Platforms, convenience & the value of ignorance: what I learned at our latest Innovation Bootcamp

3. Look for others who don’t know what they are doing

Last but not least, our bootcampers loved Peter Hinssen’s concept of these 1% employees in corporate companies "Who Don’t Know What They Are Doing" - because innovating is doing something so new that experience or knowledge is of little help - which should be protected form risk-averse and revenue-addicted C-levels, so they can create their organization’s "Day After Tomorrow". The reason was that most people at our bootcamps – from our many speakers (experts, thought leaders, startups, corporate innovators, tech wizards,… ) to the bootcampers themselves  - fit exactly that description: they are all experimenting and trying things out  without really ‘knowing’ if it will work because it has never been done before.

The energy that is created when this type of people meet, is truly palpable. They discussed their common challenges and learned from each other, knowing very well that there is no silver bullet: that they cannot copy and paste each other’s solutions in another company. One company will benefit from a spin off, another from a skunkworks inside the company and a third will thrive by co-creating its future with customers. There is no one size fits all innovation approach or advice about innovation. It was beautiful to see how they kept challenging each other and inspire each other with new ideas. For me, that was maybe the most rewarding of the entire Innovation Bootcamp: the part where we – the nexxworks middle (wo)men – were cut out because the participants were inspiring each other.