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Hello,
Welcome to Connecting Dots, the monthly newsletter on Innovation Leadership by Brett Macfarlane.
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How to be a Better Innovator: A 10-Point Plan
1. Stop preaching about failure - recognize progress towards the vision
2. Treat colleagues as customers - understand their needs professionally and personally
3. Know your teammates better - building genuine relationships builds resilient teams
4. Do more - like a parent to a child we can get overly attached to one idea so have many
5. Do less - don’t overwhelm others with theory, tools, workshops and communication that interests you and only you
6. Understand how your firm makes its money - it keeps you honest, focused and in touch with the mission
7. Stop dressing for differentiation - your work is what others see if they aren’t distracted
8. Obsess progress over perfection - until lightning strikes keep growing the tree that will catch it
9. Accept timing - practice strategic patience by accepting your proposition might be right in theory but not necessarily right now
10. Be humble - no matter your budget or authority you operate in an “at-will” collaboration environment
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About
Innovators have a tough job. A job they often unknowingly make tougher by how they behave and act. This list is based on self-defeating patterns I often see with innovation leaders.
In pursuit of the latest concepts, tools and techniques, innovators often overlook the equally vital social and inter-personal aspects of innovation.
As a subversive act in any company, innovation puts people on edge. Hence resistance or withdrawal are common and understandable responses from peers you hope will contribute support, time, resources or budgets.
As you start work tomorrow, reflect on these 10 points. They may help empower progress within and beyond your team.