The Innovator's Path: How Individuals, Teams, and Organizations Can Make Innovation Business-as-Usual

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Chapter 6

Commit

The eight disciplines I describe in this book are closely interrelated. Each one supports the others, and there is a certain degree of overlap among them. This is probably more so for Commit than for any other single discipline. Commit is where the “rubber meets the road” for innovation. If the other disciplines we have discussed so far are missing in our work, the result is usually a lack of commitment. When these others disciplines are in place, however, our intentions can turn into action. Because of the disciplines' strong interdependencies, this chapter returns to many of the key principles discussed so far, while providing additional detail and perspective.

Commit 承 Cheng

Cheng is an ancient word, used to mean “by order of” or “in the name of.” The term 承 諾 chengnuo, created by adding 諾 nuo, means not only “to take on,” but also to “agree to do so verbally.” The left side of the character 諾 nuo is 言 yen, meaning “say” or “indicate.”

“To commit” in English means “to agree to be bound to a certain course of action,” or “to pledge.”

Good leaders commit themselves to tasks or missions as if their lives depended on it. Once that commitment is made, they must believe in it wholeheartedly, and take action to fulfill that commitment.

Footnote: Even an Emperor in China takes his order from “Heavenly forces.” In traditional Chinese terminology the Son of Heaven, or the Emperor, must receive the “mandate” of Heaven, bestowed on him from above and supported by ...