So, I was e-mailing with my former boss from IdeaScope, Bob Johnston, who has a phenomenal background in applied innovation and the creative process. He also has a lovely cottage on Martha’s Vineyard.
It turns out that Bob and I are going to both be on the Vineyard at the same time later this month and are trying to coordinate a time to see one another. This is proving to be challenging because a) he has been called for Federal jury duty and b) he has new client in DC that he must meet with that week.
So, I commented in an e-mail to him, “wow, sounds like you have more connections to D.C. that you’d care to have.” He wrote back, “it’s not like I’m being vetted for Secretary of Innovation or anything.” Now THAT is what the next administration could really use! What a terrific concept, really: someone in charge of fostering and nurturing the future in the present.
Although a cabinet secretary typically heads up an entire agency, I’d encourage the next administration to view this role more cross-functionally, pulling out and surfacing innovation across existing agencies. The purpose of this secretary would be to highlight, encourage and augment innovation efforts within the government, between the government and its stakeholders, and internationally. Just as media companies are learning that the Internet cannot successfully be treated as another business silo, so should Innovation be an integrated cross-agency functionality that evolves all functions of government, from public affairs to procurement.
