Excerpt from LinkedIn Prose - Theodora Lau
Experimenting does not mean throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks, nor pursuing creativity for the sake of creating something, anything. The strategy lies in balancing discipline and accountability, while giving people the flexibility and freedom to think and to explore.
Easier said than done, I know. After all, innovation isn’t a one-time budget line item for a fiscal year. It needs to be part of the organization’s DNA, and across all teams and disciplines.
And you wonder why “innovation chiefs” play musical chairs.
When the music stops and we take stock of what is around us and how we go about our everyday lives, what do we notice? What do we see and what do we hear?
Who do we serve and how can that be done better?
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer.” - Harriet Tubman
Oftentimes, especially of late, we become so obsessed with where people physically sit, that we forget the part about how they work. Innovation isn’t magic. Putting the teams in an innovation class with big sketch pads and markers does not magically make them innovative; nor do opening up innovation centers that serve as glorified event space.
Instead, we need to be hungry.
Hungry for knowledge. Hungry for change.
“Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better.” -Florence Nightingale
When was the last time you gave yourself the permission to dream, imagine the impossible, and create a future of what could have been?
When was the last time you looked at the world around us and asked: “What if?” and “Why?”
Just like how a curious child is always eager to learn more about the world they live in through every experience and interaction, perhaps it’s time for us to regain that inquisitiveness and see the world through their lens.
And perhaps, just perhaps, we would find out that the answer to the ultimate great question of “Life, the Universe and Everything” might indeed be 42.
“Amazing the things you find when you bother to search for them.” Sacagawea (also known as Sacajawea)
When we talk about innovation, oftentimes we think about those in technology. But innovation goes beyond artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantum computing. Beyond the bits and bytes, it is also about changing mindsets and thinking critically and differently. It is about being comfortable with the uncomfortable. It is about allowing ourselves the time and opportunity to learn to be clumsy and to embrace failure as part of our journey.
