Radical collaboration is the key to success in innovation

Now that everyone else has published his or her thoughts on SXSW, here mine.

I agree with my peers that SXSW was full of cool robots, VR/ AR, space travel and ‘important people’ panels. But I want to talk about something else, something bigger and connecting all of these topics: Radical Collaboration.

By Radical Collaboration I mean bringing people from different universes, skills, backgrounds, mindsets, expertise, countries, TOGETHER.

Whatever you want to create—the most amazing AI robot, the greatest VR gaming experience, the first human expedition to Mars—nothing is possible if you don’t bring different people, with different views together.

For me, this is the first and most essential ingredient for innovation.

For example, one of the talks that I attended and that really impacted and inspired me, was “Hacking the Brain to treat paralysis” or as I call it, “The path to independence”.

This talk focused on the story of Ian Burkhart, who suffered neural paralysis in 2010 due to an accident. The presenters were the patient, the surgeon, the engineer and the physiatrist.

At that time, there were already some teams working [since 2005] on brain computing interface but seeing Ian paralyzed, one of the doctors -from the hospital in Ohio- thought it was time to make it a reality. Near the hospital it was the bureau of [Battelle] engineers. Despite being geographically close, they had never talked. One day, being together in a workshop, the doctor shared how amazing would be to reproduce the neurological frequencies of the brain and passing them directly to the limbs of a paralysis patient. To the doctor’s surprise, one of the engineers claimed that it would not be difficult to do and it could be applied quickly. They brainstormed. Doctors, psychiatrics and engineers together and they devised a plan.

But that’s not all. Ian, who had no guarantee of success, was fully committed to the project. ‘ I had to try’ he said. Ian joined the clinical trial at The Ohio State University conducted with Battelle and became the first person to use brain implant technology to regain voluntary movement of paralyzed muscles.

Today the small chip implanted in the motor cortex of his brain gives hope to millions of paralyzed patients. This was possible thanks to radical collaboration: Ian literally committed his body and life, the surgeon, Dr. Ali Rezai, who realized the operation, put his reputation at stake, a Battelle engineer, Nick Annetta, helped to develop the technology, and Dr. Marcia Bockbrader aided in Ian’s recovery.

There are of course many other examples of radical collaboration, for example:

Bio-inspired design, like the Gecko-inspired Robot from Stanford (I saw it with my own eyes!)—A great result from the collaboration of very different stakeholders from biology and engineering, together finding new ways for machines to perform.

VR & space travel, like a project that is creating a VR experience to visualize Mars before the actual expedition. Producers, directors, engineers, corporations, gamers, astronauts, people like you and me, all working together.

And many more…

All of this could never happen without radical collaboration.

Some advice: No matter in your business or private life, in new or familiar environments, always be open. Talk with people from different industries, backgrounds, ages, skills, views… Sometimes we are so focused on our own matters that we forget that there is an outside world with wide-open expanses of inspiration and opportunity.

Go outside your own industry, out of your category, out of your comfort zone.

Find inspiration in unfamiliar places.

Who says you won’t find a new consumer-electronic product inspired from the music industry? How could Lady Gaga create a new vacuum cleaner?

Talk with people who don’t have anything to do with you. Brainstorm together to resolve a problem or find new opportunities.

The best innovations came from the most unlikely connections.

Keep innovating and don’t forget to look around you.

Adela

#inspiration #innovation #radicalcollaboration