Jai's Blog: Innovation

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Successful innovators seek out mentors.

One of the things successful innovators have in common is that they seek out wise mentors. Mentors usually have reached a level of success in their professional experience. They may offer guidance and advice in both professional and personal areas.

Mentors are an important aspect of growing as an innovator. The smart innovator knows he or she can’t go it alone. A mentor can make the difference between taking the right path or veering off in the wrong direction. Most successful innovators have at some point been guided by a mentor, a trusted advisor. In some cases, successful innovators have had multiple mentors at different stages of their career. Steve Jobs, in the Walter Isaacson’s biography, acknowledged key people who influenced his career and life. In fact, Bill Campbell, who mentored Steve, mentored an entire hall of fame of successful innovators.

Early in my career, my mentor, Bob Davis, set the course for my career. Without his influence, advice, and guidance, I would not have achieved the success I’ve had in my career. My blog, podcast, and book are my efforts to share my experience and knowledge. My desire is to build a community and encourage others in the innovation arena. It’s my way to pay back Bob for his impact on my life.

When you find that great mentor and success ensues, you’re motivated to pay it forward. Richard Branson credits success with Virgin Atlantic to the mentorship he received from Sir Freddie Laker. As founder of Laker Airways, Sir Laker had the experience and expertise and was willing to share that. Years later, Branson has launched Virgin Startup to help a new generation of entrepreneurs.

Successful innovators surround themselves with like-minded people.

Successful innovators engage with people who have similar values and goals. They put themselves in an environment where they can talk about their ideas and grow in a creative sense.

A group known as “The Vagabonds”, were the innovators of their day. Their ranks included Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, John Burroughs and were joined by others. They banded together to go on annual camping expeditions. They took a break from their busy lives, got outdoors, and enjoyed nature. But they also engaged in the exchange of ideas. Wouldn’t you love to be sitting around the campfire listening in? Here were a group of men with vastly different expertise and endeavors. Yet, they had the common ground of being innovative thinkers.

Finding an environment to share your ideas and encourage others is another step towards success. Today, there are a number of ways to connect with other innovators of diverse backgrounds. One venue I attend is the annual TED conference. It’s a great way to interact with others at the forefront of innovative thinking. Are you in search of place for open exchange of innovation ideas? The Innovator’s Community is a private, online group that allows you to engage with fellow innovators.

Successful innovators are not afraid to step out of the comfort zone.

Successful innovators are not afraid to leave their comfort zones. Sometimes this means venturing out on your own when the people around you don’t see your vision. It could also mean getting out of your routine, the comfort of the office, or cushy job, and exploring what’s out there. Maybe it’s trying something outrageous that you’ve never dared to do before. Getting out of your comfort zone can open up new avenues and give you a fresh perspective.

It wasn’t until his sixties that Harland Sanders developed his successful fried chicken franchise. Before that, he had dabbled in cooking and serving his secret recipe fried chicken. But it wasn’t his main source of income. Until his franchising success, he went through a range of jobs. Railroad worker, insurance salesman, ferry boat owner, lawyer, among other things. Harland was always trying something new and different. Whether it was out of necessity or choice, Harland never sat back and got comfortable.

Jeff Bezos was in a successful position at investment firm D.E. Shaw when he decided to leave it, borrow money, and start Amazon. Stepping away from financial security into the unknown with potential for failure did not concern him. What concerned him were his regrets if he didn’t take that chance.

Successful innovators value alternative approaches and unique perspectives.

Another quality that successful innovators possess is that they try to see things from different perspectives. They look for alternative approaches. They step out of their personal experiences and biases to examine what others are thinking and why.

In the eighteenth century, seafarers faced uncertain danger at sea. Only half of the navigation equation was known. Sailors could determine latitude, but no one had figured out an accurate way to find longitude. This caused loss of ships and lives due to the missing piece in the navigation puzzle. Astronomers, scientists, and mariners worked to find a solution. The British government opened up an opportunity to the public to solve the problem. The government offered the Longitude prize for the person who could develop an accurate way to measure longitude.

The unlikely winner was a clockmaker, not an astronomer, mariner, or scientist. Even Isaac Newton doubted the unique approach of John Harrison. Harrison knew clocks and carpentry. He developed an alternative approach to those proposed by leading scientists and astronomers. His maritime clock could maintain time accurately of a reference point despite conditions at sea. Harrison faced criticism. His perspective was not well received. The Board of Longitude, who reviewed and awarded the Longitude Prize, were a smug bunch. Their doubts of Harrison’s solution delayed the process. His innovation took many years to develop and refine. The naysayers only compelled him to perfect his marine clock. He stuck with it despite the obstacles. By applying his skills and knowledge in one area, he was able to solve a problem in a seemingly unrelated field.

Seek out honest opinions and don’t be held back by assumptions. Even if you’re a lone innovator not working with a team, you can still find people to give a fresh perspective. Ask someone with a different background to review your product. Seek out a younger or older family member’s opinion. Actively listen to others’ points of view to enhance your own understanding. Listening to diverse opinions will give you a better grasp of viewpoints in the greater population. Talk to people who think differently from you. Maybe it’s someone whose opinion you usually disagree with. They may point out flaws in your approach that help you perfect your product or possibly decide to pivot.

Successful innovators never stop asking questions.

Successful innovators have an innate curiosity. This means they never stop asking questions. By asking the right questions, they are challenging assumptions and exploring new ways of thinking about things. They refuse to accept the premise that, “This is the way it’s always been done.” Their questions compel them to make radical changes to the way things are done. As result, these successful innovators create major disruption to industries. Innovators remember specific questions they asked that led to their successful ventures. In a study on successful innovators, Michael Dell told researchers(Harvard Business Review, Dec 2009) he wondered “why a computer cost five times as much as the sum of its parts.”

I firmly believe that asking questions is the life breath of innovation. Hence, I developed the Killer Questions to spark the thought process for innovation.

Successful innovators set aside time to think.

Both deep focus thinking and spontaneous thoughts generated through moments of relaxation can produce innovative ideas and solutions. People who are too busy with daily tasks and meeting expectations, don’t have the freedom to allow their mind to wander. The mind needs that free space to be creative. You have to give room for thoughts. Successful innovators set aside time to think. This means setting aside a time and a place. It can also mean taking a break from work to help your mind relax. Some of the best ideas happen while relaxing or doing something enjoyable that is unrelated to work. Observing nature, like the Vagabonds did, away from daily tasks opens the mind to new perspectives.

These six practices are by no means a comprehensive list. These are just some of the practices you can adopt and use as you strive towards your innovation goals.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sincerely-sima-finding-time-innovation-sima-shimansky?trk=pulse-det-nav_art

Sincerely Sima: Finding Time for Innovation

Don’t have time for innovation? This third entry in the “Sincerely Sima”Innovation Q&A series provides some tips for fitting innovation into your schedule, whether you’re an employee participating in an innovation program, a manager who’s leading one or a senior leader who’s tracking and expecting results.

Dear Sima, we want to be a more innovative company but find that the biggest roadblock to that is time. Innovation is not our full time job, but sometimes it feels like to keep people engaged in innovation, we need to commit a good deal of our time. Do you have any tips for finding time to make innovation successful?

This is a question I hear a lot, from organizations large and small, and across a variety of industries. Innovation takes time, and building an innovative culture doesn’t happen overnight. Achieving your innovation goals demands habitual practice. On the other hand, time is a precious commodity, and it can be difficult to find time to innovate.

The good news is, short bursts of activity can help make anything (even innovation!) a habit as long as they are practiced consistently. For instance, if your goal is to make exercise a part of your life, dedicating just 5 minutes a day for a few weeks can get you in the habit of exercising and help you achieve your fitness goals. Similarly, dedicating regular intervals to innovation can get your team into the habit of innovating, and over time, make your company culture more innovative.

Consistency is the hardest part when forming your new innovation habit, and the key to achieving consistency is setting aside time and not waiting until you “find the time”, because, let’s face it - we’re all too busy and spare time is hard to come by. Scheduling time for short intervals of innovation, actually putting it on the calendar, helps you commit to and achieve consistency and will ultimately get you closer to your innovation goals.

So how can you optimize your time spent on innovation and get the most out of the 15, 10 or even 5 minutes you’re able to schedule each day or week?

If you’re a Senior Leader or Stakeholder in an innovation program...

15 Minutes of Teamwork: Your Moderators and team leads are key to making your innovation goals possible. Their attentiveness to your employees, and the feedback they provide drives continuous engagement in your innovation program. So, if you can carve out 15 minutes each week to devote to this team, you can give them the support they need to make it successful. Regularly scheduled 15-minute check-ins are a great opportunity to quickly review evaluation criteria or impending deadlines, or make decisions about the most promising ideas.

10 Minutes of Motivation: Your participation in innovation sets an example for your employees and signals to them that you are listening. Spend 10 minutes contributing an idea or drawing up an email thanking people for their ideas and participation. Seeing executives contribute to innovation is a strong motivator for participants, and will yield a high rate of return on your investment of time.

5 Minutes of Research: In a recent interview, Al Guido, President of the San Francisco 49ers who was instrumental in the planning and construction of the innovative new Levi’s Stadium, shared his insights around creating a culture of innovation:

"I ask people to take five minutes out of any given day, close their inbox, step away from their computer, take a walk around the stadium, read the newspaper, and think about what is going on in the world...one article from the tech industry can generate ten ideas that can be applied to the sports world."

Five minutes spent on research and strategic thinking about innovation, even unrelated to your field, can open your mind to new ideas and opportunities.

If you’re a Campaign lead or Moderator...

15 Minutes of Campaign Planning: Campaigns set the context for participation in solving your most pressing business challenges. We’ve found that the more well-defined your Campaign context, the higher quality ideas you’ll receive from your team. Spend 15 minutes scoping out your next Campaign: dig deep into why this is an important challenge and what criteria you’ll use to make decisions. A well-thought-out Campaign will pay off not only in the ideation phase with quantity and quality of ideas, but also in the evaluation phase, when you have a clearer path towards making decisions.

10 Minutes of Decision Making: Decisions drive successful innovation. Without them, ideas won’t see the light of day and ingenuity is wasted. Decisions and feedback are also the most important thing you can contribute to keeping participants engaged in innovation. Decisions let your team know you’re paying attention and guide participants towards better ideas. Dedicate just ten minutes to decisions and you just might be responsible for the next big project!

5 Minutes Requesting Feedback: A great manager knows the strengths of each team member, and calls upon the combined strength of the team to produce great results. By requesting feedback from others, you can not only save time evaluating ideas (making progress in just five minutes!), but you can utilize the expertise of your team members to make more well-informed decisions.

If you’re an Innovator or Participant in an innovation program...

15 Minutes on Your Next Big Idea: You may have been on a call with a customer, driving home from work, or even in the shower when your next big idea hit you. Take 15 minutes to expand upon that initial flash of insight. How will it work? What steps or teams are necessary to make it happen? The more information you can provide about your idea (pictures and video are great too!), the easier it will be for others to visualize it, and ultimately decide whether it can be implemented.

10 Minutes Supporting Your Team: The biggest perk of social innovation is the ability to collaborate with your team, providing support by voting on their ideas, or providing the feedback that can help make ideas even better. Spend ten minutes encouraging your colleagues and you’ll not only contribute to a more innovative culture, you may even make a new friend at work!

5 Minutes Spreading the Word: Spot an idea or challenge that your colleague would be really interested in? Share it with them! Bringing new participants into the conversation is a quick and easy way to get involved in innovation and help spread the word about all of the great ideas your team has come up with.

No matter how much time you’re spending on innovation, I hope that this Q&A series has helped you get a bit closer to your innovation goals. This is the last in my 3-part Sincerely Sima series, but you can always reach out to me and the Kindling Support Team for guidance at support@kindlingapp.com. We love hearing from you!

This was originally published on the Kindling Blog.

Successful innovators seek out mentors.

Successful innovators surround themselves with like-minded people.

Successful innovators are not afraid to step out of the comfort zone.

Successful innovators value alternative approaches and unique perspectives.

Successful innovators never stop asking questions.

Successful innovators set aside time to think.

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Successful innovators seek out mentors.

Successful innovators surround themselves with like-minded people.

Successful innovators are not afraid to step out of the comfort zone.

Successful innovators value alternative approaches and unique perspectives.

Successful innovators never stop asking questions.

Successful innovators set aside time to think.

Total Posts

Search this Site

Connect with Me

Translate Articles

Total Pageviews

Contributors

My Achievements

My Favorite Links

Subscribe To

Contact Form

Blog Archive

Recent Posts

Followers

Report Abuse

Popular Posts

Comments