Innovation has been around since the beginning of time, but there have been certain points in human history where it has seeped into everyday discourse.
We are currently experiencing this again with the rapid rise of AI. Voices from all directions are pressuring people and companies to be ‘innovative’ and adopt AI or get left behind. A fear of missing out (FOMO) is real and often drives people to adopt without understanding impacts, dependencies, and more.
As we discuss in a previous article, taking this sort of reactive approach to decision-making is fraught with all sorts of consequences.
Let’s talk about the critical element of mindset before talking tactics.
And when it comes to innovation in general, the best thing to compare is the concept of success on a personal level. We all have our own definition of what personal success looks like, but we are also under tremendous pressure to fit in a certain mold, or as I allude to in the title above, to “…keep up with the Joneses.”
Do you think that leads to happiness? I certainly don’t…
And while AI and innovation seem to go together like peas and carrots these days, remember too that being innovative doesn’t have to mean “technology.”
This article discusses the necessity of innovation for ensuring your company’s success in the long-term and how innovation shouldn’t be done by marching to the beat of someone else’s drum.
Learn more about the two extremes (i.e. reactive vs. stagnant), plus a few tactics you can employ to ensure your company is pursuing innovations in a way that fits your company rather than what the other companies are doing.
The article linked below was originally published in the journal Carrier Management, a quarterly publication targeting property and casualty insurance carriers. Like previous articles published in this journal, the concepts and examples focus on that industry but are easily applicable to your company regardless of the type of organization you belong to.
Innovation: Why Companies Shouldn’t Try and Keep Up With the Joneses
What is your company’s approach to innovation?
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Innovation can be intimidating, and the temptation is strong to get on the AI bandwagon before getting left behind. Enterprise risk management practices, when done well, can be a valuable tool in helping you determine how to proceed. If you don’t have the right tools in hand, reach out to me and let’s talk about how you can begin evaluating different innovations.
