The innovators
Innovators must focus on outcomes. Thus they must know what the desirable, feasible, and viable outcomes look like. This view of the future does not change. What changes is the means to attain it.
If what you are doing is not setting up your vision for success then you eliminate some habits. The only habit that innovators retain, unconditionally, is their ability to change what is not working for them. For example, you might be working on schema that can deliver a new type of financial services. However your full-service model, while still desirable, is not feasible and you have no viable alternative. You start looking for what is both feasible and viable. Eventually, a bright spark suggests you innovate person-to-person payments. While this schema will not deliver a full suite of financial services; it will solve a nagging problem for those who sell online. These online sellers, like those working through eBay, had a great difficulty finding a quick, and secure, person-to-person payment system until PayPal arrived on the scene.
Often the natural innovator will leave your team, group, company, or nation because they see too many examples of people doubling-down on habits that simply do not work. The catch cry for such folks is: "we just have to go a little harder and this nut will crack". But it never cracks. It never cracks even though it is hit with a sledge hammer time and time again. The truth is repetition is not what produces breakthroughs. And innovation requires a breakthrough of some description.
The innovators look for what works. Then they look for ways to scale their success.
Richard
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