Principled Innovation LLC

A NO vote on Secretary of Innovation

February 12th, 2009

Innovation consultant Thomas Kuczmarski has an article on the Business Week website calling on President Obama to appoint a Secretary of Innovation.  Kuczmarski’s piece is a quick read, and a sincere expression of the need for dramatic change in the way our country approaches innovation policy.

But it is a truly terrible idea.

Now, I understand that it isn’t good brainstorming form to judge an idea so harshly.  I apologize for being overly critical.  Unfortunately, there is no way to build on this particular notion because it will create many more problems than it will solve, including the following:

1.  There is simply no way to create a new cabinet department without creating a new bureaucracy–The power of cabinet secretaries comes from the scope of their responsibilities, which is directly related to the issues in their portfolios, as well as the size of the budget and workforce they manage.  Right now, the work of innovation is spread out across the United States government in various agencies, groups and departments.  Reorganizing and centralizing these existing structures under a new Department of Innovation (DOI) would set off a protracted turf war that would take years to resolve, and slow down the pursuit of a clear national innovation strategy.

2.  There is simply no way to create a new cabinet department without politicizing the issue on which the department is supposed to focus–Consider the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) back in 2002.  In the aftermath of 9/11, everyone agreed on the necessity of securing the homeland.  But even during that time of national emergency, it didn’t take long for the DHS plan to become a matter of enormous political controversy and, ultimately, a divisive mid-term campaign issue that still engenders bitterness today.  Innovation is a crucial element of both our national and economic security.  Injecting it into the political sphere would undermine the effort to create “an innovation mindset” and reduce the term to even more meaningless buzzword for some people than it is today.

3.  There is simply no way that a “Secretary of Innovation” will be able to achieve what is needed–Even if all of the concerns shared in the first two points could be resolved, there is little chance a cabinet secretary will be able to affect “change we can believe in” with respect to innovation.  If the Obama administration is going to have a “chief innovation officer” it must be someone with the credentials and substantive vision to do the job, not merely a political figurehead who can survive confirmation, manage departmental complexities and deal with Senate oversight.  Moreover, the post would benefit greatly if could work out of The White House or OEOB, both of which offer physical proximity and easier access to the president.

So, instead of a cabinet department, I propose the formation of a Council for Innovation Policy (CIP) that would be part of the Executive Office of the President.  The “chief innovation officer” would head the CIP, coordinate innovation policy issues across the Federal government, and serve as a liaison with business, academic institutions, associations/non-profits and other audiences.  And I have a suggestion for the perfect person to take this job:  innovation thought leader John Kao, author of Innovation Nation: How America is Losing Its Innovation Edge, Why It Matters, and What We Can Do to Get It Back.  If you’re not familiar with John, I invite you to listen to our March 2008 P.I. Podcast interview about his book.

There is one good thing about Thomas Kuczmarski’s idea:  the appointment of a Secretary of Innovation could be a powerful demonstration of President Obama’s commitment to this issue.  For all the reasons cited above, however, my real-world concern is that the actual impact of the post would be nothing more than symbolic.  Right now, we need real work on innovation policy, and while this proposal isn’t quite as sexy, it is much simpler to implement quickly and likely to be much more effective in the long run.

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