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Manifesting a building or a product that is both emotionally engaging and technically robust is equally demanding. There are several groups of Aesthetic Engineers who embody this discipline professionally: Architects and industrial designers have been doing this for centuries; software and content developers for decades. They all include innovators in their professions and they all share similar balancing acts.
It is time for an architectural approach. For Innovation to become a profession, it must have an underlying architecture. Architects have conscious models relating key components
We are employing the term architecture here to refer to a conscious model which defines potential relationships between ideas, processes and culture. These can alternatively be considered individuals, tools and teams. One thing is clear - they all need to be considered to prudently manage risk.
Risk can not be eliminated but it can be accommodated.
It is important we not confuse the map for the territory. Many innovators are capable of generating models in real time, which can result in a preponderance of models causing as much confusion as having no model at all.
The Innovation Architect has the means to cope with a multiplicity of models and trajectories and to reconcile them. Much like an air traffic controller, innovation architects need to be able to act in real time. It is a skill that requires a lot of bandwidth and a lot of focus and can give one a headache. But it can be learned. -- Howard Lieberman
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