Innovation is a State of Mind

Conclusion: The adventure of innovation

I once had a boss who gave me a task. I worked really hard and finished most of it, but there was one thing I didn't understand. I went into his office, told him my problem and asked him if he could explain it.

‘No,' he replied.

‘Oh,' I said, taken aback. ‘Umm, why not?'

‘Because you haven't thought about it.'

‘Yes, I have.'

‘Well, think about it some more,' he said.

I retreated to my office and felt sorry for myself. Then I started to think about the thing I didn't understand. I thought and thought and thought, and eventually I figured it out. I realised that I hadn't really tried very hard to work it out for myself before giving up and asking my boss. He had been right when he said I hadn't thought about it, and instead of spoon-feeding me, he had called me out on my intellectual laziness.

I learned two valuable lessons that day. One was that often, when we feel like we are working really hard, we are not actually thinking that hard at all.

The second was that when we do take a few moments to step back and really start thinking, we can solve many of our problems.

Innovation isn't easy. But it's not something that only geniuses can do, either. When it comes to innovation (and many other things) brilliance is overrated, and determination and hard work are underrated.

For the most part, I have argued that you should try to be innovative because it will be good for your business, but there's another reason that innovation is a good thing ...