In today's uncertain economic times survival isn't enough. Not nearly enough. Success comes from finding opportunity even in the most dire of circumstances and capitalizing on it. Today more than ever, those that hesitate are lost. Salvation can only be found in imagination, innovation and execution.
It is tempting to dabble in the notion of being risk averse, evaluating every pro and con, maintaining the status quo and riding it out, getting into analysis paralysis. However, dreaming of new ways to do things, keeping your edge sharp, your brain rattling, your eyes open is the way to creating doors of opportunity. Imagine. John Lennon inscribed that notion on our brains so many years ago - but the message has resonance. Imagination is the cornerstone, the soul of innovation; of change. And change is what is needed to stay new and fresh. Today it is a necessary component of survival.
In business we often value the stark logic, the raw mathematics of making decisions. But it is the creative spark of imagination that makes it possible to follow the bouncing ball of logic. From the idea comes the impetus for innovation.
Innovation takes the imaginative idea and formulates it into a workable solution. Innovators are both creative and logical. They understand the imaginative idea, their brains can wrap around the possibilities and then go through the many permutations of how to take that idea and make it a reality.
If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.
George Bernard Shaw
Innovation takes the imaginative idea and formulates it into a workable solution. Innovators are both creative and logical. They understand the imaginative idea, their brains can wrap around the possibilities and then go through the many permutations of how to take that idea and make it a reality.
And then there is execution. An idea that isn't written down is a day dream. A written idea is a wish list without a project plan (and due dates). Execution is all about taking the imagination and innovation and making it happen.
The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.
Dale Carnegie
