The 4 Lenses of Innovation

The Innovator’s Mind

People living in different historical periods held varying beliefs about sources of creativity. Ancient cultures like the Sumerians believed that new ideas and creativity sprang not from their actions but came as gifts from the gods. The Judeo-Christian perspective regards God as the creator, with human innovation stemming from divine grace. The Greeks saw inventions as coming from the Muses or from a pantheon of gods – both beyond the human realm. The Romans believed “in a tutelary deity” who inspired people. But after the Roman Empire collapsed, the Catholic Church preached conformity, dogma and the suppression of individual ego.

Everything changed with the Renaissance, which had roots in the emergence of city-states as hotbeds of culture and innovation, urbanization, the rediscovery of classical learning, and an expansive new mind-set. The Renaissance mind joyously explored the world. The great thinkers of the Renaissance established the models for four tools – or “lenses” – that still inspire innovation: “challenging orthodoxies,” “harnessing trends,” “leveraging resources” and “understanding needs.” Use the four lenses to fuel innovation by...