"Innovation thrives in the building of sandcastles!" - Futurist Jim Carroll
That's me in the photo above, taken yesterday during a sandcastle-building competition in Costa Rica.
Later this morning, I'll keynote the National Association of Landscape Professionals leadership forum. Naturally, my attention was drawn to this item which was on the agenda the day before.
This was music to my ears because Sandcastles put a rocket launcher onto my career as a global speaker way back in 2006!
A little more on the agenda item for this event.
My wife and I wandered down to the beach to watch the competition - and it brought me back to my 2006 post. Even the kids were getting involved!
Sadly, I didn't get any great pictures of the result - but I did overhear one fellow telling a story in the pool later. They were building a lighthouse, someone poured too much water on it so it collapsed - so they turned it into a volcano instead! That's innovation!
Ok, so what's the backstory here? Way back in 2006, inspired by the arrival of summer, I wrote about how innovation thrives in the building of sandcastles! I wrote it after my sons and I spent a lot of time over the years involved in this glorious pastime. I couldn't help but think about how there was an innovation story somehow to be found in the magic that comes with sandcastle building - and I wrote it into a blog post.
I didn't think much more of it until one day I discovered that made it into BusinessWeek, as a part of a feature where I was noted as being '1 of 4 leading innovation gurus' in the world. That led to some pretty hard-core recognition, a lot more publicity, and some pretty significant speaking gigs.
All because of what I was thinking about while my sons and I were building sandcastles!
With that, here’s my list of “10 Reasons Why Innovation Thrives in the Building of Sandcastles: and What We Can Learn From Such Creativity.” It's a simple visual journey.
Grab the PDF by clicking on the image, or get it here! The full list in the text follows.
- Hierarchy has disappeared: In most cases, there isn’t a boss, a reporting structure, or anything else that can cause organizational sclerosis. People just pitch in and do what needs to be done. The lack of a hierarchy is implicit in most successful teams.
- Creativity is implicit: Anyone can build a sandcastle. There are no rules or preconceived notions, other than some sand and water. The same thinking should drive corporate innovation efforts. Make do with what you’ve got and what you can find, and use creativity as your main asset.
- If it doesn’t work the first time, do it again: A rogue wave will inevitably destroy your work. This only encourages you to fix the design or rebuild it altogether. Setbacks are meaningless, and indeed, are part of the plan.
- Experience doesn’t cloud insight: Parents listen to kids, kids get bored and move on to another rampart and do something awesome. The key to sandcastle building is the combined insight of several different generations: likely one of the most important foundations for success in corporate innovation today.
- Everyone picks up on the passion: People just join in and help to build. Eventually, beach neighbors join in, and the growing castle becomes a big collaborative effort. Organizations that can build similar levels of interest in the concept of innovation don’t simply succeed: they exceed!
- Feedback is instant: You know right away how well your design works, particularly if it is at the water's edge since everyone will comment on it as they walk by. That parallels the instantaneity of today’s markets: things are changing so fast, that you must have a constant ear tuned in to understand what your customers are telling you.
- Competition is easily scoped: Need new ideas? Want to learn from the competition? Spend a few minutes walking up and down the beach and check out the other sandcastles. Study their design, their assumptions, and see how you can improve upon them. Do the same in the corporate world: develop a finely tuned radar that signals to you how and where your world is changing.
- No idea is too dumb: There’s not a lot of criticism and bias in the building of sandcastles. Any idea is welcome. People can contribute the skills they have. Everyone is a designer, a builder, and an owner. Somehow the combination just works.
- The reward is clear: At the end of the day, a great sandcastle provides a sense of accomplishment. Photos are taken, and the team talks about the experience. That’s why every innovation effort needs to be celebrated, highlighted, and championed into the corporate record.
- It’s fun: Enough said. If an organization approaches a problem the same way, innovation and creativity can thrive.
Futurist Jim Carroll can find inspirational insight in the strangest of circumstances!