Exploring the New
A curiousity that is always on the look out for ideas to investigate trends and identify new possibilities
Effectiveness = Creativity x Order. What is your impact factor? First rate your level of personal creativity, and then rate yourself on organisation and order. Multiply the two - that is your effectiveness. Don’t operate in a state of personal chaos. It can only inhibit your innovation and constrain your leadership impact. Get organised by creating a working structure and organisational system that establishes control over your work flow and time management.
Embark on “finitiatives” and stop new projects. The drive to embark on new initiatives, apart from creating complexity and confusion in your life, holds you back from reflecting on what is and isn’t working. Rather than implement another new idea, evaluate the impact of your previous and current projects. Finish your current initiatives. Bring your projects to a conclusion and ask: “What was supposed to happen? What did happen? Why was there a difference? What can we learn?” Consolidate your learning before you embark on a new project.
The fallacy of the “great idea”. There is no shortage of great ideas. But no one ever succeeded through coming up with a great idea. “Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act falls the decision.” It is the implementation of your ideas that will make a difference. And if you aren’t the practical person to manage implementation, then make sure you work with others who can make it happen.
Murphy’s Law applies. If something will go wrong then it will. And Murphy was an optimist. Your natural enthusiasm and curiousity to respond positively to new ideas drives you to take on different challenges. But if something will go wrong, it will. Don’t assume the worst but do anticipate there will be problems on the way. Think through the implementation of your ideas in detail to anticipate what might go wrong. www.maths.nott.ac.uk
There is no short cut to creativity. Most of the time, creativity demands hard work, research, non-stop thinking and trial-and-error experimentation and the willingness to backtrack and explore alternative ideas. Creativity techniques may kick-start your thinking when you’re stuck but in themselves won’t generate originality. Maintain the desire to create something new but accept it won’t come from a blinding flash out of the blue. Do the hard work to create something that it is genuinely original and distinctive.
“Stand on the shoulders of giants”. Backtracking to explore problems from first principles is important. But recognise the achievements of your predecessors, those individuals who have pioneered innovation. Build on their insights to advance your own thinking. Don’t dismiss previous thinking as out-dated and irrelevant. Look for ways to advance others’ ideas in new directions with different applications.
Break the rules. Each sector, industry, profession and vocation operates around an established formula of success. The trick is to recognise quickly the recipe and follow it more efficiently than your competitors. But exceptional success requires you to break the rules, to do what no one else is doing. Be prepared to take risks to experiment with new approaches. Don’t go crazy – take well informed risks – but do deploy your creativity to push ahead when others are still stuck in operating strategies which have outlived their usefulness.
“Try a lot of stuff and see what works.” Don’t assume that one amazing idea will provide a breakthrough solution to transform your life situation. Keep experimenting to vary your ideas and track and evaluate others’ feedback to fine-tune your “concept”. Don’t be precious about your ideas. Be prepared to abandon those ideas which are failing. But maintain a “pipeline” of ideas, turning the creative wheel to keep a flow of ideas, accepting that most will fall by the wayside but that a few will trigger new life opportunities. Your motto: “test fast, fail fast, adjust fast.”
Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast. “Try a lot of stuff and see what works.” Don’t assume that one amazing idea will provide a breakthrough solution to transform your current situation. Keep experimenting to vary your ideas and track and evaluate others’ feedback to fine-tune your “concept”. Don’t be precious about your ideas. Be prepared to abandon those ideas which are failing. But maintain a “pipeline” of ideas, turning the creative wheel to keep a flow of new ideas, accepting that most will fall by the wayside but that a few will trigger opportunities.
Don’t let boredom be your key driver. Don’t be tempted to tinker with what is working well. Analyse objectively what is and isn’t working. Leave what’s working alone to turn your mind to those activities that are genuinely in need of fresh thinking. Don’t allow any restlessness on your part lead you into a course of direction that is counter-productive to your long-term success.
Listen to wise counsel. Your enthusiasm to initiate and move things forward takes you off in new directions. Make sure you are also listening to those experienced members of your team who can provide good advice. Encourage others to express their genuine views, including their reservations, and be prepared to rethink your ambitious plans. www.businesslistening.com
Most innovation comes from unexpected success and failure. Analyse the successes and failures in your life which have surprised you. Why did something work so much better than you anticipated? And why did something you thought would work fail? Breakthrough ideas originate in this zone. Not from the obvious stuff but from the surprises of life. These are the “tip of the iceberg”, the indicators of something more fundamental that you can learn from.
Switch off from “learning”. Don’t keep cramming new information and ideas into your brain. Give yourself time to clear your mind, reflect and think. Don’t substitute new information for the hard work of learning, of assimilating and digesting existing ideas to make them real and personal for you. But maintain your curiousity. Keep asking questions but don’t pursue every interesting life possibility in life.
Conformity is hard-wired into human nature. Don’t expect that your new ideas will gain immediate acceptance from others. Unfamiliar and radical proposals are potentially disruptive. They create resistance from those who prefer the familiar and hostility from those who have much to lose if your plans are accepted. Your allies are uncertain about the consequences for them personally and your adversaries want to see you fail. Position your ideas as an evolution of current practice rather than as a revolution which will over-turn existing arrangements.
Implement change but anticipate resistance. Change is good for you; it represents the force for innovation and improvement in your life. Change is bad; it creates uncertainty for others: “What does this change mean for me? Will it make my life better or worse? Will I be out of a job?” Recognise this life reality. If you don’t, you will be constantly frustrated by your lack of success in the implementation of change and unable to overcome those who will block and resist you at every point in your plans. Accept the difficulty of change. But recognise the power of clarity. Keep:
- describing your vision of the future, it is the only vision. There are no alternatives. Make it real for others, leaving no doubt about your intentions
- outlining how your vision can be achieved. Provide a road map to indicate the path to the future
- reinforcing the message that the vision will be achieved. There is no going back. Supporters of change will be rewarded and opponents will be side-lined.
Final check: can you explain to your colleagues, anxious about the future and its uncertainties, why your proposals are a good thing for them personally? Can you create a specific vision which energies them?
Differentiate to reinvent yourself. Keep looking for ways to be different, not to be idiosyncratic or eccentric, but to stand out from your “competitors”, in your career, business and in life generally. Success is spotted quickly and imitated easily. Others will crowd into the “space” you have found, attempting to replicate your success, but more quickly, cheaper or better. Draw on your creativity to keep the process of innovation going to keep a distance from your rivals.
Prioritise ideas to focus on those with the most potential. Innovation is powerful. But your work area needs the capacity to assimilate and manage these ideas if promising concepts are to be translated into practical products and services that make money. Work through the current set of ideas on the table against clear criteria to identify those that will make a significant impact on your organisation’s bottom line.
Don’t let distractions divert you from your fundamental life goals. Life throws up possibilities, each of which have the potential to transform your life situation. And each has the risk to derail you from pursuing your aims. Don’t chase after each and every life option. Weigh up the pros and cons in a level headed way to determine which opportunities are best placed to advance your goals.
Get out of the backroom. Ensure that your originality and creativity are recognised by others. Don’t allow others to claim credit for your achievements. Ensure that your distinctive contribution is known to key stakeholders, not just within your immediate circle. Be proactive in developing relationships – up, down and across the organisation – to ensure that others are aware of your efforts. Your most important asset in life is your brainpower and innovation. Make yourself indispensable and build a reputation for being indispensable.
Timing is everything. Some ideas fail because they are just bad ideas, ideas which will never work. Other ideas don’t work because they are badly planned and implemented. And other ideas fail because the timing is wrong. Don’t abandon a good idea because the timing is wrong. Be patient in waiting for a future moment when you can reposition the concept for a better time.
Turn down career opportunities. Some career opportunities however well sold or rewarded, are too high risk. The alarm bells should sound when you hear:
- “We’d like you to run this new company we’ve just bought.” If the company is already successful, all you can do is make it a bit better. If it’s unsuccessful, you’re in trouble-shooting mode.
- “It might seem a lateral move but..” Positioned as an important step in your long-term career development, these moves are simply a way of saying, “we don’t know what to do with you and/or no key players want you. If your current organisation doesn’t know what to do with you, find one that does.
- “This is a new position built around your specific talents” Does the role make sense against the realities of the market place? If it doesn’t, you’re in trouble.