world. This is precisely what occurred when a French-Canadian goaltender tried to help fellow professional puck stoppers see the benefit of his modern-day invention that challenged the status quo.
This new product idea would instantly make a dangerous job a helluva lot safer and a lot more fun. There would also be higher productivity and performance with less downtime due to injury. And the company that writes your pay-check would be in a better position to achieve superior results and bigger prizes.
By now, you might be fooled into thinking that this no-brainer burst of innovation brilliance would be openly welcomed and applauded by management, fellow employees and the industry as a whole. But, that not how this movie plays out.
Our tale unfolds at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden. On November 1, 1959, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante overcame the objections of his boss and became hockey’s first netminder to permanently adopt the face mask as part of his regular equipment. To put things in context, it’s important to remember, that by the time Plante slips on his mask, the sport of ice hockey is already about 100 years old. You read that right. It took nearly a century before someone figured out it might not be a good idea to ...get ready for it ... waiting …. waiting … to get ... HIT SQUARE IN THE FACE BY A FROZEN FREAKIN’ HOCKEY PUCK!!!
On the fateful evening before a rowdy crowd at the Garden, Plante was cut for 7 stitches on a shot from Rangers sniper Andy Bathgate. The game was delayed for close to 30 minutes since NHL teams did not carry back-up goalies on the roster at that time. Once he was stitched up, Plante ignored the vociferous objections of veteran coach Toe Blake, insisting that he would only return to the ice if he could wear the homemade mask he had been experimenting with for the past few months.
The stubborn, crusty old bench boss had no choice but to relent and Plante returned to action, leading the Canadiens to a 4-1 victory.
In doing so, his bold move changed the face of his sport forever.
Jacques Plante would eventually help Montreal win a 5th consecutive Stanley Cup and along the way he enjoyed a Hall-of-Fame career that spanned 19 pro seasons and 7 Vezina trophies as the NHL’s top goaltender. The impact of his innovation continues to reverberate throughout the league.
Our tale unfolds at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden. On November 1, 1959, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante overcame the objections of his boss and became hockey’s first netminder to permanently adopt the face mask as part of his regular equipment. To put things in context, it’s important to remember, that by the time Plante slips on his mask, the sport of ice hockey is already about 100 years old. You read that right. It took nearly a century before someone figured out it might not be a good idea to ...get ready for it ... waiting …. waiting … to get ... HIT SQUARE IN THE FACE BY A FROZEN FREAKIN’ HOCKEY PUCK!!!
On the fateful evening before a rowdy crowd at the Garden, Plante was cut for 7 stitches on a shot from Rangers sniper Andy Bathgate. The game was delayed for close to 30 minutes since NHL teams did not carry back-up goalies on the roster at that time. Once he was stitched up, Plante ignored the vociferous objections of veteran coach Toe Blake, insisting that he would only return to the ice if he could wear the homemade mask he had been experimenting with for the past few months.
The stubborn, crusty old bench boss had no choice but to relent and Plante returned to action, leading the Canadiens to a 4-1 victory.
In doing so, his bold move changed the face of his sport forever.
Jacques Plante would eventually help Montreal win a 5th consecutive Stanley Cup and along the way he enjoyed a Hall-of-Fame career that spanned 19 pro seasons and 7 Vezina trophies as the NHL’s top goaltender. The impact of his innovation continues to reverberate throughout the league.
To this day, Jacques Plante is still regarded as hockey’s equivalent to Einstein, Edison and Ford; one of the truly great innovators in a sport that deeply values machismo, order and tradition over artistry, experimentation and change. What Plante learned about the introduction of new ideas back in the late fifties, is just as true today:
Significant CHANGE will always encounter significant RESISTANCE.
Frequently lost in the achievement stories of legends like Einstein, Edison, Ford and Jacques Plante is humanity’s dark side when it comes to the subject of innovation. In each and every case, bureaucratic roadblocks, personal attacks and emotional obstacles erected by critics and naysayers came very close to killing ideas from Albert, Thomas, Henry and Jacques when their original concepts were still in their very early and embryonic state. That’s what transpired as Plante was roundly mocked and criticized by his contemporaries for daring to break with hockey tradition. Flabbergasting as this may sound, even fellow NHL goaltenders like Chicago’s Glenn Hall and Toronto’s Johnny Bower and Detroit's Terry Sawchuk (pictured below) dug in their heels and waited, for a decade or more, before finally wearing facial protection.
Change is not the problem. RESISTANCE to change is the real problem.
Using the lessons of history, you can objectively recognize that every major leap forward – in any century - has come through our willingness to eventually adopt and embrace innovation.
But, dig a little deeper and you will also discover that every new scientific, technical or cultural innovation also creates very real tension between dreamers like Donnie and defenders of the established order.
Forward-thinking leaders must expect and anticipate an emotional tug-of-war between the opposing forces of innovation and incumbency.
From Gandhi seeking to gain independence for India, Jackie Robinson breaking the 'colour barrier' in baseball, Bill Gates envisioning a personal computer in every home or Steve Jobs thinking we could have a playlist, camera and a 1001+ other applications on our phones; history reveals that the smothering forces of ego, greed, machismo and fear always threaten to kill any form of business, cultural or social innovation unless leaders like Plante are imbued with steely resolve to go ahead and do the hard things to see their dazzling ideas eventually sparkle and gain acceptance.
Are you ready and willing to exhibit plenty of patience, courage and strength of conviction while facing the many critics and naysayers?
Can you muster the intestinal fortitude and stand alone if need be; confident in the outcome of your decisions and faith in your direction?
In much the same manner as any hockey goaltender, leadership can be a lonely existence especially when big-time decisions are being made on big-time ideas. For a guy like “Donnie” it’s highly unlikely he will get answers from the kind of things that management consultants and MBA’s tend to worship. The types of innovation that dramatically change and shape our world for the better or alter the direction of a company, do not depend on big data, marketing metrics, white papers, case studies, focus groups, CRM, KPI’s and SEO. No matter how loudly the measurement hounds like to bark, it can be refreshing to know there is still a place in this world for leaders who can trust their own intuition and bring brilliant ideas to the world at large.
Jacques Plante displayed "beaucoup de courage" in being one of the few in the history of pro sports who refused to bend or pay heed to the natural and primal forces of illogical push back and resistance to change.
Fortune has always favored the bold and the brave, willing to stand their ground for the sake of a big idea that is bigger than themselves.
When the day comes that your big ideas is put to the test, how much courage and conviction will you bring to the decision-making arena?
"Goaltending is not a normal job. How would you like it if at your job, every time you made the slightest mistake a little red light went on over your head and 18,000 people stood up and screamed at you?" JACQUES PLANTE
p.s... History allows us the luxury of being able to look back with hindsight and review documented examples of how the "establishment" openly laughed at innovators like Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and many others who dare to dream big.
"No one will pay to take a train from Berlin to Potsdam in 1 hour when he can ride his horse in 1 day for free" KING WILLIAM OF PRUSSIA - 1864
“The telephone has too many shortcomings to be considered as a means of communication" WILLIAM ORTON, Western Union - 1874
“Edison's light bulb is good enough for our transatlantic friends … but unworthy of the attention of practical or scientific men” BRITISH PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE - 1878
"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible" LORD KELVIN, President of the British Royal Society - 1895
"The horse is here to stay. The automobile is only a novelty – a fad” PRESIDENT, Michigan Savings Bank - 1903
"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value” FIELD MARSHAL FERDINAND FOCH - 1904
“Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote” U.S.. PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND - 1905
“There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom” ROBERT MILLIKAN, Nobel Prize in Physics - 1923
“Americans are good about making fancy cars and refrigerators, but that doesn’t mean they are any good at making aircraft. They are bluffing" HERMANN GORING - 1942
“The (atom) bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives” – ADMIRAL WILLIAM LEAHY, Manhattan Project - 1943
“Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” DARRYL ZANUCK, 20th Century Fox - 1946
"We have reached the limits of what is possible with computers" JOHN Von NEUMANN - 1949
“Remote shopping, while entirely feasible, will flop – because women like to get out of the house, like to handle merchandise, like to be able to change their minds” TIME Magazine - 1966
"With over fifteen types of foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big share of the market for itself." BUSINESS WEEK - 1968
“For the most part, the portable computer is a dream machine for the few … On the whole, people don’t want to lug a computer with them to the beach or on a train to while away hours they would rather spend reading the sports or business section of the newspaper” ERIK SANDBERG-DIMENT, The New York Times - 1985
“There's no chance the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance" STEVE BALLMER, CEO, Microsoft - 1997
p.p.s.... If you are curious about our deep, primal inclination to resist change, it may surprise you to know that many NHL goaltenders through the 1960's kept soldiering on without facial protection before widespread adoption occurred in the latter part of the decade. By the early 1970's even grumpy holdouts like Minnesota's Lorne "Gump" Worsley finally slipped on a mask after the Gumper took a shot off the noggin (see below) and had to be helped off the ice at the Met Center in Bloomington.
The last man standing on this issue was Andy Brown of the Pittsburgh Penguins who competed without a mask on April 7, 1974 in a 6–3 loss to the Atlanta Flames.
Introducing ... BIG LITTLE LEGENDS!
The language of brand speaks to humans in a way that is metaphorical, meaningful, emotional and symbolic. The language of business communicates in a way that is logical, literal, mechanical and analytical. How then, does a business leader – in any industry – any product/service category become fluent in BOTH of these vitally important languages?
This unforgettable keynote/workshop (and preview of the forthcoming book) is designed to challenge accepted notions of how long-term brand-building really works these days. It forces leaders to re-think what's possible and the role they play in creating modern-day legacy. It's entitled BIG LITTLE LEGENDS - How Everyday Leaders Build Irresistible Brands.
Planning a Speaking Event?
The wheels of business are turning faster each quarter and your company or industry association may be busy making plans to stay ahead of the lighting-fast relevance curve. In that spirit, we are knee-deep in booking events for 2020 and 2021 with organizations like Vistage International, Raptor Mining and the National Truck Equipment Association to dramatically rock their next conference with keynotes and workshops that inspire audiences to acquire “STADIUM-SIZED PERSPECTIVE”. For booking inquiries, feel free to reach out and contact us.
Other Resources for You to Explore:
If you are a CEO, Senior Executive or Business Owner who has attended one of our speaking events, consider this as an open invitation to schedule a 20-minute Discovery Session. It's a great, no-strings way to bounce ideas just to see where they land.
Purchase the critically-acclaimed, NUTS, BOLTS AND A FEW LOOSE SCREWS. Available at Chapters.ca and Amazon.com.
Get daily updates and continue the DISCUSSION on FACEBOOK or visit www.gairmaxwell.com
"Everything you can imagine is real" PABLO PICASSO