Imitation and innovation

Imitation is one of the most powerful modes of learning. It could only be secondary to the natural instincts. At birth, actions like the need to suckle are instinctive to the child. But soon the learned instinct of imitation takes over.The baby copies what adults do and in the process learns to crawl, speak, walk and so forth. Imitation, therefore, is very important in the growth of humans (and I suppose other animals too).The offspring’s ability to successfully mimic and emulate what the parents and environment is crucial to the survival of not only the offspring in question, but society as a whole.But good as it is imitation must be accompanied by innovation for society not to stagnate. This is true in all spheres of life as it is in business world. This ‘modification’ behavior calls for the ability to question and suggest new solutions to societal problems.If this does not happen, imitation becomes a trap and leads us to a case of ‘arrested development’. This unfortunate state is where most of our societies in Africa are now; and where we must move from. An example or two:There is a girls school somewhere in East Africa that colonialists took their daughters. It is a good school, a European school in every way. After independence, African elites took their daughters to the same school. Naturally, it was among the best equipped schools. Then the unfortunate happened.The girls came out of the school totally changed. They had mzungu ways to the boot; the accents, affectations, jokes, slang and all. They even threw their heads back the way white girls do to keep their hair from covering their faces. The parents were delighted.Their village peers were impressed and held them in awe. This has continued to date with Africans who go to Europe and US and come back speaking differently; some even if they only been there for a month or so.It is mimicry to the extreme! You see, we believe that everything western is superior and so we strive to go western full throttle!In business we see this often in form of the ‘sheep complex’— when there seems to be a flurry of activity with everyone striving to set up a particular business that has worked out for a pioneer businesswo/man. In Kigali this is common in pubs, hotels and even hairstyles. Fashionable as it seems, it is not sustainable (remember a business is a going concern?) as it turns even the best products into commodities.Imitation should come with a questioning mind. Then it begets innovation and its creative cousin invention. For example, the just-concluded Rwandan Gacaca court system is a brilliant example of innovation.After 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the new government found itself in the near impossible situation of having to dispense justice with resources that could be considered meager at best. An insane situation, indeed with prisons overcrowded.To cut a long story short, the conventional justice system at its best would not have solved the problem. One only has to compare Gacaca to the Arusha-based Genocide court and get the picture.Gacaca has had its share of vilification but no one can deny that the UN tribunal has been way too expensive and largely ineffective. Point is, we should stop taking things as a given.Imitation in itself is not the devil here. The problem is that we ‘push’ it. We need to look into our each situation and seek appropriate solutions. If someone has solved a similar problem, well and good, let us not reinvent the wheel. BUT let us also remember that ‘similar’ is not the same thing as ‘identical’.The solution that one invents or innovates one owns and will be willing to improve. This is hardly the case with imitated solutions.Imitation is good, but it is also a trap. Innovation is better. A creative integrated approach is the best way to go (and cheaper too).Two things; we should, individually, and as a nation, strive to move from imitation to innovation; this calls for resources.But even when we imitate let us not do it kichwa kichwa: even imitation has to be innovative.