It is interesting how Innovation, like Leadership, has become a “sexy” term in business.

In times of difficulty, strife, cloudy markets and unpredictable work environments; business is beginning to preach “Innovation” as a silver bullet to all our ill’s.

However, Innovation – like Leadership – is a term and practice that is often not set in stone.

There is not often a ‘formal way’ to make an ‘informal practice’… formal.

Trying to formalize an informal process is like trying to tell a rock to fly.

Innovative ideas are much like evolution… they happen and show progress in their own time.

“You cannot plant a seed then dig it up everyday to see how it is doing!” – often you just need to give it what it needs to grow and then allow it to grow!

This is my 100^th post

No confetti, just a quick stick figure drawing that conveys one thing… we need to make better use of technology. We are surrounded by it. At work we use it to contact and even stay away from the boss a co-worker or feared enemy.

The Job of Technology

This got me thinking about how technology is a great benefit to engage our colleagues in the workplace and make communication a little faster. On the other hand, parallel to those benefits – in the left fast lane of life – are the great negatives that also cloud our perception of people through the lens of that technology.

The job of technology is to make things easier right? These tools of innovation, aren’t they meant to help us build a better and potentially easier life? Yet why so often do we allow it to get in the way? We write emails to C.Y.A. We hide behind the screen so no one will bother us. Often the technology becomes a hurdle rather than serve the purpose of what it was made for.

Online to Offline

If you have used technology in the past year and with it you have made connections with individuals, be sure to ‘connect’. Not just through an IP address, an email, webinar, through twitter or facebook; be sure to do it offline as well. That extra step could change the way you think about “making a connection.” The connections you build offline can become more meaningful and powerful.

Wait hold up, I have a call coming in… ahh nope… not today, I’m too busy writing this to talk!

So how have you connected with REAL people? Do you use technology to leverage your connections or do you allow that technology to get in the way?

http://ReThinkHR.org
@BenjaminMcCall