Stop Wasting Your Time on Innovation…

Innovation is awesome.

But if you are innovating for the wrong reasons, you are simply wasting your time…

In my experience, “Trying to Innovate” can be an excuse to simply not master the fundamentals.

I taught improv comedy for years and found that many performers were always excited about learning a new game, structure, or format. They may only have been ok at the improv exercises they knew, but they really wanted to learn something new.

I also taught martial arts for years, and the same pattern emerged. A vast majority of students were very excited about learning the next technique, lock, or form, even if they were only ok at the ones they were currently working on.

In both of these examples, the people who got really good were the ones who spent lots of time and practice mastering the fundamentals.

This is not to say they never learned anything new. But by mastering the fundamentals first, they were able to learn all the new stuff faster and better than everyone else.

In fact, I cannot recall a single case of an improviser or martial artist who mastered the fundamentals and then failed to become great at their art.

In your business, organization, or life, you may feel the same seductive pull of “doing something new.”

That’s why creativity and innovation can be so exciting (at least in the early stages). There is an excitement to charting a new course, breaking new ground, and being disruptive.

However, all of that means nothing if you don’t have the fundamentals down.

Unfortunately, innovation is a tool many use to skip the hard work of mastering the fundamentals.

As strong a proponent as I am of innovation, I firmly believe that before you embark on an innovation initiative you make sure you have already mastered the fundamentals:

• You might not need an innovative new marketing campaign, you might just need to get better at basic sales skills.
• You might not need a game-changing product, you might just need to deliver better service to your existing customer base.
• You might not need to overhaul your underlying technology system, you might just need to communicate with and pay better attention to what your employees are telling you.

The “new” idea is sexy and fun and exciting. The fundamentals are what make you successful.

Take an honest look at yourself, your department, and your organization. Do you really need to be more innovative at this point or do you just need to get better at the basics?

Remember: Fundamentals First, Innovation Second.

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Do you want to help your team, department, or organization identifying whether you need fundamentals or innovation? Contact Avish now to discuss bringing these ideas to your group!