Innovation

I was listening to a speech by Charles Leadbeater about open innovation, which is essentially the idea that passionate amateurs with new technology can create innovative and successful ideas and products where professional companies could not. Some prime examples he mentions are the development of the mountain bike, the spread of the telephone, and the rise of rap music. All of these were a result of amateurs whose passion for biking, communication, and music led them to raise the standards of their leisure activities to levels beyond those that seemed to benefit corporations financially at the time. Now, mountain bikes account for at least half of all sales, telephones are a technological necessity, and rap is one of the most popular music forms in the United States. Leadbeater’s idea of promoting these “Pro-Ams” (Professional Amateurs) not only has several tangible benefits but also contains vital revelations.

Obviously, “Pro-Ams” have benefited and changed the world tremendously, and in a global situation of economic uncertainty in the midst of innovation, a solution must be found soon. If people with obsessions about certain topics or products were allowed to experiment and design ideas that matched their standards, the economical results would similarly be significant. Innovation is born of necessity, and for the average user there exists none after all of the improvements that have been made on every product imaginable. For example, while software upgrades are beneficial, none but those obsessed with software perfection would claim that they are necessary; in fact, the option generally exists to halt the constant annoyance of upgrade announcements, revealing the dangers of selling to a wide audience over the passionate edges.

A corollary to these theories is that allowing “Pro-Ams” to prosper benefits the world and themselves. If we imagine a world where everyone did what they were passionate about, it would be obvious that everyone would be happier. People like to do what they like to do. Happiness in general has positive reactions by its very nature, including increases in productivity and life span and decreases in depression and suicide rates. “Pro-Ams” are extremely knowledgeable about what they are passionate about and willing to spend extra effort, money, and time to go to their limits doing what they like to do.

I conclude with the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Clearly, not everyone would like to have the same thing done to them, for everyone is unique in character and passion. Yet there remains a solution—everyone would like to be happy, so all people should try to be happy and make others happy. Thus if everyone does what makes them happy, even the universe will be no limit.