When someone says the word "innovation," what organizations do you immediately think of? IBM, Apple, Proctor & Gamble, Southwest Airlines? What about the San Francisco Symphony? Yup, and that is according to the Wharton Business School. A recent special section of the Knowledge@Wharton on Five Takes on Creative Leadership highlighted the Symphony as a leader in creativity and innovation.
And you think that the creation of music is a free flowing activity. Think again. According to the description, a symphony is highly structured:
Imagine leading an organization whose most highly skilled white-collar employees are controlled so rigidly that they are told exactly how to perform their sophisticated tasks; how to hold their bodies while doing so; when to take bathroom breaks; even how to dress, with no individuality permitted and no personal feedback given.
Yet, the San Francisco Symphony has "gained an international reputation for creativity and innovation." They have done so by creative mechanisms to encourage creativity outside of the structure of the performance (such as a musical advisory committee of orchestra members, small group performances organized by the musicians, and highlighted the musician's skills in multi-media program and TV broadcasts).
They have also done it by fully embracing the notion of differentiation. By focusing on doing things differently from other symphonies, they have created their own following and are constantly pushing for new ideas. That is the essence of an innovative organization.
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