On July 1, 2009, Konrad Yababulski http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/commentary/canadas-innovation-gap/article1203108/ has written an important and thorough article in the Globe and Mail. I believe that he has highlighted one of the most important policy issues for Canadian business right now. I am also very worried about the lack of concern that our politicians and business leaders seem to have for this very area. There is a quote from Gary Hamal, a prominent American business writer. He says “out there in some garage is an entrepreneur who’s forging a bullet with your company’s name on it. You’ve got one option now – to shoot first. You’ve got to out-innovate the innovators.” You’ve shown in your article that Finland and many other countries are doing just this to Canada. My experience is this is not a new issue, however, it isn’t being championed by anyone on a regular basis.
I believe there are a couple of things missing in Canada as a whole. A commitment to excellence, a willingness to take risk, and the tenacity to stay the course. Of course there are examples of this, RIM being a very easy fill in the blank response.
Our current governing party, the Conservatives, have squandered a surplus, and nowhere in their attempt to pull Canada out of this recession is there any investment in leveraging Canada’s strengths and creating any incentive for business or any other organization for that matter to re-invent itself to be more innovative and relevant. The same could be said for the province of Alberta. What a lost opportunity to invest in the future of that province. Instead, tax cuts were the strongest policy of the day. This very down turn represents the creative elements for the next big breakthrough if the principles of creativity and innovation are applied.
This issue needs to remain on the front page. We move slowly in Canada, however, my faith is that we will catch on!
A more creative Canada
July 8th, 2009Life is for Sharing!
May 26th, 2009You may have already seen this clip – a fantastic 4 minute piece from Trafalgar Square in London, England of hundreds of thousands of people singing the classic Hey Jude. It took about 1.5 minutes for my cynical side to diminish, and then I found myself singing and inspired by what I watched. And judging by the number of hits on You Tube, 545,000 views, I’m not the only one.
Here’s my take on it – it was wonderful to see that many people of so many different races and ages slow down and be together for at least 4.5 minutes having so much fun as they sang the same song. It was a moment of everyone being present together, and having the chance to sing out loud. I bet most of them went away from that experience feeling more positive and energized too. And yet those same people may have passed by each other already hundreds of times during the course of their weeks, and no connection was made. Now, total strangers could be friends in an instance. And in an instance is the power of human connection.
Now think about that in the context of where you work. I bet that some people haven’t even had a bonding experience like that at work. People go about their day to day, interacting with only those that are in their meetings or are in your department. Random acts occasionally occur. People walk by each other in the hall way and don’t acknowledge one another. Cross departmental sharing and collaboration occurs like having your teeth pulled.
So what’s missing?? I’d say relatedness. Most of us don’t take the time to get to know others. And it isn’t always your fault. You are so busy getting your work done, the day doesn’t allow for it. However as seen by this piece, it really doesn’t have to take very long. So whose responsibility should it be to make this happen? I say from anyone who wants to take ‘leadership’ on in a company. As leadership is about having people be compelled and inspired to take action, it would make sense!! Music is a wonderful way to do it. That’s why I’m so excited about my alliance with Song Division. You can check my website about that. There are many other ways too. Either way, think of the difference it could make if it did happen more frequently in terms of the working ‘climate’ or ‘environment’! Wow….
