Mindset Jolt #5 – Expand innovation to a column, not a row

Welcome to our Conscious Innovator® process!

Are you ready for a new, insight-provoking “Jolt” … something designed to “rearrange your molecules” as it elicits your unique, innovative potential in life and work?

Jolts wake us up. They spur new self-awareness, new capabilities and values, and new actions. Paradoxically, we don’t learn from each Jolt – rather, each Jolt “learns us”! That is, a Jolt sits in the background of our consciousness and then prompts new insights and energy over time. 

Jolt #5: Expand innovation to a column, not a row

Think about your most current “to do” list… either the one you’ve written down or the one in your head. Did you put “being innovative” as one of your “to do’s”? If not, good for you! You might actually be ahead of the game!

Each of the “to do’s” on your list is a row that defines the tasks you want to engage in, the “job to be done” as Clay Christensen would say. Since being innovative impacts what you think, say and do, make it a column that informs and influences every row!

Why does this matter? In the course of our everyday work, we do some tasks that are routine, while other tasks require us to do something new, better, easier, or different – in short, to be innovative. When we expand innovation to a column, it creates a dynamic balance between routine and innovative work that brings our work alive.

This dynamic balance allows who we are as a whole person to be fully engaged. It enables us to see the big picture while addressing immediate needs. It prompts us to be proactive while responding to a situation. It gives us the wisdom to envision new possibilities while working responsibly. All this strengthens our sense of making a unique contribution – that “who I am and what I am doing matters.”

Limiting innovation to only a portion of our work, or to only one aspect of a project, diminishes our ability and openness to learn and create new possibilities. Being innovative as we engage in each of the “rows” in our work allows us to continually expand our thoughts about “how” those activities can be meaningful, positive, and productive.

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Being a Conscious Innovator® has a 3 phase cyclical process: become aware, capable, and versatile. Try on this Jolt in your life and work, then take self-reflective time to engage in the process:

-=-=-=- An invitation to join our process and share your insights -=-=-=-

If you haven’t already, we’d love for you to join our process and share your own experiences, while learning from the experiences of others! We appreciate what one person said about the Jolt process itself:

Innovation is a world by itself. It can change lives and help people become more positive. Doing a Jolt is already something! A new habit that promotes innovation and reflection.

It’s totally FREE to participate. To sign up and join us, go to this link and follow the easy directions: https://innovate.vci.global/p/the-conscious-innovator. 

Even if you haven’t participated up to this point, it’s never too late to start the process! It’s like a concise gym workout that provides an insightful “pause that refreshes” and evokes your unique, innovative potential in life and work.