The Innovative Mindset

Chapter 7Building Your Innovation Fitness Plan

I've had the privilege of experiencing three dramatically different worlds throughout my life—competitive college sports, the performing arts, and business. One thing that has always stuck out for me is the difference in how the concept of practice is implemented in those three worlds. In sports and the arts, we tend to practice most of the time and execute far less frequently. For example, it was clear to me why we practiced five time a week for three hours for one game on Saturday, why when I changed positions on my college football team I had to spend countless hours practicing the specific skills that were needed to be successful in that new position, and why the specific weight-lifting regimen my coaches gave me was directly related to the muscles most important to my role.

In the world of theater, we spend 30 minutes warming up our voices, 30 minutes warming up our bodies, and 30 minutes warming up our minds to begin the daily rehearsal for the current show. Even improvisation, which is created on the spot, takes significant preparation and a robust warm-up to be executed successfully.

And then there's the world of business, which demands that we wake up, drink our cup of coffee, and execute, execute, execute all day long. When we are asked to improve, to learn new skills, and to meet our professional development goals, we ...