What does innovation look like in 2015?

Recently I went to lunch with the president of a startup who was trying to recruit me away from my current team. I explained to him that I have a great team and I feel I can spend my time fixing problems and innovating. The word innovation struck a chord with him, and like a good recruiter he tried to explain to me how I could have more freedom to innovate in his environment than in my own. We talked for a while and went our separate ways.

Although the conversation and delicious hamburger have both passed, I have reflected on that conversation several times because I am still not exactly sure what an environment of innovation looks like. I decided to look into the past for a little bit of advice and my thoughts were drawn back to the conditions of the Renaissance.

The Resources

The Medici family was a rich banking family in Florence Italy. The Medici Bank was the most powerful financial institution in the 15th century. The Medici leveraged their social and economic power to rule Florence for almost 400 years.

The family’s incredible economic strength allowed them to focus on trying to fix bigger problems instead of trying to scrape out a living. Their social status meant that whatever they created would be seen by thousands and they could get an audience with whoever they want for attracting talent or business.

So what would be the equivalent of a Medici in 2015? Is it an angel investor? Is it a venture capital firm? A billion dollar check from Elon Musk? I don’t think that resources alone are enough to create an innovative environment. You have to have craftsmen.

The Craftsman

A mound of money, or a billion dollar check won’t miraculously turn into innovation. The Medici knew that to make any kind of legitimate change they needed talented people. They couldn’t just get people who were decent at their jobs, they needed to protect their name and status which meant that even the best would barely meet their expectations. So they actively searched for the most talented people in the world and brought them into their palace.

One of the young apprentices that the Medici was able to attract was teenager named Michelangelo. Michelangelo spent his formative years learning his craft at the Medici palace and surrounded himself with great tutors. He was extremely gifted and was placed in an environment where ideas and feedback flowed freely.

Michelangelo was raised with many members of the Medici family which gave him access to some of the future financial and social leaders of the world. If Michelangelo was only decent at his job, most likely he would have still been a successful artist as long as the Medici’s were in power.

What if Michelangelo had not been commissioned by the Medici family? He would have probably become a great portrait artist in a gallery somewhere in Italy. But without these unique factors the world would have missed out on some of the most prolific sculptures and paintings of all time.

What does a 2015 craftsmen look like? Is he a sweaty programmer in a coffee shop? Is he a seasoned veteran with 20 years of experience? Is it a software consulting company?

The Commission

After the Medici found the craftsmen they would give them a commission. Although it is not exactly clear what the details of a commission from the Medici family were, we can assume that Michelangelo’s rent and food was paid for since he was living in the palace, and his supplies and tools were most likely top notch since money was not an issue.

Michelangelo was placed in an environment where he could create to his hearts content and safely put all of his energy into his work. He didn’t have to worry about finding his next commission, because he knew as long as he focused on quality and being the best he could the Medici family would continue until they ran out of money — so basically forever.

Innovative Environments

So if we try to create an innovative environment in 2015 using the template of the past we would need the powerful social and economic connections, we need relentless craftsmen, and a commission with reasonable stipulations.

• If the Medici didn’t have the money to solver bigger problems, the luck of finding Michelangelo, or the social status to award commissions for public buildings and churches the Sistine Chapel would be just another church.
• If Michelangelo didn’t have the ability, mentorship, time, luck, tools, and resources he wouldn’t be one of the worlds most famous artists — or to eventually become teenage mutant ninja turtle.
• If the commission had told Michelangelo every detail of the sculpture, set an unrealistic deadline, and not given the resources he needed he probably would have just not been interested.
• Michelangelo focuses solely on his craft and produces only his best work
• Michelangelo worked with some of the brightest minds in his field and has unprecedented access to the best tools and resources
• Medici provide guidelines but trust Michelangelo’s decisions and expertise
• Medici allow an unequivocal focus on quality which raised the standard on art throughout the world

Uninnovative Startups

Unfortunately most of the startups that I have worked with run into the following problems when it comes to innovation

• Startups are forced to be short-sighted to provide investors with a 10x return in less than 5 years. What if investors looked for returns over 40 years? Instead of making a uber-insta-groupon for cats (you are under NDA now 😛 ), what if startups spent their time solving problems with a long-term impact instead of planning their exit strategies before they have profits.
• Startups find low-cost, low-quality craftsmen and naively expect high-quality output.
• Craftsmen are not given the best tools, mentorship, time, or mentors that they need to finish the job correctly
• Craftsmen are given a precise commissions are not allowed to deviate from plan because they will run out of funding.
• Startups isolate themselves and their craftsmen and bright minds, because they don’t want their idea to be stolen.
• Startups commission work that is the minimum viable product but never want to scrap the original. Can you imagine what a minimum viable Sistine Chapel would look like. According to Michelangelo it would be unfinished. It sounds so ridiculous but most companies do this to try to minimize their costs, but what they don’t do is trust an expert craftsmen’s decisions

Conclusion

I believe that I have come up with the following list of things that are required to create an innovative environment:

• Craftsmen are secure and free to throw themselves fully at their work and create to the best of their abilities. Please not that I didn’t say that craftsmen “feel” secure and free. I said that they “are”. They don’t have to worry about jockeying for equity, office politics, manipulative investors, financial instability, ridiculous deadlines, or isolation from others.
• Commissions that provide a clear scope and vision while respecting expertise. True craftsmen don’t like having everything draw out for them then spend their time failing over and over until it is “good enough” to collect payment. They want to understand the vision and build something that is better than the investor or the craftsmen could have imagined at first.
• Investors that acquire the right talent, create opportunities, and take a long-term approach. Investors with this type of vision are not in the business of tossing out a thousand seeds to see which would grow on its own. They focus their energy on a few seeds and make sure that they grow into giant redwoods.

These are my thoughts, but what do you think? What do you think it takes to make a innovative environment? How have you created an innovative environment for yourselves and those you work with?

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo_and_the_Medici
http://www.economist.com/node/347333
http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/michelangelo/section2.rhtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_%28art%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel