Curious about Innovation: How Do We Achieve, Use and Benefit from It? How Important Is It to You?

“The five essential entrepreneurial skills for success are concentration, discrimination, organization, innovation and communication.” - Michael Faraday, English scientist

“Business has only two functions - marketing and innovation.” - Milan Kundera, Czechoslovakian writer

I can honestly state that every book, article and recording I have read and/or heard has suggested that to become successful, we must innovate. And then, we must take action on our innovation and innovative ideas.

This was all brought to the forefront this past week when I watched a super video presentation by Guy Kawasaki, called “The Art of Innovation.” Given at the 2007 Event Marketing Conference, the presentation covered ten important and necessary qualities for innovation to succeed. You can view the video at www.zentation.com and read Kawasaki’s thoughts on his blog, which you will find here.

Of course, I was interested to find out what other experts have to say about innovation, and know you will be interested too:

• “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” - Steve Jobs, American businessman“
• An innovation is one of those things that society looks at and says, if we make this part of the way we live and work, it will change the way we live and work.” - Dean Kamen, American inventor“
• Microsoft is not about greed. It's about innovation and fairness.” - Bill Gates, American businessman
• “But an innovation, to grow organically from within, has to be based on an intact tradition, so our idea is to bring together musicians who represent all these traditions, in workshops, festivals, and concerts, to see how we can connect with each other in music.” - Yo-Yo Ma, American musician
• “Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity.” - Michael Porter, American educator
• “Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.” - Peter Drucker, American businessman

But, then there are some other considerations about innovation and its adoption:

• “Innovation is this amazing intersection between someone's imagination and the reality in which they live. The problem is, many companies don't have great imagination, but their view of reality tells them that it's impossible to do what they imagine.” - Ron Johnson, Canadian politician
• “Modern science is fast-moving, and no laboratory can exist for long with a program based on old facilities. Innovation and renewal are required to keep a laboratory on the frontiers of science.” - Burton Richter, American scientist
• “Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview - nothing more constraining, more blinding to innovation, more destructive of openness to novelty.” - Stephen Jay Gould, American scientist
• “So many cartoonists draw the same year after year. When they find a style, they stick with it. They don't mess with innovation, and they become boring.” - Pat Oliphant, Australian cartoonist
• “Mindless habitual behavior is the enemy of innovation.” - Rosabeth Moss Kanter, American businesswoman

Do you innovate? How about acting upon those compelling innovative ideas? I can’t begin to tell you about all of the examples I have accumulated of people getting great ideas, putting them on the back burner, and then later seeing their ideas being used and sold. I know that I have done the same thing, too.

So here are some quotations for you to think on and act upon this coming week:

• “You have all the reason in the world to achieve your grandest dreams. Imagination plus innovation equals realization.” - Denis Waitley, American writer
• “We can believe that we know where the world should go. But unless we're in touch with our customers, our model of the world can diverge from reality. There's no substitute for innovation, of course, but innovation is no substitute for being in touch, either.” - Steve Ballmer, American businessman
• “Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.” - Winston Churchill, English statesman

Have a productively innovative week. And, do let me know how it goes.

Curious about Priority and Priorities: Does and Do the Ones You Set and Pursue Serve You Well - Or Are They a Bit Ridiculous?

“Getting in touch with your true self must be your first priority.” - Tom Hopkins, American businessman

“Don't be a time manager, be a priority manager. Cut your major goals into bite-sized pieces. Each small priority or requirement on the way to ultimate goal become a mini goal in itself.” - Denis Waitley, American writer

This past week I attended a networking event that is sponsored monthly by the local Chamber of Commerce that I recently joined. They work together with a member organization to offer a two-hour evening get together at the organization’s location. A good number of members attend. There is a great opportunity to meet others and find out about their businesses and exchange business cards. I have made attending these a monthly priority.

One of the “old-timer” members asked me if I attend the monthly luncheons sponsored by the Chamber. I told him that, “No, they are scheduled at the same time I teach two of my fitness classes.” He suggested that I have my priorities wrong, should give up those fitness classes and make the luncheons a priority. He pointed out that the true movers and shakers attend and that if I want to meet them I should forget the classes where my income is low.

He is probably right about the “movers and shakers” and is definitely right about the ten fitness classes I lead a week not generating a lucrative income, but the more I thought about his words I realized that I agree more with the athlete Jim Otto who said, “You must also give mental and physical fitness priority.”

Yes, I teach my classes because I love helping my participants with their physical fitness, but I also do it for me. It keeps me fit and filled with boundless energy. I do work hard at generating fun and education in all of my classes and the idea of disappointing my students by not teaching would seem like a ridiculous choice of priorities!

So, how do you prioritize? What are your priorities? And, are they serving you well?

When I searched for quotations from the experts, many were similar, so I will include a sample here:

• “Not upon politics, not upon who's pressuring who, but upon good, thoughtful science, always remembering that human health is our top priority.” - Mike Johanns, American politician
• “My priority is to turn people - especially kids - on to sports and being active so they don't even have to think about it being good for their health. If people participate for the fun of it, and believe me - it is fun, then fitness programs will be much more successful.” - Alan Thicke, Canadian actor
• “We have the most flexible and adaptive economy. Making sure we sustain the ability of the American economy to perform well is really the priority of economic policy.” - John W. Snow, American economist
• “My first priority is growing this economy in the long term, and stimulating it in the short term.” - Robert Menendez, American politician

Here are some with a different twist that should get you thinking:

• “You can't move so fast that you try to change the mores faster than people can accept it. That doesn't mean you do nothing, but it means that you do the things that need to be done according to priority.” - Eleanor Roosevelt, American First Lady
• “So at the end of the day, our number 1 goal, our top priority, is to motivate American youngsters to reject the abuse of illegal drugs, tobacco and alcohol. All three of them are illegal behaviors.” - Barry McCaffrey, American soldier
• “I have my daily priorities. My main priority is to practice; my second priority is to process orders. After that, I just see what is left to do. I have a very organized day.” - Michael Schenker, German musician
• “A lot of people say they want to get out of pain, and I'm sure that's true, but they aren't willing to make healing a high priority. They aren't willing to look inside to see the source of their pain in order to deal with it.” - Lindsay Wagner, American actress
• “Sports are great, and kids should be encouraged to play them. But going to school needs to be the highest priority.” - Lee Trevino, American athlete

I will leave you with these ideas:

• “At some point you start seeing the difference between what you really want, and what is your priority order. I feel that today I know what I want. That's the problem with perspective, as well as focus and concentration.” - Nick Cave, Australian musician
• “Your life will be a blessed and balanced experience if you first honor your identity and priority.” - Russell M. Nelson, American clergyman
• “Unless we make education a priority, an entire generation of Americans could miss out on the American dream.” - Blanche Lincoln, American politician

Does your list of priorities work well for you? I would love to receive your feedback!

Curious about Permission: How Much do You Give Yourself and Others? Do You Ask Others for Permission?

“My son gave me the permission to accept my success.” - Gary Burghoff, American actor

“As we let our light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates others.” - Marianne Williamson, American author

One of my joys is leading a continuing education workshop called, “How to Discover Your Core Passion.” I always start the first evening with the statement, “I feel that all of you already know your core passion. I am here to give you the permission to pursue it.”

You see, and you will find it supported by all of the great quotations I found, we are often so fearful of success, change, and our direction, that we don’t give ourselves permission to move forward.

Coach, Susan Henderson - one of the readers of my e-newsletter - commented on my recent theme of CONFIDENCE by writing, “Just recently, two separate conversations with different people came up around 'permission'. One emphasized self-permission to move towards success and the other also mentioned that permission from others might hold people back.

"When reading this issue, I had an Aha moment - confidence and permission are so closely tied together that if we move forward with confidence, then we can override some of the old baggage or limiting beliefs around permission.” (Of course, I did ask, and always do, for permission to share this great feedback with others).

One of my many other joys is leading and teaching ten group fitness classes a week. Four to five of them are for seniors, 65-years-young and above. The next quotation is similar to one I tell them (although I do not agree with “very old people”):

“It seems that when you get to a certain age you almost give yourself permission to misbehave and say what you think. People allow it, with very old people.” - Julie Walters, British actress

I urge my students to “let themselves go and be foolish”, because when we reach a mature age others expect it of us. We have a blast!

I especially enjoyed this week’s quotations from the experts:

• “Dream and give yourself permission to envision a You that you choose to be.” - Joy Page, American actress
• “Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your permission.” - Arnold Bennett, English novelist
• “If it's a good idea, go ahead and do it. It's much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.” - Grace Hopper, American scientist
• “Nobody can hurt me without my permission.” - Mohandas Gandhi, Indian leader

And a few more with a different twist:

• “And this is one of the major questions of our lives: how we keep boundaries, what permission we have to cross boundaries, and how we do so.” - A. B. Yehoshua, Israeli novelist
• “I've learned lately that no one is going to hand me a permission slip and tell me to take time out for me.” - Wynonna Judd, American musician
• “Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another.” - Madonna Ciccone, American musician
• “Giving yourself permission to lose guarantees a loss.” - Pat Riley, American coach

The next quotation speaks to me and my life as a freelancer:

“I don't have to ask anyone's permission to do anything. It's nice not have to get decisions out of three, sometimes four people, which can be like pulling teeth. So the amount of control that I have over what I'm doing is better for me as a solo artist.” - Graham Nash, British musician

And we come back to the same idea that Marianne Williamson stated, but this one is from Nelson Mandela:

“And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” - Nelson Mandela, South African statesman

Give yourself permission to have the best week yet!

Curious about Imitation: Is It Good or Bad? Helpful and Useful or a “Cop Out”?

“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” - Herman Melville, American novelist

“The human is indissolubly linked with imitation: a human being only becomes human at all by imitating other human beings.” - Theodor Adorno, German philosopher

The subject of “imitation” is definitely a curious one. The great artists of all time started by imitating the masters. Even today, when visiting art museums, we see students working diligently to imitate the works of well-known artists. This is a form of learning techniques, and also, I submit to you, getting somewhat inside the minds and feelings of those artists.

Motivators and self-help gurus suggest that we model the successful. Find out how they achieved what they did and have, and then follow their steps. Proponents of Neuro Linguistic Programming even suggest that we take on the physical attributes by “matching and mirroring” others.

The tapes and CDs I purchase for my fitness classes contain music and vocals that sound like the originals, but are being performed by excellent imitators. Students ask all of the time if the music is well done imitation - yes, it is also noted on the information that accompanies them.

What can we learn from imitation? And, is it bad? When I started looking at the experts’ quotations, I found a wide range of thoughts and feelings. Here are some:

• “Imitation is being rewarded. They're learning that if you fit right in the mold, you get rewarded. Music is no longer a form of expression - it's a means to a lifestyle.” - Mike Watt, American musician
• “The worst acting is about imitation.” - Paul Guilfoyle, American actor
• “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” - Confucius, Chinese philosopher
• “Imitation, if it is not forgery, is a fine thing. It stems from a generous impulse, and a realistic sense of what can and cannot be done.” - James Fenton, British poet
• “Originality is nothing by judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.” - Voltaire, French writer
• “I think we always move from imitation to assimilation to innovation, but I can't name you 20 people outside those we've already recognized who ever got to point three: innovation.” - David Baker, American composer
• “To refrain from imitation is the best revenge.” - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Roman royalty

How do you feel about imitation? Don’t all of us imitate almost unconsciously? We are constantly bombarded with new ideas and thoughts. How many of these settle with us and become what we may feel are unique with us? It is a curious thought. I feel that if we know we are imitating and try to pass it off as our own original work, it is a “cop out.”

A few quotations for you to consider this coming week:

• “Men often applaud an imitation and hiss the real thing.” - Aesop, Greek author
• “When I was a child I learned by imitation as the rest did. I have gone on copying models in my poor way ever since.” - Josiah Royce, American philosopher
• “Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those who we cannot resemble.” - Samuel Johnson, English author
• “Imitation is the sincerest form of television.” - Fred Allen, American comedian

Have a great week!