Advancing Innovation

CHAPTER 8Future Sensing Groups

Every act of creation is, first of all, an act of destruction.

—Pablo Picasso

You have to be willing to challenge the status quo. Don’t be so egotistical that you think things can’t be improved and should always stay the way they are. When I talk about innovation around existing processes and think people may get defensive of change, I like to use this phrase: “Honor the past, improve the current, and innovate the future.” We can innovate and change things in our businesses, but buy-in is harder if you don’t honor what people have done in the past by being “respective destructors and constructors” within our businesses.

As with many initiatives in our businesses, the actual project, idea, or initiative itself isn’t always the biggest challenge when solving and implementing; instead, it’s the emotions and change management aspects that are involved in the actual change in the business. As you challenge the status quo in your business, a future sensing group (FSG) can be tremendously helpful. In creating an FSG, you create a diverse group of individuals who give you not only the employee pulse on the business but also have a high EQ (emotional intelligence) factor to see beyond projects and ideas and think about emotional and cultural impacts that may be associated with change. This group may turn into your critical thinking group that you can talk to about an idea or project before you take it to the masses.

BENEFITS OF USING FUTURE SENSING GROUPS ...