The Power of Travel to Find New Tips For Productive Innovation
I’m staying in a Dutch hotel in a German city. This English quote is painted on my hotel room wall: “The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.”–Abraham Lincoln
To me this quote suggests
What does this quote suggest to you? Share it with your team as a
meeting starter and see where it takes you and your group. You’ll surely
get nice insights that you can put to work to strengthen your approach
to creativity and innovation.
While attending a networking
reception, I met the CEO of a very fine confectionery company. We got to
talking about why he continues to attend trade shows–he’s a highly
regarded expert in his industry. He made two points that struck me as
very helpful for meaningful innovation:
Point 1:
He talked about how important it is to get out and see for yourself
what’s happening. What’s new? Who’s doing what? Who’s attending? Who
isn’t attending? Ideas start to pop.
What have you attended so
far this year that has taken you away from your daily work grind? What
are you planning to attend that will expose you to new ways, new people,
and different thinking? Sure, we’re living in a connected world. Who
needs to travel when you can just log-on? There is some truth to the old
phrase–you have the world at your doorstep. Here’s a different phrase
to consider–I need to get out in the world and meet the people I
wouldn’t normally meet, see what I normally wouldn’t see, experience
what I normally wouldn’t experience. Innovation comes from unexpected
connections. Go get connected in new ways.
Point 2:
I asked this gentleman what he liked to talk about when he met people?
Right away he said, “Different business philosophies.” I asked for an
example. He talked about the business philosophy of practicing
“incremental improvements.” He went on to talk about how he believes
incremental improvements, over time, degrade the product–flavor and
texture. Before you know it, your product doesn’t live up to its
reputation for excellence. He emphasized you have to fight for what you
believe is right for your product.
I had never heard incremental
improvement described this way before. It got me thinking about
screening questions to ask when you are thinking about implementing an
incremental improvement:
I’m really glad I met this gentleman. He gave me another way to think
about innovation. Isn’t that what it’s all about? There is no one right
way. There are many ways. Go find some new ways to think about
innovation for your business.
Until next time …