[00:00] Welcome back to the Focus B show. This is Katie Sudddhart here aka the focus b. And on this show, I interview high performers and leaders around the world to discover their secrets on peak performance, productivity, mindfulness and leadership. So if you want to take your performance and your leadership to the next level, then you're in the right place. Listen up and connect with the magic. Welcome to the Focus B show.

[00:35] I'm very excited to be here today, as every single time, I really enjoy being on the podcast, getting to talk through some of these really interesting topics and listening to your feedback and hearing what has been useful for you. Today's topic is around innovation. It is so interesting to see how different companies, how different people use innovation to help them get to the next level, to help them to scale, to help them to have a bigger impact in the world. One of the first concepts on innovation was based on a model by Utterback, and that was around three stages. The first stage of innovation was idea generation. The second was problem solving, and the third one was implementation. Quite like this model, because it's simple, it's easy, it's straightforward. Idea generation, that's the first step. That's really where it all begins. To have these ideas. I think there are few important points to take into account. First of all, we need to have that clear mental space to be able to think outside of the box, to be able to think with an innovative mindset. Steve Jobs talks about connecting dots, connecting ideas as being a huge aspect to creativity. This is the same when we generate ideas, we want to connect them, see how two things that we maybe used to consider as very different are actually connected. That's in the first part, generating ideas. The second part is on looking at how we can solve a problem. So what is the problem that you're trying to solve and using these ideas that you've had to then go to the third stage of implementation? Because nothing is innovated or changed if we don't actually implement it. Now, when defining the problem, it's super important that it's as clear as possible, because I feel that this is where a lot of mistakes happen. A lot of things don't get innovated or changed because it wasn't clear to begin with what the problem was. Another really interesting idea is when we look at these three phases, and particularly when we reflect on idea generation, is to think, what sort of hats perspectives can we put on to get these ideas? This is where working in a team can help. But even if you're on your own, you can think, okay, if I look at this from a coaching perspective, I might add these questions. If I look at this from a business strategic perspective, I will, if I think of it from a marketing perspective, so literally, just trying on different hats to see what comes up because our perception will dictate our ideas, our thought patterns, how we think about certain topics. And when we then combine coming back to connecting ideas, connecting the dots when we combine them, this will help to solve the problem and then to actually implement this new strategy. So innovation has a lot to do with creativity, but also with being proactive and quite strategic. So it's a very interesting concept and a very interesting mix of both. It's also interesting to look at why people are reluctant and this comes back to why people are reluctant for change in general. Because innovation is saying what we currently have isn't working the way we want to. Therefore, let us put all these ideas together, brainstorm, tackle the problem and do it differently. Now, people don't always like change. The reason people don't like change is because they're comfortable, they're in their comfort zone with the current situation. So there's this big reluctancy to try something new and different and they have to use their brain and think about it more and they can't just go on autopilot because they were used to this software or they were used to this method and now they have to do it all in a different way. So that's essential to take into account equally. It's also essential not to innovate all the time for the sake of it. I know personally that I am very guilty of this. So I'm the opposite of reluctant to change. I love change. I love variety. I love changes of places, of people, of different business projects, different podcast, interviews. I really enjoy change. So in my case I have to be very careful when I think, well, instead of using WordPress, I'm going to start using Ghost. And then I think wait a minute, let's come back. And then I realize that actually on WordPress I've been doing all of this stuff and it's useful for here. So sometimes staying with what you have is good and you don't have to change it. What I'm trying to say here is innovation is a great part of change, it's a part of transformation, it's a creative process, it's great. There will be people who are very reluctant to it, but equally there might be the other extreme like I am, who want to change all the time and that can also damage the business. So what you want is a healthy balance of innovation, which is challenging. You want to innovate when there's a real need, when the problem is really there, when it can really boost your business or the company or whatever it is you're working on, but not always default to that. The way you go about this is when you look at the actual problem, think is this something you can solve by continuing the same process or do you need to change it all to something else? So in my case when I was looking at the website, I needed to think what is the problem, what is the challenge I'm trying to face? And then think will staying with WordPress implementing a few things help? Or do I need to change platforms? In my case so far I've stayed with WordPress. So it's really important, the clarity of the problem. And is innovation there just other way to do something else or is it something that will help you to really transit to something else? So that was my first point on innovation generating ideas, problem solving and implementation and then looking at that middle ground, that balance of staying where you are and improving a bit, or radical total transformation and innovation and finding that balance. And the last point is on incremental versus radical innovation. We have a tendency to think of innovation as something radical, totally delete, start over from scratch. Again, I am personally super guilty of this. I always think I'm starting all over again, whereas I'm actually continuing and changing as I go along. Radical innovation can be extremely useful for you. If you are for instance, totally changing direction, maybe you're totally rebranding or you realize that you have a super change of values within your business or your company, then that's great, that's a good moment to really have radical innovation. Boom. Let's change all the processes. It might be a reshuffling redirecting, some scaling, radical innovation, but more often we have incremental innovation. And that's really just looking at your process or your processes and thinking how can I tweak this? Can I maybe automate this part? Can I delegate this? Can I make this slightly better? And in the case for my podcast, for instance, I would be maybe changing the mic or changing the lighting and it's constant, gradual, incrementational innovation. Or we could even say incrementational progress. So those are two different approaches. But too often we are tempted to throw everything away to do a radical innovation when maybe we just needed a small incremental change. Not everything has to be chucked because it's not working perfectly or just like we'd want it. So it's an invitation for you to look first. Can you do some incremental innovation, generate some ideas, be creative, implement a few things if you really feel no, this is not in the right direction. Radical innovation, which is also linked to transformation, which is why I love it, and creativity and business strategy and all the things I love. So this was today's episode on innovation, looking at the three phases, looking at that middle ground and balance between being innovative and people that are reluctant to change, and thinking of the difference between radical innovation and incrementational innovation. And if you'd like to know more about inner transformation for outer success, which is linked to the way we think, for instance around innovation, how we think about things, then I invite you to check out my masterclass free masterclass in the links below on inner transformation for outer success. Thank you so much for being here today. Please let me know in a comment, in a review what you think about innovation, what other ideas you have books, tips, tricks, anything, let me know. I always answer all of my comments personally and it always delights me to hear from people who have either watched the video or listened to the episode. So thank you for being here with me and wishing you a lovely, lovely day.

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