To innovate takes innovators—people who have open minds,
creativity, and drive. The Economist magazine once ran a lengthy
article on innovation that repeatedly emphasized this point. It
contrasted countries “wide awake and innovating aggressively”
with those “dozing off.” The difference? The innovative countries
had plenty of talent. “Countries that sustain lots of competitive
and innovative firms,” said the Economist, “were better at churn-
ing out well-trained young people with all the skills their indus-
tries needed. An abundance of talent is essential to success.”
In any field a leader pressing for innovation needs an abun-
dance of talent: people who have the ability to adapt and seek
new solutions. First, they must be identified. Then, if not already
on board, they must be recruited and constantly nurtured.
Obviously, it helps in the nurturing if the leader has innova-
tive capacities personally, but attitude can make up for lack of
endowment. Creating an environment of innovation and cre-
ativity is a matter of insight, determination, and communication.
What sort of environment? The old clichés still work in this
future in which we have already landed. For instance, “Employ
the cutting edge of technology, not the bleeding edge.” (In other
words, don’t be tooearly an adapter.) “Think outside of the box”—
constantly stretching our imaginations and using Drucker-like
breadth of information. “Dismount dead horses.” This one sounds
so easy—who keeps riding a dead horse? But when you’ve
invested money and passion into something and people are pro-
ducing it regularly, it’s very hard to declare it dead and get out of
the saddle.
But declaring it dead gives us the opportunity to saddle a new
horse.
Be Quick—But Realistic
In this age of hyperacceleration and the need to produce
results instantly, the pressure mounts to push people beyond their
limits and to equate urgency with results.
Tom Watson Jr., even before he took over from his father as
president of IBM, recognized the need for innovative talent. He
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham