The hard truth about Innovation

If you follow me on Linkedin, you know that under my name, in the space where you can traditionally read the Job Description, i put 3 simple words: Communication. Strategy. Innovation.

If you take your time to read my introduction, you will read that these are my What, How and Why, in this order.

You may understand that to me Innovation is at a paramount importance in my professional life. That said, this post is about why this topic is just plain difficult to most, and why some people (many even call themselves innovators) are just incapable of it.

And i will start it by revealing this biggest spoiler ever about Innovation.

Innovation is Change.

Well Duh.

If you are still wondering why are you reading this post, please, be a little more patient, i hope i will be able to make you understand the big problem here.

As i stated before, it’s easy to call yourself an Innovator, when you own the last techie gadget, or when you fly over the newest trend. Even easier if you are the CEO or somewhat involved in the Startup ecosystem. And you are probably right, you are an Innovator.

Wait, are you really?

Today there is much hype about Resilience, and why it’s important as a Leadership skills and for your daily life. It helps you in coping with unexpected results, and come up with solutions to unexpected problems. But at the end of the day humans try to find an equilibrium, which is commonly called Osmosis. We are just biologically wired this way, and we cannot just flip this around. We may be willing to try the new cool gadget, but have some strong ideals we don’t want to go over. We may love exploring new job opportunities, but be afraid to move to new personal relationships.

My point in this post is that you cannot just be an innovator. What you can do (and the smart way to approach the problem in my opinion) is to train you resilience.

If you want to innovate, you need to improve your ability to manage your several levels of relationship (with yourself, with others, with the world) through change.

This is also extremely difficult, in my opinion.

Much people are quite apt to change something minor in their life. To try something new. But it’s much more difficult to eradicate habits, let alone strong beliefs.

Hell, i have problems changing my morning routine, and i have changed Religion.

So what’s the solution? Well, in my opinion there is no solution, but i already told that. This is the hard truth. Ok, you know i don’t believe in truth, but let’s not get lost on details here.

The point is you can’t change what you are, but you surely can learn to develop your ability to change. Let’s say you are a very firm person. Someone who doesn’t like change that much.

You are like a rock. A stout, solid piece of rock that can see millennia pass without much change. But even a rock can change if you put it in an extreme environment. I’m not necessarily thinking about lava now, but more about a desert, that with its rapid changing temperatures can make a rock become sand.

Now, if you were a rock to begin with, but an ever changing environment made you sand, now you are surely more resilient. Sand can shape itself almost like water. Can stay put, or can be easily brought away by wind.

But at the end of the day, if you really consider yourself innovative, you want to be water itself, that easily becomes ice, or gas, and goes back again. That it’s always different, but always the same.

In my mind, water is the element for resilience and innovation. What is it in yours?