Innovation lives in the land of the unknown, within possibility.

Why is it so challenging to get to innovation?

Many of us – individuals and companies a like – have difficulties living within the world of the unknown.  Instead we want to stay safely in the world of what we know.  Address all opportunities and challenges from our intellectual sphere of what is known.  We ask ourselves questions like:

• How have I solved that issue in the past?
• What is my success track record based on?
• How can I utilize my success track record here?

No creative solution is harvested in those questions, instead the results will continue the same old same old.  By default, we are problem solving based on what we have done in the past.  The past is not the land of innovation.  Instead we must ask ourselves questions that will bring our focus forward and into areas that we have not tried in the past.

I invite you instead to step out into the unknown the next time a challenge or opportunity arises.  Exercise your possibility muscle by brainstorming on what is possible.  Ask someone to help you by making sure that the options you come up with have not been attempted in the past.   At first this muscle will feel week and it will be challenging.  Like any muscle it takes some practice for ease to be found and it will be found.  Once ideas start flowing you will be amazed at the innovation.  Not all the new ideas will be good ones but looking at all possibilities is a way to really exercise this newly found muscle.   Simply cross out the bad ideas.

The most powerful tools to help this muscle develop are powerful questions.  Ask yourself:

• If this was working right what would it look like?
• What would be happening if this were working right?
• How would the company be structured if this was working right?
• If this was working right who would I have to be?

Give it a shot.  Identify an issue in your life have you been trying to fix for a while.  Ask yourself the above questions to look at what is possible for this issue.   As you continue to practice flexing your possibility muscles, this will become easier and easier.

I look forward to meeting you in the land of the unknown!

Comments

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments