April 25, 2018 · innovation

Innovation and habits

Great read!

Thinking habits that stand out: (1) Mental time travel (2) Seeing the interconnected system (3) Frame-shifting (4) Disruptive mindset and (5) Influence.

  • As Albert Einstein once said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

  • ”Outthinkers” seem to think in terms of a system, often a simplified one that keeps them focused on what is most important.

  • Innovative thinkers shift their perspectives more often, drawing from a more diverse set of experiences, than the rest of us. They are able to handle more complexity and ambiguity because they recognize more patterns.

  • “Outthinkers” think not just about what customers will want but also about what competitors will not pursue. Understanding both allows them to see the white space, the uncontested territory. It is not enough to know your customer. You must grow equally acquainted with your competition and then focus on the few unique opportunities your competition will not defend or respond intelligently to.

  • Innovators are nothing more than dreamers if they cannot convince others to live out their dreams. It is only when others believe in and act upon their dream that it becomes reality. They speak in the same language, use the same metaphors, appeal to the same values of the people they are seeking to win the support of.