Skyline Chili and Innovation

My children spent their youth in Cincinnati, growing up eating a particular style of chili unique to the area and popularized through a chain of restaurants known as Skyline Chili. It is one of Cincinnati’s signature dishes and its recipe is a closely held secret. Those who think they’re in the know say the recipe includes cinnamon and chocolate, along with the usual ingredients like ground beef, chili powder, red pepper, garlic, and cloves. At the restaurant, the chili sauce is served over spaghetti and can be topped with beans, onions, and/or cheese to match one’s personal tastes.

If I described chocolate or cinnamon as individual delicacies, most people would have quite a positive reaction to each, but when I describe them as ingredients in a chili recipe, most would wonder what good can come of such a concoction. That’s where they would be wrong. This is truly a different taste, but it’s very good. This leads me to my point on innovation. Today, we are called upon to react to a fast-paced, ever-changing world through innovative programs, services, and ideas that have the capacity to transform. Such innovation blends creative ideas that add value into realized actions that are transformational. Such innovation often comes from ideas at the intersection of different disciplines and fields, ideas that don’t seem to fit together naturally, like chocolate and chili. For example, you might have heard about the British hospital that dramatically reduced patient mishaps by incorporating ideas gained from consulting the Ferrari race team pit crew. Now what do hospital mishaps and race team pit crews have in common? Well, it so happens that in a hospital most mishaps take place in transition, when a patient is passed from one service provider to another; in racing, the pit stop is an intense, well-coordinated and choreographed activity among a number of professionals that occurs in seconds and without a mistake. An excellent description of innovation at the intersection can be found in Frans Johansson’s 2006 book, The Medici Effect published by Harvard Business School Press.

I think in higher education, we are being called to examine ideas at the intersection of disciplines and to find what will lead to new and transforming ideas, products, or services. Most of the truly transformational ideas cut across the silos of divisions and disciplines. To do so, we need to get out of our usual comfort zones and entertain ideas even stranger than chocolate and chili.

As an added bonus, I have included the recipe for a Skyline Chili dip that can be made with a can of Skyline Chili. The chili can be found at www.skylinechili.com. Enjoy.