"The difference between good & great companies isn't when they innovate, but that they never stop!" - Futurist Jim Carroll
Over the years, I've had several companies come to me, seeking a speaker for a leadership or annual conference, stating that their 'theme this year is innovation.'
I tried hard not to crack up.
As in, you only do this once?
You are going to 'do' innovation and then move on to the next thing?
Shouldn't you be innovative all the time?
I've always been sure that their intentions are good, and in most cases, it has been - they are in an innovative mind space and are always prepared to explore their opportunities through creativity.
But there have been many others for whom innovation seems to have been a 'one-time thing,' an afterthought, an item to address on a checklist before moving on to the next leadership buzz thing.
Um, OK.
The reality is this: innovation isn't an annual event - it's the daily heartbeat of progress that keeps organizations alive. When you schedule innovation for a conference as a one-time topic, you've already missed the point. True innovation lives in every moment of every day. And in fact, the most dangerous words in business aren't 'We're failing,' but 'We'll innovate next quarter.' Innovation isn't a theme - it's the very air successful organizations breathe. The fact is, if you have to declare an innovation season, you're already living in the depths of a pretty brutal leadership winter.
The difference between average companies and great companies is that tomorrow's leaders don't schedule creativity or innovation - they cultivate it in every conversation, decision, and moment. It becomes the oxygen that flows through the arteries of the organization, the very essence of the lifeblood that keeps the organization alive, beating with ideas, and bursting with the engine of possibilities.
The companies that survive don't ask when to innovate - they ask why they ever stopped! Organizations that aren't obsessed with relentless reinvention are programming themselves for obsolescence. They recognize that innovation is not a one-time thing, but a mindset that you live.
In that context, they continually reinvent their organizational structures to align with the pace of change, upskill their teams for jobs that don't yet exist, and cultivate a culture where disruption isn't just welcomed – it's baked into every single strategic moment. Their product or service pipeline is being continuously reimagined to deal with fast-paced trends and disruptive ideas.
Here's what you need to bake into your mind - innovation is not something that you simply drop in or do once, and then move on to the next topic.
It’s something that you become, by aligning yourself with the trends that define your tomorrow.
Makes sense?
Futurist Jim Carroll has never been a fan of one-time thinking.