Message of the Day - Give me Innovation!

Good Morning,

 

A few weeks ago I took a one day seminar presented by my friends at the Continuous Improvement Center (www.thecicenter.com) on how to be more innovative and indispensable. The president, Dale Gibbons, himself led the class and it was full of good information and new ways of thinking about things. Since the seminar, I have applied some of the new information I learned to my work and my team, and have even shared some of the innovation tools with team.

 

Knowing me, Dale listed off a few books that he knew I would love to dive into, and this message is about one of them. My current read is “Innovation is Everybody’s Business” by Robert B. Tucker (http://www.innovationiseverybodysbusiness.com/).

 

Right in the beginning of the book are the four I-Skill Principles. Where I-Skills refers to Innovation Skills.

 

PRINCIPLE 1: Innovation is not something you do after you get your work done; it’s how you do your work

PRINCIPLE 2: Innovation is about more than inventing new products; it’s about figuring out how to add value where you are

PRINCIPLE 3: You can innovate in any job, in any department, in any organization

PRINCIPLE 4: Innovation is about taking action

 

I have been thinking about the first I-skill and trying to understand how to make it better work within my life. The challenge is that I am an innovative person to begin with. I often question what I see and annoy others with strange perspectives on situations we are all facing together. I do that to help me get a bigger picture of what is going on, and also because I can be real loopy at times.

 

In applying the first principle, we need to change the fundamental nature of how we do our work. It is not so much that we look at it and think how could this be done better, it is more looking at something and imagining the possibilities. Like Michelangelo who saw the statue of David inside the block of marble. But, to truly apply this principle, we need to do this with all facets of our lives.

 

As an example, in my morning routines, I get up, get shoes on, go feed the cats, put on a coat, take the first dog, Dulce, out to mailbox where the newspaper is waiting and then take her back and put the second Dog, Bo, on his leash and take him out for a longer walk. Due to my leg, I wanted to maximize the amount of time walking Bo, our 100 pound pit bull/ Lab mix. So now, when I go out to get the paper, I bring both dogs, one on the leash, and get the paper and bring the first one back. A new simple approach makes Bocefus happier in the morning with more walk time, without causing me to spend more time doing it.

 

Keeping an open mind and looking for possibilities is the key for learning and applying the first I-Principle.

 

Give it a try!

 

Enjoy

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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