Innovative Thinking
Creative Innovation Spoken Here!
I call it the IT Factor. Think of the IT Factor not so much in terms of being the “IT” person that exudes charm and charisma when they are in front of the camera or on stage, although that is nice and I have friends who teach that. This is about innovation, about a universal ‘clearinghouse for innovative thinking’, as a place where you can go to hear about what people are doing, developing, discovering. But, just as much, think about it as a place where you can go to be inspired to contribute to the greater good, yourself! You have much to offer, much to contribute. You matter. You were put here just like the rest of us to make it a better world. You have that uniqueness that I refer to as the IT Factor, and the IT Factor is that wonderful capability you and I were born with called Innovative Thinking.
Let me tell you a few stories of common folk doing Innovative Thinking…
How is your IT Factor working these days? Are you coming up with new ideas, concepts, ways of approaching challenges that the rest of the world could use, too?
Back at the turn of the century, Mary Anderson noticed that the guys conducting the street cars were having to stick their heads out in the rain to see where they were going, because the windows were so hard to see through. The result? Think of Mary Anderson the next time you turn on your car’s windshield wipers.
Mark Sullivan has over 1000 inventions. The San Antonio resident has developed a way to harness the power of the spinning of the earth in a way that would sustain and provide energy to power every community in the world with cheap ways to heat their homes and make it possible to cook good meals, provide irrigation, jobs and more.
There are all sorts of stories about these great examples of people tapping into their IT Factors and you can do the same! Sometimes, the ideas and creative thought are so seemingly simple that, after hearing the solution, we all would probably say, “I could have thought of that!”.
It happened in WWII when a convoy of heavy equipment being moved to a new location in France couldn’t go under an historic bridge that was in the way. The Army Corps of Engineers totally confounded, until a lowly private from the back of the ranks suggested that all they really had to do was to take enough air out of the tires to lower the height of the equipment the few inches required. Simple.
If you think Innovative Thinking is just for older people, think again.
Rachel Zimmerman created, at age 12, a software program that enabled people with severe handicaps who could not speak to communicate through her “Blisssymbol Printer” complete with a special touch pad that offers several symbols per page so that the user can communicate much better their thoughts and needs, even email.
If you’re thinking that innovative thinking is just for young people, stop that, too.
Harlan Sanders was in his late ’60’s when he started KFC. Do you really want me to list thousands more examples of people who didn’t put a time limit on their creativity? Really?
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Start to appreciate just how much Innovative Thinking goes on every minute, all around us. And, it ‘s happening at a faster and faster rate!
YOU can be INNOVATIVE!
The point is this: Giving yourself license to think in more innovative terms will help you realize more of your potential and, at the same time, perhaps deliver to the rest of us more of your gifts you came with when you landed on the planet.
Part of the greatness that is within you is this capability to tap into your own IT Factor and to give yourself credit for your gifts. Some inventions are for commercial use, but just as easily and probably much more frequently, it is the simple kinds of answers to a challenge people come up with that is so wonderfully fascinating.This kind of thinking can lead to great new discoveries, because you just never know what might happen when you are in the ‘zone of innovative thinking’.
When we work with clients to come up with the right solutions for their promotional needs, our process includes asking a lot of questions and tapping into our IT Factor. It is to say, we turn things on its ear sometimes to see if we can figure out other ways to help our clients segment themselves away from their competition. In order to do that, we sometimes have to go outside conventional thinking and allow our creative juices to flow without restrictions. It is the same process I would recommend to anyone for whenever they are pursuing a new way of thinking.
We ask the same of our client, because it is from this collective source of creative, innovative thought that the best ideas always surface. Part intuitive, part innovative thinking and across all cultures and languages since the beginning of the human spirit, this process is available to anyone.
Fortunately, there are a lot of regular folks like you and me who are getting more innovative in their thinking. Tough economies will do that, but so will just being more aware of how talented you really can be. Have you noticed the increase in shows dedicated to inventing new products for the marketplace? Have you, like me, found yourself shouting “I could have thought of that” at the television infomercials more than once? Things are happening and the more I see the more intrigued I become. But, hear this: it’s not just they who have great ideas or solutions to challenges. You have the same capability. You were born with it. It came with you and it has never left.
Start tapping into that same vast resource that is yours for the asking. Start noticing and appreciating what you’ve dreamed up. Give yourself credit and permission to feel worthy of developing new ideas, new ways to meet our challenges. The world needs your contributions and, frankly, is waiting to hear from you. And, just like Edison did with his team, let’s replace the word ‘failure’ with the celebration of trial and error, because anything worth dreaming up came with a few mistakes or miscalculations in the beginning.
If you have stories you’d like for me to consider including or referencing, let me hear from you. The more great information is made available, the better the opportunity for all of us to benefit. We hope you will stay tuned and we hope you will pass us along to those you care about.
