Diverse connections outside and close connections inside combine for delicious innovation
Recently I have been watching the new season of BBC’s MasterChef. Fennel is an ingredient selected by many participants. One of last year’s finalists seemed to use it in everything, even fennel ice cream. The judges thought that was really innovative!
So what does fennel have to do with innovation outside the cooking world?
Networks are an important part of innovation, especially networks outside the organization. Relationships with a diverse group of outsiders generate new ideas and facilitate access to new information. But for these ideas to be commercialized, they need a connected network inside the company who trust each other and are able to translate these ideas into something tangible and special.
Hence the fennel metaphor. Its stalks represent the external relationships of team members, stretching into the world for light and air, i.e. new ideas. The green stalks bring back these new ideas to the core white bulb, the close internal team, who can combine these ideas to create something delicious.
One good article highlighting the importance of these “fennel networks” for startups is by Vissa and Chacar entitled “Leveraging ties: The contingent value of entrepreneurial teams’ external advice networks on Indian software performance”.
Another interesting article about how mixed networks create a decision making “sweet spot” is HBR’s “Beyond the Echo Chamber” by Pentland.
So the next time you are considering how to achieve innovation in your company, think fennel. Make sure you have colleagues who are the green stalks stretching into the world to gather new ideas, partnered with a close team under the earth to combine these ideas into something innovative and delicious. Maybe even ice cream!
Questions for consideration:
1. Does your team have the capabilities of “fennel networks”?
2. Are some reaching outside the organization to gather new ideas?
3. Are others closely connected inside to commercialize these ideas?
4. What could you do proactively to enhance these capabilities?
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