If you want success in business sometimes you have to stop being so grown up. It may seem counter-intuitive, however, sometimes going against your intuition is not such a bad thing. As children we are too ignorant to know any better, and so we challenge everything around us, trying to suss out what is relevant and true. Instead of simply accepting life the way it is children constantly ask that dreaded question – WHY?
As adults we become impatient with the constant search that children are on, looking for answers to what is a pretty incredible and complex world that we live in. As adults we come to accept things for how they are. But what if we didn’t?
There are those among us that are incredible at holding on to that inner child, full of wonder and constantly asking to understand why, or how, or what? Often, when thinking of innovation, our mind automatically goes to digital technologies and companies like Facebook, Google and Apple. But there have been incredible advances in every field because people were willing to become vulnerable and ask why.
In order to move forward as a business it is important to ask these questions and be open and ready to innovate. The first step, of course, is opening yourself and your organization to challenging paradigms and orthodoxies that may have existed since inception. Start by asking these questions of yourself and your team:
- How often are we challenging the system and process we have in place?
- What could we do differently?
- With no limits what could we achieve? What to we want to achieve?
- How can we overturn conventional thinking and revolutionize our industry?
- What other industries can we look at for inspiration?
- How can we think differently and bigger than we have before?
- When are we going to realize that status quo is a battlefield only we are playing on, everyone else has moved on?
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Steve Jobs
Challenge the patterns, embrace the disruptors in your organization, and ask the questions. It’s time for you to unleash your inner child on your business, in order to grow beyond adulthood and into success.
This is the second in a series of posts over the next four weeks to help you and your business embrace innovation and creativity in your culture. Mind Set Grow is a business consulting company specializing in leadership development, creative problem solving strategy and coaching. For more information go to our full website at http://www.mindsetgrow.ca