I was reading through a post by Valerie Maltoni at Conversation Agent called The World has Changed, Everyone is Empowered. The post is excellent and is a synopsis on the book Empowered by Josh Bernoff and Ted Schaler. Valerie talks about the importance of helping the shift in innovation (within companies) by executing with authority.
My mentor used to say that it is tempting to become very good at what used to work in organizations.
This thought completely blew me away when I read it a couple months ago. This is spot on. When it comes to orchestrating change within an organization, whether external or internal communcation, it is important to train yourself to look outside the box. I’m not using the age old analogy of a “box” to push you into a daydream… however… it is important to remember that you have to shift outside of two boxes…. the box within your head and the box within the organization.
Innovative thinking starts within your own mind. You have to change the way you work… change what you read… and know what is starting to work better than what is currently… working…
or not working.
The "two boxes" analogy is great. I find it much easier to think outside of the box inside my head, but it's a much more daunting task to convince others to think the same way. A lot of people fear change and fear new technology. I guess it's our job as social media evangelists to change the minds of the world.