A friend emailed me yesterday to ask if our company had any openings. His son was out of work and was struggling to support his wife and newborn baby. I hurt for him and his son. As fathers our hearts are so closely connected with our kids. It was a sobering reminder of our shifting world and the importance of reinventing ourselves regularly.
It seems we innovate or are at risk. But where do we discover good ideas and how do we discern what to focus on?
Researcher Steve Johnston discovered that there are no brilliant “flashes of insight” or “grand epiphany” moments. Instead, reinvention comes from “slow hunches” that incubate over time in messy, chaotic environments. Those hunches connect with other people’s hunches and they get cobbled together to create something new.
Success and security favors the connected mind. That’s when ideas fade into view!
Here are five keys to the reinvention of you or your organization:
- Always be curious and ask questions.
- Keep a journal and record your hunches.
- Get out of your comfort zone and get connected with people different than you.
- Trust others and share your hunches freely.
- Cobble hunches together and create something new.
What would you add to the list?
