Culture Jolt #24 – Expand the game, not the chaos

Welcome to our Conscious Innovator® process!

Are you ready for a new, insight-provoking “Jolt” … something that challenges conventional thinking about the "right" mindset for being innovative? It's not that the conventional understanding is wrong - just limited.

Jolts wake us up. They emphasize a shift of focus that taps into a deeper, more expansive consciousness. The result can be profound insights into yourself and others that bring out your full, innovative potential, whether in small, daily tasks or major projects. 

Jolt #24: Expand the game, not the chaos

What are leaders most afraid of when it comes to having every employee be creative and innovative in their daily work? One word: CHAOS!

It’s a dilemma similar to one faced by Anand Pillai when he was Vice President of Talent and Transformation at HCL Technologies. He laid out an extensive talent development plan for employees but received executive pushback: “What if employees take all that training, and then leave?” Anand replied, “What if we don’t give all that training… and they stay?”

Today’s fear is, “What if we unleash widespread creativity and innovation, but people waste time and money pursuing unwise, impractical ideas?” The reply: “What if we don’t unleash corporate-wide creativity and innovation… and they keep doing the same things?”

The alternative? EXPAND THE GAME.

Expand your ALIGNMENT. Is your purpose bigger than the organization can achieve on its own… a grand purpose that resonates with employees’ own sense of meaning in their lives?

Willis Harman, author of Global Mind Change and co-founder of the World Business Academy, once wrote:

“Leaders in business are the first true planetary citizens. They have worldwide capability and responsibility. Their domains transcend national boundaries. Their decisions affect not just economies but societies and related world problems of poverty, environment and security.”

Expand your ATTUNEMENT. Do you foster a depth of understanding, transparency, and sincere appreciation for each other as human beings… such that every employee feels whole and a sense of belonging?

In 2015, Fast Company named Warby Parker, a leading eyewear brand, the most innovative company in the world (ahead of Apple, Alibaba, and Google). Its co-founder and co-CEO, Neil Blumenthal, appreciates the value of knowing each other as whole people:

“It’s through vulnerability that human beings create connections. The more vulnerable we can be with one another, the more that we’ll trust one another and be able to collaborate effectively.”

Expand your ACHIEVEMENT. Is every employee given the opportunities, capability-building, wise guidance, and resources to innovate… no matter what their job responsibilities entail?

In 2018, the Great Place to Work Institute studied 792 companies and 500,000 employees worldwide on factors such as employees experiencing meaningful opportunities to innovate, and feeling trusted and empowered to act on their ideas. They reported:

“[The top quartile companies] generate more high-quality ideas, realize greater speed in implementation, and achieve greater agility – resulting in 5.5 times the revenue growth of peers with a less inclusive approach to innovation.”

Expanding alignment, attunement, and achievement – taken together – produce a coherence that triumphs over chaos by channeling uncertainty into the natural process of growth, dissolution, and transformation. And in the end, that elicits amazement.

-=-=-=- Now it's your turn -=-=-=-

Being a Conscious Innovator® has a 3 phase cyclical process: become aware, capable, and versatile. Try on this Jolt in your life and work, then take self-reflective time to engage in the process:

-=-=-=- An invitation to join our process and share your insights -=-=-=-

If you haven’t already, we’d love for you to join our process and share your own experiences, while learning from the experiences of others! We appreciate what one person said about the Jolt process itself:

Innovation is a world by itself. It can change lives and help people become more positive. Doing a Jolt is already something! A new habit that promotes innovation and reflection.

It’s totally FREE to participate. To sign up and join us, go to this link and follow the easy directions: https://innovate.vci.global/p/the-conscious-innovator. 

Even if you haven’t participated up to this point, it’s never too late to start the process! It’s like a concise gym workout that provides an insightful “pause that refreshes” and evokes your unique, innovative potential in life and work.