February
2004
Innovation Tips
...for
thriving on collaborative innovation.
=========================================
In a world of big boardrooms,
gigantic plans, mighty strategies and powerful tactics, the words of the
ancient Greek sage Heraclitus speak softly to us through the millennia—expect
the unexpected.
So sweet-sounding are the
words of the enigmatic philosopher. His fragmented wisdom speaks to us today
like some oracle in the wind. It whispers as a reminder that we are not in
control.
How different is the timbre
of his words from those left on the mammoth pedestal of Shelley's ancient
mythic king: "Gaze on my words ye mighty, and despair!"
Heraclitus suggests that we
are not so great. Rather, he calls us to the task and sacred journey of paying
attention to what he called the Logos—the subtle, profound, life-giving reason of
life. "Expect the unexpected" reminds us that we may make our strategic plans
and set our goals and priorities, but events are not under our control. Our
hubris may be our undoing.
In this age of discontinuity
where only one thing is certain—that nothing is certain—we must look again to
the ancient wisdom of those who knew life more dearly than we do today.
We are here to respond, not
to direct, nor to control. Our role is to serve. If we are to serve well, our
plans and strategies must always be subject to what is happening around us, to
how those we serve are responding to our work.
The greatest opportunities for both
success and service lie in the unexpected. If we are embedded too deeply in our
controlling plans and strategies, we will miss these opportunities every time. The unexpected occurs along the side of the highway of great plans
and strategies.
For those travelling at
breakneck speeds to their planned destination, they will miss the serendipitous
episodes of the unexpected, and in missing them, will miss the greatest
opportunities for innovation.
Strategic innovation is the road to thriving
success, not strategic planning. Strategic innovation requires listening to our friend and
ancient sage: expect the unexpected. The side roads and byways of unexpected successes and failures
are, ironically, the surest way to the success we seek.
The superhighways of control
will often swiftly deliver us to the same empire-building destination that
awaited Shelly's mythic king: "Amid the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless
and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away."
_______________________________________
INNOVATION
TIPS is a monthly letter provided by
PARTNERS
for INNOVATION, INC.
To
subscribe, please register at our web site: http://www.partnersfi.com.
To
unsubscribe, please reply with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject box.
We
can be reached by e-mail at: info@partnersfi.com or by phone at 1.419.872.7140
Copyright
(c) 2004, Partners for Innovation, Inc.
Permission
is
granted to reproduce, copy or distribute INNOVATION
TIPS
provided that this copyright notice and full
information about contacting
the authors are attached.