Are You an Innovator?

Are you an innovator? Silly question. Everyone’s an innovator, you just might not know it, or believe it, or desire it.

But in truth, you’re born an innovator. You are. So what happens? Here’s a passage from a great innovation book that might help. “Well, I’ve got an idea,” said Rabbit, “and here it is. Look, we take Tigger for a long explore. Somewhere he’s never been. And then, we lose him there. And the next morning, we find him again. And mark my words, he’ll be a different Tigger altogether.” “Why?” said Pooh. “Because, he’ll be a humble Tigger; because he’ll be a sad Tigger; a melancholy Tigger; a small and sorry Tigger; and an ‘oh, Rabbit, I’m so glad to see you’ Tigger. That’s why.” Maybe, many of us been kind of taken on a long “Explore.” When we’re young, we’re all Tiggers. We’re excited, we’re bouncy, we explore, we try things, we get into trouble, we’ve got crazy ideas. But then, things happen. Parents, teachers, bosses, rules. Maybe we become less excited, more risk averse, less bouncy. It doesn’t really matter why it happens. What matters is, those skills are still there! Our job is to recover them. We are all hashtaginnovators. Some of us may not be acting like it. The real question is, not whether you’re an innovator.

The real question is, will you innovate?

Related: What It Means to Become Real Innovators