Reflections on Skills, Traits, Mindset
Roger Woodworth, principal consultant at Mindset Matters, helps others align strategies for greater impact. Previously he was vice president and chief strategy officer of Avista Corp. He’s chaired Edison Electric Institute’s customer service executive advisory committee and was board president of the National Hydropower Association and the Northwest Gas Association.
Much has been written about high profile people and organizations that have earned the "innovative" moniker. Attention to the topic seems endless, for good reason. Innovation offers a versatile pathway to better things. Learning, productivity, competitiveness, jobs, influence, prosperity, and quality of life can all improve with innovation. It helps that it can be fun, too!
Innovation occurs on many levels. It is typically thought of in terms of breakthroughs in technology, inventive devices, or new business models. Innovation can also be found in subtle changes that improve the design and function of products, policies, and processes.
In his authoritative work, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (1985), Peter Drucker described innovation as a purposeful and disciplined practice. Check it out to learn the seven primary sources of innovative opportunities he identified.
Innovation can be brought to bear on anything, anywhere, in any sector: business, nonprofits, government, and education. Even at a personal level, an "ah ha" moment can mark the start of a better life.
The topic is so pervasive that in 0.63 seconds, a Google search reports two hundred and sixty-one million links on the topic of innovation. There you'll find the root word "innovacyon" dates to the mid-1400s; it's French, meaning "a new way of doing things."