Breaking Away by Jane Stevenson

Author:Jane Stevenson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Published: 2011-04-18T04:00:00+00:00

One Whole Brain Is Better than a Dozen Half Brains

Scientists have known for a long time that the human brain consists of two parts: the left brain, which thinks in a verbal, organized, and analytical way; and the right brain, which is creative, nonverbal, or image based. The choice of which brain is in control of the day-to-day functions in our lives is what forges our personality and determines our character. For a long time, people believed that being left-brain dominant or right-brain dominant was something to which we were predisposed. In truth, it’s more a matter of training.

Experiments show that most children rank as highly creative (right brain) before entering school. But because our educational system places a higher value on left-brain skills such as math, science, and language than it does on drawing or using imagination, only 10 percent of these same children rank as highly creative by age seven. By the time they’re adults, a high level of creativity remains in only 2 percent of the population.3

Think about it. While innovation at its core is about creating something unique, we’re trained to shut down the part of our brain that creates. Once we enter the corporate world, the left brain is valued even more. Processes, metrics, rules, economics, and bottom lines are all left-brain areas. Environments that put people in identical cubicles, force conformity, and forbid any type of personal expression in their space or personal appearance are all left brain. That’s what we reward, so that’s what we get: order, predictable outcomes, results that can be reduced to numbers—in short, control. That same order and conformity is also valued in society, so it’s hard to escape even when we slip out of our work clothes and into our jeans. No wonder true innovation and true innovation leadership are so hard to come by.

But what if it were different? What if we gave the left brain a break and let the right brain in on a little of the action? Or better yet, what if, like Leonardo da Vinci, we used our whole brain? What could we accomplish?

As we look back on our careers and the people we’ve interviewed, we realize that some of the most successful leaders, whether they realize it or not, are able to cross between hemispheres and integrate their analytical and creative functions to bring about amazing innovations.

Think of this whole-brain orientation as creating an innovation flow that utilizes both sides of your brain. Sometimes the left will dominate and sometimes the right, but overall, you are creating a flow of thinking and decision making that cuts down the middle, creating an innovation flow that ensures you get the best from both sides of your brain. Depending on which type of innovation you are working on, you will inevitably lean more toward one side than the other. As illustrated in the following charts, Operational and Marketplace Innovation tend toward a left-brain orientation, whereas Transformational Innovation requires a strong right-brain orientation. Category Innovation straddles the fence.

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