Open or Closed

Talking about this subject reminds me of Ecclesiastes. But it is true, there is a time to be open and a time to be closed. What do I mean by that?

One of the greatest lessons in innovation is this: knowing when to be open to new ideas and knowing when to stop soft thinking and drive the idea into reality.

This is a very hard lesson. So many times we cannot distinguish between the creative time (soft thinking) and the implementation time (hard thinking). This means that we are either always in development or we never bother to brainstorm and rush right into roll out. Both leave our project missing so much of the innovation that it could have had.

Why does this happen?
1. We do not clearly set perameters and expectations when we start a project.
2. We are not confident in our innovation and leave it open for constant revision
3. We don't value input from others so we move straight into implementing our idea
4. We are behind schedule and cannot afford to build in the time to innovate

Do these sound familiar? They should. I can't think of a ministry that doesn't struggle with this. And if that weren't hard enough let me through in another twist. Sometimes after you have done your brainstorming, come up with a plan and are in rollout, you have to open up your mind again because something has changed.

So how do you decide when to open your mind to new possibilities and when to close it and get the job done?
1. Create an environment where innovation is celebrated and decisions are honored.
2. Always be willing to entertain new ideas but keep them insulated from items already being rolled out unless they are game changers.
3. Manage expectations daily so that people know what is open for innovation and what must be closed for implementation.
4. Even while you are rolling out today's idea, be promoting and developing people's ideas for tomorrow

As you can see, it isn't black and white. Things are in constant states of opening up for innovation or closing down for implementation. But your ability to facilitate those processes will determine your success.

A Thought About Thinking (Hard or Soft)

As we have been engaging in this idea of hard and soft thinking at our office, I have noticed what it can create. As you begin to think in different ways and talk about it, your thought pallette becomes a bit more discerning.

You become a consosure of ideas! What a thought. Essentially, the more thinking tools that you have on your belt, the more you develop the ability to discern between the many ideas that come your way.

For innovation this is critical. You can invest in every idea and be no better for it. Or you can shun all ideas and be stuck in the past. Both are bad. When you can discern between ideas and grab the good ones, you are on your way to some exciting innovations.

Maybe we need idea testers like we have taste testers at the fancy restaurants. Then, maybe that's what all of these bloggers and columnists are :)

Soft Thinking / Hard Thinking Part II

One of the misconceptions about soft thinking is that it is easy. How many of you roll your eyes at another all day strategy meeting where there is lots of talk and lunch is catered. We tend to think that the soft thinking is the easy part and the execution is the real work.

Now if you really think about it, you know that isn't true. But that is our perception. So how do we get to a place where we value the soft thinking? Well we need to ask ourselves a few questions:
1. How important is a creative approach to this problem?
2. Where are we going to get the ideas to execute?
3. Why isn't anyone else being innovative in this area?

In the end, soft thinking is as much a discipline as hard thinking. It just looks radically different. Discipline in the soft thinking is the structuring of the creative time, the transcribing of the ideas, the narrowing of the field, the analysis of the data in front of you.

So the next time you are called into an all day Strategic Meeting - look at it as an opportunity to discipline your soft thinking skills.

Hard Thinking / Soft Thinking

Today I gave a presentation about this topic and people seemed to respond very well to it. The idea is this . . .
Soft Thinking is the creative, macro-level, brainstorming that allows people to work on new ideas and be innovative.
Hard Thinking is the actionable and measurable thinking that gets a project done.

I think that we tend to glorify the one that comes easiest to us. Those people who are creative and big thinkers love to sit around and dream. Those who are practical doers love to get the job done well.

The challenge is that both things are critical. You have to have a dynamic integration of soft thinking and hard thinking to really create innovation. Because a genuinely new idea is no good without follow through and on the other side good follow through on a boring idea gets no traction.

Unfortunately, the leader of a project, department, or organization usually surrounds themselves with people who think like them instead of the opposite. So if a leader is a soft thinker they tend not to bring around them hard thinkers to help them make their ideas come about. Innovation in non-profits will only happen when we are thinking about how we think and pulling the right people together to be effective.