"When in the course of human events ...."

Those first words of the Declaration of Independence launched a revolution that led to a new form of government. This bold document severed ties with the past, outlined a profound mind shift towards individual rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and proclaimed the vision for a new nation.

In the past many years, the business world has experimented with dozens of programs for improving performance. Most were helpful, many were brilliant but all seemed to fall far short of expectations. And now, in a time when the challenges of rapid growth and global competition have become more critical than ever, people have grown weary of programs, distrustful of slogans and manipulation, yet are genuinely anxious to find meaningful answers and new, more effective ways of working together.

The time is ripe for revolution. In too many organizations, management without representation has become a way of life--a frustrating, mind-numbing insanity, graphically, but all too accurately, reflected in daily Dilbert cartoons. There’s a broad recognition that something’s wrong and change is necessary but a growing resistance to trying another quick-fix, fad program.

It’s time for a broad-based mindshift and a new vision for organizations based on effective, sustainable principles. In today’s world of finite resources, rapid change and global competition, there is only one unlimited resource ... Innovation. As Theodore Levitt of the Harvard Business Review stated, "Innovation is the vital spark of all man-made change, improvement and progress." Too often, however, this resource is being irretrievably squandered, threatening the financial viability of our organizations as well as the health and well-being of employees, customers, suppliers and community members.

While many performance improvement programs have talked about innovation and the word is showing up increasingly in advertisements and mission statements, there seems to be little genuine understanding of how to build an innovation organization. We believe that the shift to innovation organizations will not come through programs, regardless of how well thought out they are. It will come by severing ties with the past. It will come through a dramatic shift in how we think about work and life in organizations. And, it will come because we have a new vision of working together in organizations. What we need is a way to proclaim this new vision and mindshift; we need a Declaration of Innovation.

This document would outline the principles of an Innovation Organization as well as the rights and duties of employees, customers, suppliers, stockholders and other stakeholders of the organization. It would not be a program; it would be a declaration of intent--intent to think and act in a new way. It would be a document that could be signed by anyone, and everyone, within an organization, from CEO to summer intern.

In an attempt to begin the innovation revolution, we propose the following draft Declaration of Innovation. We encourage your organization to use it as a starting place, to adapt it to your particular circumstances, and to use it as a way to begin serious conversations about how to create an Innovation Organization.

Declaration of Innovation

We declare ourselves committed to the Principles of Innovation and to securing the Rights and Duties of the Members of the Innovation Organization -- employees, customers, suppliers, stockholders and other stakeholders. We further understand that being an Innovation Organization requires a commitment to the ethical stewardship of our community, nation and planet.

Principles of Innovation:

• Innovation requires a vision -- innovation requires change, risk and upheaval. Innovation is not done for innovation’s sake; there must be a driving motivator compelling the organization to develop the systems, resources and culture needed to support innovation. In today’s environment, the innovation driver is the need to survive in a world of rapid change.
  
  
• Innovation is customer-driven and bottomline focused -- the purpose of innovation is to find better ways to delight customer and create a financially viable organization.
  
  
• Innovation requires a foundation of ethics -- only in an environment of mutual trust and respect, not only within the organization but also within the surrounding community and global environment, can an organization develop a truly innovative approach to problems and opportunities.
  
  
• Innovation requires innovative thinking -- innovative thinking is a skill needed by every member of the organization. It is the ability to constantly look for new possibilities, generate ideas, think together productively, make sound decisions and gain the commitment needed for rapid and effective implementation.
  
  
• Innovation begins with a clean slate -- prior assumptions and the way things have always been done are set aside in order to look at possibilities with a fresh perspective.
  
  
• Innovation looks at the whole system -- creating solutions in one area that cause problems in another is not innovation; it’s chaos.
  
  
• Innovation requires a diverse, information- and interaction-rich environment -- people with different perspectives, working together toward a common objective, with accurate, up-to-date information and the proper tools are the only source of innovation.
  
  
• Innovation requires a risk-tolerant environment -- the creation of anything new involves risk and the possibility of failure. An innovative environment honors nice tries that didn’t work (AKA failures) as learning experiences and part of the innovation process.
  
  
• Innovation involves and rewards every member of the organization -- there are no longer "thinkers" and "doers," "owners" and "workers." Innovation requires the very best thinking and doing from everyone and treats everyone as an "owner" equitably sharing the rewards generated by those best efforts.
  
  
• Innovation requires a continuous scan of future trends -- just as the weather in Havana may be changed by the beat of a butterfly wing in Chile, the destiny of an organization may be determined by the efforts of an unknown team working in a basement laboratory of a small mid-western university.
  
  
• Innovation requires a learning orientation -- only by creating an environment where every member of the organization is continuously learning more about its products, services, processes, customers, technologies, industry and environment can an organization successfully innovate year after year.
  
  
• Innovation always involves resistance -- innovation requires change, change requires moving away from the comfort of the status quo. Resistance is normal and should not be used as an excuse not to innovate.

Rights: to expect increasing value through continuous innovation in products and services. Customer needs and wants will be the driver of the organization’s innovation efforts.

Duties: to provide feedback on products and services. The flow of performance information is vital to continuous innovation.

Rights: to work in an innovative environment, defined as a place where:
• every employee understands, and is aligned with, the vision, mission and goals of the organization.
  
• every employee has opportunities to learn and grow in his or her ability to contribute to the vision, mission and goals of the organization.
  
• mutual trust and respect is based on a foundation of ethical action, open communication and equitable sharing of rewards and risks.
  
• every employee’s ideas and contributions are expected and honored.
  
• information flows freely and interaction among various groups, functions, departments, teams, and business units is encouraged and supported by information systems, communication tools and physical layout.
  
• experimentation and trying new ways of doing things are expected and smart failures are valued as learning experiences.
  
  
Duties:
• to continuously upgrade his or her skills, information and understanding of his role in the organization and of the organization’s vision, mission, goals, customers, technology, industry and environment.
  
• to continuously look for new ways to improve products, services and processes as well as new opportunities for fulfilling the organization’s vision, mission and goals.
  
• to share information and ideas with co-workers as well as members of other functions, departments or business units.
  
• to actively seek performance feedback in order to continuously improve skills and understanding.
  
• to safeguard the organization’s assets, proprietary information and reputation.
  
• to act in an ethical manner toward all other employees, customers, suppliers, stockholders, community neighbors and other stakeholders.