>"We should think about all the variables an outsider might bring to our attention, and then about how to embed that outsider perspective as an integral part of our organizational culture."

>How many times has this question been asked, with the common answer of "We do, and then ignore or dismiss 'the outsider'"??? Far more than most care to admit I suspect.

What makes this so interesting to me is that this seems to a property of social systems in general (individuals included). There is a constant push/pull of "maintenance of identity" and "importing novel information from the environment." Take "human conversation" or "argument" as an analogue of this situation and you come to the same conclusion: people prefer to maintain their identities/boundaries/opinions/perspectives/etc.

And you're right, the answer to that question is overwhelmingly negative in reality: that seems like the point that the author is making. Something about how "innovation" involves the way that organizations and outsiders generate interdependencies/come into conversation.

Very interesting article (I need to read this a couple more times).