Innovation

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You Won’t Remember Your Graduation Speech But You’ll Remember 3 Key Takeaways

I always look forward to graduation season.  I enjoy inspiration experiences, stories and quotes and there’s never a shortage when spring rolls around.  Each graduation and commencement ceremony is filled with nuggets for graduates to add to their toolkit as they “commence” their new endeavors and journey.

This graduation season is particularly special. Not only do I get to enjoy the takeaways as an onlooker, but I got to sit with my fellow graduates from the class of 2016 and take in the speakers’ advice.  It is an amazing feeling with a mix of accomplishment, pride, excitement for “free” time again and readiness for next steps.

Each graduate has their own story.  And mine wasn’t perfect. Although I had a lofty goal, I didn’t have a tight plan that laid out exactly how I would manage school while working full-time with my clients and traveling each week. But the pieces came together with time (I will elaborate on how I did it in an upcoming post).

Here I am having done it! Master of Science in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship with a concentration in Technology & Innovation Management, jointly delivered by Temple University’s Fox School of Business and College of Engineering.

Thanks to my support team – family, friends, mentors, colleagues. I couldn’t have done it without them.

As I sat through my ceremonies, I took notes of the inspirational words from our speakers. I wanted to capture what moved me in real-time and share these takeaways with others.

Here are the notes I captured:

Grad takeaways 1  Grad takeaways 2

Of all this great advice, there were a few that struck a cord and I want to elaborate on what they mean to me.

Here are my 3 favorite takeaways:

Success is never final and failure is never fatal.

When you reach a goal, you don’t stop.  When you don’t reach a goal, you don’t stop.  Our work is never complete.  No matter what happens, we have to keep moving forward.  No matter what life brings our way – whether it is ups or downs – we have to stay the course.  We have to remind ourselves that with each morning, we have an opportunity to start anew. We have a chance to do things better and try new approaches. This gives us new opportunities to redefine success as we go along.

Take more risk. Reflect more. Leave a legacy.

This is based on a study by Sociologist Tony Campolo where he asked 50 people over the age of 95 what they would do differently if they had to live life over again. These were the three responses that dominated – take more risk, reflect more, leave a legacy. Understandably people shy away from risk, but with risk comes more opportunities to create change and innovate.  By venturing into uncharted territory, we increase our chances of making an impact and although the ride may get bumpy, it will certainly be adventurous. With so much going on, it is easy to not take time for ourselves and reflect – to reflect on life and what we have to be grateful for.  I think this is important for our self-awareness, mindfulness and for being centered.  We won’t be here forever but what an honor it would be to leave something behind that is helpful to and benefits others. We can all be more conscious about what we can do today that will have a lasting impact.

As a leader, you may be the only Bible someone reads that day.

Being a leader comes with great responsibility.  Most of the conversation around leadership focuses on the leader and how she should lead.  But rarely do we focus on those being led and the impact someone’s leadership has on them. A leader has the ability to influence those around them and one big difference is in if they’re creating followers or the next generation of leaders.  There’s a lasting difference between each and it is worth the time for each leader to reflect on what their position means to others.

I’m looking forward to other graduations this season and soaking up the inspirational words from the speakers.

As I reflect on my own journey and the accomplishment of my fellow graduates, here is my personal takeaway:

When you want to do or pursue something that has intrinsic value and meaning to you, do it.

When you want to do or pursue something that has intrinsic value and meaning to you, do it. Ask God for guidance. Challenge the universe to work with you to make it all happen. Line up your support team. Get up every morning and do your part. Be grateful and give thanks every night before you go to bed for getting through another day. Charge toward the finish line. Then celebrate …because putting in all this work non-stop is exhausting!

Congrats to my fellow 2016 graduates!  I would love to hear about your journey and the advice from your graduation speeches that moved you the most.

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Creativity vs. Innovation: Clarifying the Confusion

The words creativity and innovation are used frequently. Think of your favorite brands and you will see creativity and innovation used all over their messaging. Nike’s mission is “to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” The Walt Disney Company’s mission statement is “to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.” And we’ve seen Nissan’s commercials with the tagline “innovation that excites,” consistent with its mission to provide “unique and innovative automotive products and services.”

Not only are the words creativity and innovation used frequently, but they’re often used interchangeably. It may seem true because of its prevalence, but they mean different things.

I found this quote recently and love it!

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” – Theodore Levitt

This quote shows the difference between creativity and innovation.  Creativity is combining imagination and ingenuity to generate ideas and bring them to reality.  These ideas may be influenced and triggered by other things and combine unrelated ideas.  But in and of themselves, they’re new and the result of using one’s mental ability and curiosity to explore.  The next step is bringing your creative idea to life whether it is through visual art or a brainstorming session. I’m creative for my own self-expression or to generate solutions to a problem.

On the other hand, innovation involves taking action.  It is the development of something new, whether it is a new product, process, method, or service. I help my clients innovate and implement new processes and launch new products that will provide value to their business and customers.

Here are some more ways to visualize creativity versus innovation:

Creativity vs Innovation

A key point to remember is that creativity comes before innovation, and therefore, they’re not one in the same. Innovation is the production, mobilization and implementation of a creative idea.

Creativity vs Innovation 2

“What is often lacking is not creativity in the idea-creating sense but innovation in the action-producing sense, i.e. putting ideas to work.” – Theodore Levitt

Have you been confused by the difference between creativity and innovation?  How have you heard them defined or used? I’d love to know if the explanation above helps or if you have any questions!

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Ignite Your Creativity with Fresh Inspiration: Book A Trip And Travel!

My recent trip to London and Paris was somewhat impromptu and this quick decision set the tone for the trip.  I spent the first few days in London and Coventry, which is an hour northwest of London.  I finally booked a hotel in Paris the night before leaving London on the 5:40 AM train to Paris.  Aside from the train and hotel bookings, there was no set plan or itinerary for my time in Paris.

I usually like to have a plan, but this time, I didn’t feel compelled to add structure and complicate the trip with logistics that I’d have to manage.  A strict schedule didn’t fit, and as it turned out, this had its benefits.

Flexibility and time were key advantages which I came to appreciate as the trip became an opportunity to truly take a break, relax, travel, experience, see, do and explore without restrictions.

This allowed me to limit unnecessary distractions that could monopolize my time, enjoy the moments, and be fully present.  In particular, it gave me freedom to welcome inspirations and triggers that fuel my creativity.  I took in the sights, sounds, tastes, perspectives, different approaches, attention to detail, and art around me. I loved every second of it and immersed myself in absorbing as much as I could!

I took in the sights, sounds, tastes, perspectives, different approaches, attention to detail, and art around me. I loved every second of it and immersed myself in absorbing as much as I could!

I appreciated the ways that travel ignites creativity:

Improves your ability to focus.  When you remove yourself from your busy schedule and take a vacation, you’re no longer competing with meetings, client calls, and emails.  By limiting your overall distractions and competing priorities, you are able to focus.  This focus is key to creativity as it allows you to channel your energy toward positive influences that ignite your creativity.  This building in Paris caught my eye with the architect’s attention to detail.

Disrupts your routine. When you travel and you’re exposed to other cultures and ways of life, you see how others live and how things can be done differently.  Think about your morning or evening routine of brushing your teeth and washing your face.  I have a process of how I do this each time and you probably do also. In London, I was presented with a sink that looks like the photo shown here, where one faucet had hot water while the other had cold water.  Neither was ideal for my hands or face because the hot water was scalding and cold water in winter was not my preference.  I had to think through this process and how I could be creative in order to brush my teeth and wash my face. I realized that despite the logistics of using this sink versus one in the US, if you’re flexible with the process, you can achieve the same end goals and have similar outcomes. Ultimately, disrupting your routine pushes your creativity by allowing you to see things in a different light.

Enhances your creative process. As you build more perspectives from travel experiences, you develop more reference points and have more tools at your disposal. You can then use these to enhance your creative process with fresh inspiration and content.  I loved the decor of my hotel in Paris, especially the mix of abstract art with bold red pillows that didn’t take away from the overall peacefulness.  This inspired me to incorporate seemingly loud artistic elements into my own home and creative space. Ultimately, new inputs from travel experiences can influence your creative process, including your space, and lead to better results.

Lets you add to your toolbox and expands your influences.  As you’re exposed to the norms people develop as a result of their culture, you gain new perspective.  These norms many be different from your own and new to you.  As a starting point, we’re all influenced by where we grew up, our friends, our college experience, work experience, leadership experiences, spiritual practice, etc. All of these influences and associations have shaped who we are.  Each time you expand your influences, you gain a new point of view and perspective.  Each time you travel, you shape your experience and influences and add to your creativity toolbox.  Soon, you’ll be able to create with results that transcend cultures and geographical locations.

If you’re looking for some fresh inspiration for your creativity, I’d recommend taking a trip.  Creativity is about coming up with new things and ideas.  What better way to be inspired by seeing, doing and learning new things in a new place?

I’m interested in hearing your experience. How has travel influenced you and your creativity?  Has it expanded your perspective, allowing you to think differently about your work? Do you find ways to draw on the experiences you’ve gained?  I’d love to hear your comments below!

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How I Use Visual Communication To Inform, Educate and Persuade An Audience

These days, we’re bombarded with information, noise and it is increasingly challenging to capture people’s attention for long periods of time. While communicating an important message, you’re likely competing with social media newsfeeds, phone apps or emails. Even if you’ve mastered the art of storytelling, it is equally important that your visual aids are powerful, effective and bring your overall message to life.

Imagine you’re spending 2 minutes on each slide for a presentation and your audience looks up from their current distraction for an average of 10 seconds. The risk of not maximizing those 10 seconds is too great especially if this is a meeting that has been scheduled well in advance and with an audience that can impact next steps.  If the success of the action items following the meeting hinges on their willingness to act, your goal during that time is to communicate your vision and message clearly, make it stick, get you audience to buy-in and inspire them to act.

Your goal during that time is to communicate your vision and message clearly, make it stick, get you audience to buy-in and inspire them to act.

How do you ensure that your message is communicated during that short amount of time?  How do you get your audience to understand your key takeaways?  I’ve spent some time working on this area myself and compiled a list of key techniques I use for more impactful visual content:

Storytelling v1

 

You may notice that this process incorporates flexibility. Even for business purposes, I lean heavily on my creative side to improve my effectiveness.  I strip down the barriers of how things should be and I’m less afraid of trying new communication styles and techniques.  If an approach is impactful, clearly communicates the message and makes it stick, I will use it.

The resulting content has been well received by my clients and colleagues.  It has also provided value as fresh, differentiated content that is simple and digestible.

What approaches do you use to get your message across?  I’d be interested in hearing.  I’d also like to know how the techniques listed above work for you!

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