Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott wrote this opinion article following this year’s Women Leaders’ delegation to Israel.
I was honoured to jointly lead the 4th Annual Women Leaders’ delegation to Israel last month with The Smith Family’s Chairman Christine Bartlett to hear how Israel has worked to build an innovative and dynamic economy for its people.
Many leaders from our member companies joined us on the Australia–Israel Chamber of Commerce trade mission, including representatives from Coles, IBM, ANZ, Microsoft Australia, Wesfarmers, Optus, the CSIRO as well as numerous universities and the Group of Eight.
I’d like to share some of the delegation’s insights on how we can better orientate the Australian economy to take advantage of future opportunities and weather unexpected challenges.
To do this, Australia needs to build on the work already underway to embrace innovation, invention, creativity, collaboration and problem solving. Applying this to everything we do can help us grow the Australian economy faster and share the benefits.
For Israelis, innovation isn’t a technocratic word that turns people off, it’s a way of life.
Cultural embrace of thinking outside the box
Innovation is part of Israel’s DNA, based on their history and need. This creates a burning platform to embrace new and better ways of doing things, and create solutions.
They’ve worked hard to make innovation part of their culture. As a nation, we can learn from this.
Israel has successfully created a “can do’’ culture with the mindset of giving it a go. They’re highly collaborative and understand that a team works best when every person and organisation plays to their strengths. They also pull in the same direction.
I’ve often spoken about how one of the key ingredients of success is to have a clear purpose backed by vision and values. Israelis share the same goals, reinforced by strong leadership, and they have an ability to articulate their ideas and solutions simply.
Australians are just as smart, creative and technologically savvy as our Israeli counterparts, but what we seem to lack is a national embrace of the benefits of innovation and technology.
In our homes, innovation has liberated many people from menial and mundane tasks while technological breakthroughs have changed lives.
This includes veterans who can now walk because of high-tech artificial limbs, children who are able to hear because of the advances of a cochlear implant, and the Australians who are alive today thanks to the coronary stent.
A solar-powered plane can now fly around the world without one litre of fuel.
And, it will be technology that gives us the best chance to reduce world poverty, to bridge the educational divide, to manage climate risk, and erase distances to bring us closer together.
Israelis have a strong belief that innovation will deliver a more prosperous nation, and they even have cultural institutions dedicated to celebrating innovation. There’s no reason why Australia shouldn’t also see innovation as an economic and social game changer.
One of the other important cultural traits in Israel is their willingness to take risks. They’re encouraged to give things a go and they aren’t afraid of failure.
This, of course, is made possible by having an environment that encourages confidence and risk-taking.
Structures in place to promote technology and innovation
The structural framework in Israel is designed to foster collaboration, with governments, universities, venture capital, business, start-ups and the community working towards a common goal.
The delegation saw this on display when we visited organisations such as the Israel Innovation Authority; the National Economic Council of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office; the Peres Centre for Peace & Innovation, Ben-Gurion University, and the Weizmann Institute.
Through compulsory military service, young people are identified for their talents and put into streams that develop their abilities. It builds their confidence, skills and problem-solving abilities.
While we obviously have a different system in Australia, a more strategic focus on identifying, developing and nurturing talent to match skills and abilities is a great way to get the best out of a nation’s most important asset – its people.
Israel also has a deliberate long-term focus on developing regional or industry-specific hubs to maximise their comparative advantages. By grouping together universities, infrastructure, start-ups, venture capital, business and transport options, they create ecosystems where innovation, cyber and technology can flourish. We do some of this here, but there is scope for much more.
Adopting a focus on innovation in Australia
The most striking thing is that Israel’s focus on innovation is not left to chance.
Their businesses, governments, people and organisations partner in progress from the start, middle and end with a long-term vision. They are driven by their shared sense of purpose.
Innovation is still an opaque concept in Australia, rather than something that is tangible and life changing. It is often concerning to many Australians and viewed as a threat to jobs, or just presented as start-ups.
The reality is that Australia is home to a lot of world-leading innovation, but as a nation we’re not good at talking about it or explaining the benefits.
I believe an opportunity exists for the business community to step in and help improve the community’s understanding – and appreciation – of how innovation and technology raises living standards and improves lives.
By promoting innovation, backed by a thriving and expanding business sector, Australia can drive higher productivity and faster economic growth to create more jobs, better jobs, smarter jobs, and more highly paid jobs.
We know this won’t just happen, we have to work for it.
Australia needs an environment that encourages new ideas, risk-taking and investment, especially into the areas where we already have competitive advantages.
It’s about getting the key players here sharing a clear purpose and working together, including companies, government, and universities as well as skills providers, to ensure Australians have the training and skills to compete.
Innovation isn’t just about start-ups.
For Israelis, innovation represents hope.
It’s living in an arid country but being able to grow their own food.
For Australians, innovation can also be a path to achieve a healthier and more prosperous society.