Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
So said the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.
True enough.
But what’s wrong with making an effort to create the future?
Why do many content themselves with hindsight instead of trying to break new ground?
Could it be it’s easier and less risky than trying to figure out what’s next?
You don’t need me to tell you it’s not simple to become an innovator.
It’s tough to extend your boundaries in the marketplace.
Is that why a lot of thinking becomes commoditized?
Maybe it’s the reason some marketers rely on old certainties and strategy by habit.
People become rubber stamps for thinking.
Well, it is difficult to teach the future.
If you’re like most companies, training is based on an established strategy.
What the boss says.
And if C-Suite ideas are producing revenue it’s hard to argue for change when the money is rolling in.
However, one area could be easier for improvement.
HR.
As many HR people hire only in their company’s image they may be limiting the ability of their organization.
Selling it short.
Creating a downstream effect that makes it harder to compete.
Some HR execs don’t take into account the advantages of diverse thinking. Viewpoints that prompt thought, discussion and reexamined opinions.
To many it feels safer to duplicate the kind of people on your team. Common ground is reassuring.
Yet more of the same doesn’t always equal more in terms of an organization’s ability to see ahead and move ahead.
Especially when you see the same ideas tabled.
The ones that merely restate what you and everyone else already believes.
Those with different backgrounds and experiences could bring a new perspective to products and progress in the marketplace.
They could accelerate your future.
So, what if HR could think differently to find the kind of enquiring minds that created Uber, Airbnb, Tesla or the Dyson line of products?
Of course fresh thinking can be contrary thinking.
But isn’t that what Kodak needed when they invented digital imaging and fluffed the chance to capitalize on it?
It’s useful to remember contrarians were lionized in an ad campaign we’re betting you noticed.
The Crazy Ones from Apple.
The ads aren’t new, 2002, but they’re still talked about. Put that down to the fact we all want to find new ways to move ahead.
The thing is, did The Crazy Ones cut any ice with your HR people?
Did the campaign extend their thinking? Did it encourage them to question everything?
Because as you know, crazy ones like Albert Einstein and Mahatma Gandhi can change everything.
Share with us. Leave your comment below. Thanks for reading Whybetonto.com. Regards, Steve Ulin. LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/20Imgh3