Measuring Innovation is like measuring love
What is the relationship between love and innovation?
One of the most difficult phenomena to measure is love, but have you ever thought about how love could be measured? and this has some relation
By Joao Aguirre
- I remember as if it were yesterday (10 years ago) … the day I first visited my master’s thesis director, at that time he was the vice chancellor for research at the National University of Colombia (from which I am a graduate).
Professor Robledo is a person who projects wisdom, knowledge and intellectual power.
I saw him sitting in front of his computer, working very concentrated, but I left my fears out and knocked on the door … hoping that a person of his level could attend to a simple student who came with thousands of questions, but with the desire to find a piece of Proper advice for formulating my master project.
To be able to enter the master’s program, as a requirement I would have to present a preliminary draft of my thesis, but I had no idea what to do, work or research since the truth was that at that time I was illiterate in terms of research.
Nock Nock … sorry professor, can I interrupt you?
He, with his gentle way of being, put aside what he was doing and told me, of course, but I only have a couple of minutes. Thanks, teacher, tell me how I can help you? Well, professor, I am an engineering student, and I want to enrol to study the master’s degree, but I have not the slightest idea of what to present in a research project.
The professor asks me, but tell me what interests you or where would you like to direct your future thesis? I replied, professor, I like this about technology. To which he replied … aaa
Do you want to learn from Innovation Strategic intelligence Entrepreneurship Digital transformation ?
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- So you want to research about innovation?
It is worth clarifying that at that time, the concept of innovation was not the rockstar of today. This was a concept that was on my mind, but it did not have the meaning that this represents. I answered yes, yes, yes, of course, that’s what I want to investigate.
Ok, I think it’s great, but tell me, what do you study? I replied very proudly, practically sticking my chest out, soon I’ll be a control engineer. He asked me what does a control engineer do? Teacher honestly…. Ummm, let me think… It took me more than two minutes that seemed like an eternity; in my mind, I could not make anything concrete. But in the end, I told him, the function of the control engineer is to measure because what cannot be measured cannot be controlled.
Great, he replied, and you tell me you want to research innovation. I doubtfully said yes, aaa well, then you should think about how to unite your knowledge of engineering training with change and he proceeded to throw the question that mortified me for the next two years of my life.
How would you measure innovation?
Complex question … I rambled, I said a thousand wrong things, I made up, but I knew that all my answers seemed more like a Cantinflas speech than a severe response. The teacher noticed it, and he told me, think about it and tell me in a couple of weeks, aaa, yes, but first think.
How would you measure love?
Ploff .. I pass the condorito … what?, And this what relationship – has I thought –
But meditating carefully, I realized that innovation is like love, it is something difficult to explain and even more challenging to measure. What crazy cow had I gotten myself into? I have no idea how to measure love, much less innovation. I asked everyone who crossed my path, how would you measure love? I received several responses, as well as the number of kisses, concern, gifts, beautiful words, calls, number of times per week … etc.
It is a challenge to think about how to measure love, which is something so subjective and depends on the personal value with which someone wants to interpret it. Still, well, this philosophical question led me to think about how love is something so elementary and that everyone knows it. We understand, then the same thing will happen with innovation, is it something that depends on personal perception? How can we measure change? Will this be another of the philosophical questions that have no answer? … umm, I don’t know …
After two and a half years of hard research, I realized that love, as well as innovation, cannot be measured directly. If you want to know a little more, please write to me in the comments, and I will tell how I managed to overcome this great challenge.
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“Break paradigms if you want to innovate.”
For now that’s all!. Remember that if you want help in topics such as innovation or strategy, I am Ph.D. (doctor)
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