Innovation doesn’t happen by following the rules. It’s the complete opposite. The greatest of ideas happen in the thick of real business, where problems pop up unexpectedly, solutions need to be found in real-time, and bold ideas make the difference between success and failure.
That’s the world explored on The 5% Pod, a podcast hosted by SRED.ca’s very own Co-founder, Jude Brown, and his co-host and longtime friend, Tom Morin. The show brings local business owners and CEOs from the Entrepreneurs Organization of Vancouver Island together to share how they are doing things differently. The show is energetic, entertaining, and sometimes outrageous, but at its core, it’s about one thing: highlighting how REAL people are doing REAL things that are making REAL change, all while challenging the “rules”.
On their recent episode, Tom and Jude welcomed Robin Kelly, a childhood friend of Jude’s who may or may not have taught him how to smoke. Robin’s career spans the Privy Council Office and the Department of Finance, now the Managing Partner at Camargue Investments. Yet he is also a man who is not afraid to send out Christmas cards featuring himself on Santa’s lap in a full jester outfit. This fearlessness towards looking foolish in the pursuit of something different is what Robin calls being unpretentious innovation.
What Robin and the hosts make clear is that innovation isn’t about flashy ideas or expensive labs. It’s about solving REAL problems under REAL constraints. In construction, as in many other industries, the biggest barrier most are facing is minimizing cost AT EVERY TURN. This eliminates the opportunity to experiment and expand the knowledge in the field. Margins are tight, risk is penalized, and growth in R+D is non-existent. Tom doesn’t sugarcoat the problem:
“Culturally, I think in North America, construction is broken. It goes right back to the owners. They are trying to get things designed as cheaply as possible. The whole stip[ulated] sum, low bid culture filters its way all the way through and does not encourage any innovation anywhere because there is no vertical integration.”
This low bid culture creates a race to the bottom. Innovation is inherently expensive and it requires space for trial and error. When bids are tight, the ability to experiment is thrown out the window. Now, you’re not just building cheaply; you’re building a future where no one is allowed to innovate and create new systems to achieve their goals, in fear of failing.
For Canadian businesses investing in R+D, this mindset of unpretentious innovation is exactly what SR&ED is meant to support. Whether that is adapting existing technology to local conditions, improving processes, or testing a new approach that hasn’t been done before is precisely what SR&ED rewards. Innovation happens when people take chances and are willing to challenge the “rules”, exploring solutions most people avoid.
Robin’s approach offers three clear takeaways for Canadian innovators:
SR&ED isn’t just paperwork. It is recognition of REAL work under REAL pressure. In “low-bid” industries where risk is next to impossible, progress comes from those willing to break the rules, try something new, and adapt on the fly. Every lesson learned, every small improvement, every calculated risk is R+D in action, and it’s exactly what will drive the next wave of Canadian innovation.
Check out the full conversation between Tom Morin, Jude Brown and Robin Kelley on Spotify.
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