Innovation is what you find on the other side of the horizon; you find it when you can look past what is in front of you.
–RJS
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]HEN YOU WALK toward the horizon, your shadow will always be behind you. Traveling towards the horizon can be blinding at times. Everywhere you look is the familiarity of what’s expected. Those who can look past the obstacles placed front of them will always forge a new path. They will see things others missed, as they were distracted by those common obstacles.
Everyone wants to believe that they are innovative; afterall, leaders participate in making things better, well – at least they believe they do. Leaders can easily be misguided. What they think is innovative is really a form of improvement which they base on some sort of benchmarking. I am continuously puzzled by those who believe keeping up is innovation. The truth is – it’s not.
When delivering innovation the question which should always be answered is this: am I innovating by recreating something, or merely giving something a face lift? In most cases, innovation changes the delivery and possible means to the current goal. Innovation is not a marketing strategy. Saying something different is not doing something different.
Over the last couple years, many organizations have found themselves fighting for relevance, and they also find themselves fighting the balance needed in successfully migrating towards a better way. The purpose for what we currently do changes constantly. Most forget the importance of the word currently in that statement.
It’s the leader’s Dreams and imagination which allows the unexpected to suddenly appear. These leaders with imagination can visualize the future, and most importantly they are not frightened by what they dream. Your imagination should be the outline of where future directions come from.
Most of us my age grew up in a world that for the most part told us not to dream, told us daydreaming was a waste of time – I, for one, am glad I didn’t pay attention to that misguided wisdom.
[bctt tweet=”Reality is a cost and the value of your reality is determined by the investment you make towards dreaming.” via=”no”]
The fact is you can’t look past what’s in front of you and will most certainly never visualize what’s on the other side of the horizon if you’re disciplined not to dream. Many years ago, I decided that the importance of dreaming should never be underestimated. I like to think of it this way- Reality is a cost and the value of your reality is determined by the investment you make towards dreaming. The battle the dreamer finds themselves in will challenge their fortitude; they will either stop discussing what they dream, or worse, they will talk themselves into not dreaming at all. Visionary individuals never dismiss their imaginations.
Introduce your dreams to your imagination and build something.
The best thing about dreaming is no one can change the channel on your imagination – unless you let them. So next time you find yourself lost in a world of status quo, turn on your imagination network and dream. Just keep in mind it is implementation which wakes up dreams, and innovation comes when your dreams are awakened. All of humanity should not only read – they should dream as well. If you agree with this, re-adjust your calendar. The quote below I believe to be factual.
