Can Community Innovation Be Simplifed?

My dominant right-brained self understands very little of Albert Einstein’s work.  However, I do know he once said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.

I often wonder if he imagined how much more challenging that would be in today’s complex, hyperconnected, and increasingly uncertain world.

The speed, unpredictability, and interconnectedness of today’s complex issues have made it extraordinarily difficult to predict and plan for the future of our communities. It’s made even more challenging by knowing it is imperative that we also implement local action to address today’s urgent global priorities articulated by the UN as the 17 SDGs.

Charles Mingus, an influential American jazz musician and composer, once said, “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, requires creativity.” He believed true artistry lay in distilling complexity into simplicity rather than complicating the straightforward. Too often, we seem to be doing more of the latter.

The artistry, creativity, and tenacity required to make the complicated simple is critical because it serves as the foundation of the innovation needed for communities to be able to think and do differently. Creativity is a muscle that is crucial for innovation as it provides the original ideas that can then be transformed into valuable applications.

It has become increasingly clear that We all need to be able to think differently about how we can best play a role in motivating, mobilizing, and maximizing to think globally while actioning locally.

Probably the most crucial place to begin is first to accept that our communities and their often broken systems are only fixable when we start thinking and stepping beyond our existing organizations and our particular sector or silo.

Amplifying our collective social, economic, and environmental well-being will require transformative innovation and action. This happens in communities when we get better at thinking from a more holistic perspective. 

Otto Scharmer suggests the future is more about ‘ecosystems rather than ego systems’ where our collective ‘open hands, open hearts, and open will’ are engaged. Doing this within our communities to work across silos and sectors is essential for tackling complex, interrelated issues and opportunities.

While it’s typical and comfortable to want to stay in our established lanes using our established areas of expertise and influence, there is one strategy we can apply for motivating, mobilizing, and maximizing local and global well-being.

Addressing complex issues and opportunities must begin by expanding our circles of collaboration and reaching out to include the diverse voices, lenses, and experiences of others and the collective wisdom they bring. Something jarring yet serendipitous happens when we look for inspiration outside of our existing silos or sectors.

It’s not necessarily as hard as it may sound. It’s not about having the answers, it’s about calling the meeting and providing opportunities for all voices to be heard.

Changing one’s modus operandi is never easy; however, creativity and innovation require doing something different. This willingness to do something different is a common trait among creative problem solvers, innovators, and entrepreneurs. While knowledgeable in their own lane, they typically seek opportunities for creative collisions with new ideas, people, and disciplines different from their own.

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