Week 2

Response 1

Phu

In the "The real drives of innovation" article, Ruyle (2014) says that "innovation requires expertise. There are some elements of expertise driving innovation, such as experts' passion towards their discipline, their vast amount of experience, their changing the way problems are solved, self-awareness, etc. I fully agree with Ruyle's assertation. 

Expertise, or specialized knowledge and skill in a particular field, can certainly drive innovation. Experts have a deep understanding of the current state of their field, as well as its limitations and potential for improvement. This allows them to identify problems and opportunities that others may not be able to see, and to develop new solutions and technologies that address these issues. Additionally, experts often have the technical skills and resources needed to turn their ideas into reality, and they may be able to collaborate with other experts to combine different areas of expertise and drive innovation in new and unexpected ways.

My organization, the US Army, has a long history of innovation. The Army has been at the forefront of technological advancements, particularly in the areas of weaponry, transportation, and communication. In recent years, the Army has focused on innovation in some areas, for example, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, medical advancement, energy. This is achievable because expertise is crucial to the US Army's mission and operations. The Army relies on experts in a wide range of fields, including engineering, medicine, logistics, intelligence, to develop and implement the technologies and strategies needed to carry out our mission.

Response 2

David

Initially, I didn’t understand what Ruyle meant by “the real driver of innovation is experts” (p.36, 2014). However, once I went over the elements explaining the reasoning behind it, I agreed. The most essential element described is that “It’s not just that experts have more experience, there’s a qualitative difference in their experience. They practice differently. It’s more focused, more intentional, and more mindful” (Ruyle, p.36, 2014). There is no replacement for experience because the value of time cannot be measured and the opportunity to learn from a moment can be endless. Despite the economic status, demographic, gender etc., I believe someone who has lived longer than others will always have some type of knowledge to offer to someone who has lived less. That same concept applies directly to industries as well. 

 But I would not say that it is the only factor for innovation. I believe the environment where these ideas are created and applied is very important as well. When ideas can be free of economic consequences and bounced off of others who may differ, innovation can reach its highest potential. According to Denning, “Corporations that function most effectively are ones that harbor people with both breadth and depth. Breadth and depth, though, are relative. The value of one is worthless without the other” (2017). 

As mentioned before, I am an Active Duty Soldier. Innovation within our organization is driven by external factors. This is due to our procedures being regulated to be conducted in a certain manner. However, through decentralized leadership, decisions made within the regulations are encouraged to complete objectives. I do believe that to be effective, as I discuss in the last unit how sometimes restrictions can assist us with creative thinking and applying innovative solutions to problems.

Response 3

Andrea

According to the article titled "The Real Drivers of Innovation" by Kim Ruyle, Experts can see anomalies that others don’t. They see similarities others miss. They see connections that are invisible to non-experts. They see patterns. Furthermore, those patterns and connections are the basis of innovation. Innovation comes from the connections experts see between patterns. The first step to becoming intentional about innovation is to understand experts and the nature of expertise. Experts are passionate about their discipline. Experts are focused, obsessive, and single-minded in a nearly incomprehensible way to the non-expert. They are driven to study, think, experiment, and develop their unique point of view resulting from their work. An expert’s motives are different. They are achievement-oriented, but the way they define achievement is different from others. More than anything else, they are motivated by being an expert. They love to have answers that others don’t. They love to be in demand for what they know (Ruyle, 2014).

Internal innovation means change within an organization. This might be a small or large change, something structural within a team, a change in the production process to increase efficiency, or something financial regarding your budget. External innovation means improving a product or service, for example, directly impacting the customer (Thenhaus, 2014). From my time working in the registrar's office, I would say the internal driver of innovation within the office was the head registrar, who oversaw the other employees. This is because he was able to hire and terminate someone's position. I would say the external driver of innovation within the office was everyone working there. This is because if a student came to the office due to an issue accessing something, an employee from the office would work with another department to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.