tively influence your thinking. Finally, get curious. Curiosity about the ideas of others can drive innovation in leaders. In moments of curiosity, we find ourselves extracting the most out of experiences.We ask probing questions, read deeply with intent, manipulate and examine objects, and persist in activities and tasks that we find both challenging and stimulating.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few,” said Zen master Shunryu Su- zuki.We have to nurture curiosity continually to enable cre- ativity to emerge.We do this by remaining open to all ideas and new ways of seeing the world. Experiences, emotions and understandings of information that confronts us tend
to converge in our minds as we try to make sense of it.Yet innovative ideas and solutions often require our thinking to diverge out from a central idea or experience.
To accelerate and sustain our own ability to innovate, we must first change our approach to thinking — step out of cognitive ruts we may have developed or that were imposed on us, and embrace divergent thinking without fear.A few strategies to nurture such thinking include allowing all ideas to surface without bias, pursuing “acci- dental” innovation, choosing ideas carefully, and exercising optimistic thinking. l
Exploration: Go to the Woodshed
Known in jazz circles as “going to the woodshed” or “woodshedding,” the term means secluding oneself to develop virtuosity through practice and hard work.
Innovation may start with a spark of inspiration and be fed by aspiration, but every new idea needs to be probed, prodded and explored in detail.This component of the innovation journey requires work, grit, determination and unflagging perseverance to maximize innovation within ourselves, inspire others to do the same, and ultimately contribute to the innovative end result to which we aspire. It’s in this part of the innovation journey that we are most likely to get distracted or lose momentum.
It is grit — perseverance and passion for long-term goals plus a willingness to remain tenacious in the face of adversity — that leads to deep expertise and mastery necessary to propel innovation.
A key component of companies that differentiate themselves well from their competitors is the ability and willingness to put a stake in the ground on key market expertise. Developing deep niche expertise is critical to making valuable contributions. It requires developing the right kind of cultural environment and expectations,
including clearly defined and valued products and services in the market.To develop such deep expertise, employees need the time and space to fully explore their ideas.
Capturing internal voices of distinction is also key. Great stories are at the heart of the world’s best businesses and an integral part of any successful communication strategy.To develop these stories, we can ask questions like these:
• What does the corporate mission mean to you?
• How do you embody that mission in the way you work and how you live your life?
• What positive outcomes do you feel you have achieved, and how did you achieve them?
• What advice would you give to new employees or those being promoted?
With these stories, we can tap into three key ingredients for building success for the business:
• Use of strategic stories: Stories that illustrate a concept tend to be memorable. Strategic stories are targeted stories intended to elicit a specific outcome.
• Tapping strong internal credibility: We can tap into one of the most valuable aspects for translating mindsets and skill sets by presenting a familiar and credible person to deliver the message.
• Sustaining company identity: To build a truly iconic, signature brand, a key guiding force comes from the existing people in the stories readily available in the company. By capturing and sharing those voices of distinction, a company can sustain and reinforce
the culture. l
Aspiration: Dream Well —
You May Find Yourself There
Aspiration can come from many sources, but often it’s from a person, fictional or real, whom we find heroic. Em- ulating the traits of heroes is an important part of realizing the aspirational self and leader.An aspiration is not only an articulated goal but also a feeling of hope and optimism about an intended success as well as a tangible outcome. Aspiration is one of the most powerful ideas leaders can give to others:
• Share Truth: To get closer to the truth and gain higher aspirations of everyone in the organization, first we have to find the hidden truths and share them. We have the obligation to say out loud when we
don’t know the intricacies of complex projects, and we expect and demand that those closest to the detail publicly bring to the surface any concerns.