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Innovation Begins with Fascination
What is it that REALLY interests you?
I own a huge library of books on innovation. Mostly hardcover – the $27.95 variety with big indexes and forwards by people who make a lot more money than I do.
Some of these books are actually good. Most of them bore me.
These books attempt to describe the origins of innovation. You know, stuff like “the innate human impulse to find a better way” and “the imperative to find a competitive edge.” That sort of thing.
Corporate-speak, in other words.
In my experience, the origin of innovation is fascination — the state of being intensely interested in something. Enchanted. Captivated. Spellbound. Absorbed. What kids are naturally good at — kids and some of the flaky people you know who regularly challenge the status quo.
A person who is fascinated does not need to be motivated… or managed… or “incentivized.”
All that fascinated people need is some time, collaboration, and periodic reality checks from others who understand what…
