Innovation is hard work.
It’s far easier to throw around creative ideas during a meeting than it is to do the actual work of innovation. Yes, ideas are impotent without action! Anyone who wants to create real change will have to move beyond ideas to effective innovation.
Here are some practical insights to developing a helpful perspective and praxis for innovation:
1. Innovation changes the current situation into a preferred one.
Innovation is not simply the act of adding a new idea on top of previous ones, especially those that created the problems in the first place. Rather, it’s an endeavor to diverge and create a new reality that breaks through current roadblocks to the future that we desire.
2. Innovation requires good problem solving and design skills.
Good innovators have (1) the ability to identify, clarify and articulate the real problem; and (2) design a practical solution that people actually need. Developing this skill-set requires lots of practice and time. Stay patient and keep at it.
3. Innovation embraces strategy, metrics, implementation, assessment, and on-going refinement.
Innovation does not shy away from structured opportunities to plan, launch, assess, celebrate, and refine. Measuring the intake, process, and output of innovation are essential to progress.
Innovation can truly change our lives. Let’s commit to putting our creative ideas to work!
