The Innovation Zone

By Kalen Jericho

Watch your step!  Complicated, difficult, and challenging work ahead!

So now that we're standing on the 'Threshold' of the 21st century and we know that there is no plan . . . It's not about me . . . and I'm making excellent mistakes (please reference the previous post on Dan Pink), What do I do to achieve some success pushing the boundaries?

After all I'm an innovator, I'm a leader, I'm not held back by tradition or some narrow minded focus. I have some really bright ideas and I know some really brilliant people. Tom, (MySpace's Tom, the founder, former owner and now multi-millionaire persona) is one of my friends. I'm supposed to be a success.

No. Sorry. Not quite.

You're not an innovator until you understand some sphere of knowledge well enough to innovate it. You're not a leader until you've worked your way up. And you can't free yourself from tradition until you know what tradition is and make a conscious effort to do something different.

In the world of innovators and witty thinkers who read flashy energetic magazines like Fast Company and see themselves on the next cover of Inc. . . .we 'smarter than the average bears' forget that we have to know the basic information. We have to take those initial steps. And we have to be willing to invest some time and some energy in comprehending the fields that we're actively bridging.

There is a certain advanced knowledge that is derived from persistence and basic hard work to study a particular field or topic. Even the cool kids have to do their homework, especially if they want to graduate to the next level.

Catch phrases and key words like innovation, convergence, cool, emerging, cross-marketing, etc. are overused and undefined in any practical manner. So, don't start spouting from the innovator's dictionary unless . . . UNLESS you know and understand your sphere of innovation.

Tom is everybody's friend, that's the gimmick. Having him listed on your MySpace profile doesn't make you an innovator by association. Become an expert in just one thing and go from there. Tom did the groundwork and so should you.