THE STORK DOESN'T DELIVER INNOVATION

When I was little, we didn't have the open dialogue with children as there is today. I grew up in the era, where if, as a child, you asked where do babies come from, the common response was storks. And it didn't matter that no one ever saw these storks, we just believed in the unseen, just like we believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Sometimes we believed so much in these ethereal entities that we felt we could actually see them.

Innovation is ethereal, undefinable and definitely not delivered by a stork. And innovation doesn't just happen because you wish it. It happens because you work at it. Not a singular event but a process.

There have been many writings on how be innovative and creative. Some tricks, tools, approaches. But often these recommendations from pundits ask you to step outside of your personality, who you are an embrace what worked for them. And that's when people get frustrated, because they don't seem to get results by following these supposedly tried and true methods. You need to approach it from who you are, and how you think. Yes, stretch yourself but also stay true to yourself.

Let me ask you this. How much time do you and your team spend each week, month or year,  just to wonder, consider, play around with possibilities. Bizarre thoughts, ideas, creations. No holds barred, nothing off limits, no critical judgement, just a wealth of possibilities.

I've heard people say "We don't have time for day-dreaming." Ok, no one said anything about day dreaming...this is ethereal possibility dreaming, and just like when we were children, these out-of-nowhere, ethereal creations may become something we can see, visualize, believe in and make them real. But if you don't allot some time for this activity and do it in a manner that is unstructured and free-flowing, well then you will be constantly struggling to keep up with the competition, because they have taken the time to push themselves to the next level. To vision a future beyond the barriers of today. 

So if you are waiting for the stork to bring you a new bundle of bouncy innovation...well, good luck. You'll need it!