In March, Betsy Clementson and I are presenting on the results of our research on innovative characteristics of a small set of business librarians at The Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians. Innovation seems like it has become such a buzz word that it is losing its meaning. Want to know why it matters? From the pen of my favorite innovation author:
"Innovativeness indicates overt behavioral change, the ultimate goal of most diffusion programs, rather than just cognitive or attitudinal change. Innovativeness is the bottom line behavior in the diffusion process." Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, p. 268.
Now, I don't care how much it sometimes seems like change itself seems like a goal, the reality for all organizations, including libraries, is that where innovative change is involved, it means by definition that value has been added to the organization (or else it is just change, not innovation). It means that we are better meeting our organizational missions. And what that means for managers is that they need to remember that their behavior influences the innovativeness of those around them....and if they can't promote innovativeness, they may be a bottle neck to the survival of their library.
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