“Disrupt Yourself”

"Disrupt Yourself" were the words of Whitney Johnson today as we spent an afternoon discussing, “if you want to be successful in unexpected ways, follow your own disruptive path. Dare to innovate. Dream big dreams. Do something astonishing. Disrupt yourself.”  I was intrigued and challenged.  She has seven pieces to her framework (and my editorial in parenthesis):

Take the right risks (as we say at Gannett, “Take on the big and bold” with some homework to help make sure it is the right bet)

Play to your distinctive strengths (basically if you are an outfielder, do not waste your time practicing ground balls)

Embrace constraints (you actually need constraints to get good at creating something remarkable. You need the limitations to inspire better thinking -- challenge the status quo. Your brain is constantly in efficient mode, looking for ways to use less energy. And often, unless forced, you don't think much at all.  Constraints force you to think.  "The imagination is unleashed by constraints. You break out of the box by stepping into shackles," says Jonah Lehrer. According to psychologists, when you have less to work with, you actually begin to see the world differently. With constraints, you dedicate your mental energy to acting more resourcefully. When challenged, you figure out new ways to be better.)

Battle entitlement (are you complacent and think you have achieved success?)

Step back and grow (take that challenge of learning a new role, craft, function, technology that may set you back short term but allow you to grow long term)

Give failure its due (think of an 18 month old learning to walk – they walk, they fall, they get up, they walk, they fall, they get up.)

Be discovery driven (learn how to operate in the unknown, and learn to ask the right questions to learn about the unknown.)

Years ago (when I worked for Time-Warner) I had the luxury of attending a discussion from Clayton Christensen (as an aside, he is a wonderfully warm human being who is fascinating in all that he has achieved) about companies (vs us as individuals) regarding the Innovator’s Dilemma and he stated that “firms seeking growth via new markets are 6x more likely to succeed than firms seeking growth by entering established markets, and the revenue opportunity is 20x greater.”

My take – branch out into new territory.  Take chances.  Take the path less traveled.  Rethink how you approach your role after all these years in your career.  Question how you operate.  Question how you lead.  Is your approach based on what you like or what your customers demand from you?  When is the last time you asked your customers?  I lead a global HR function and I left our meeting today hell bent on spending significant time better understanding what my customers want from the People function here at Gannett.  My ways are pretty good (to me anyway) but maybe, just maybe, they are not what my customers want or need.  So let’s ask them.  I need to change, my function needs to change…but I do not have the answers yet – only questions.

By definition, personal innovation picks up where personal development left off.  How does Dave change his own operating system ( so yes, I am talking in the third person about me – hey, it is my blog)?  It is about rethinking the ways I accomplish things on a daily basis and to improve on those systems with each passing day.  Maybe you have applied some personal development into your life, but as the times changes, what made you successful before might not work for the future.  We live in different times and by making a commitment to our own personal innovation is to strategically recreate ourselves and make ourselves better people than we were yesterday, a week ago, or even a year ago, will allow us to achieve more success and take our own personal development to the next level.

As we look inward and ask ourselves if we really want to change, the reality is that if we change or not, we still risk “downward mobility”.  As Dr. Darin Eich stated so clearly, “What is the ultimate for a person’s professional life is this thing called innovation. Innovation is changing. Innovation has a goal, a goal to get better. Innovation can happen in a lot of different contexts. You can innovate new or existing products. You can innovate your marketing. You can innovate your services. You can innovate your business processes. You can innovate your organization as a whole. Most compelling, motivating, and inspiring is that you can also innovate yourself as a person. Yes, all of these things have the capacity to change, to grow, to develop, and to improve in slight ways and in ways that you can’t even tell the difference. I get to work with people all the time that I would consider to lead boring lives, people who work in large bureaucratic organizations … some of these people who work at the large established bureaucratic organizations are full of great life. This is because they work in innovation. They are concerned with innovating products, services, and everything else. They look to innovate everything they see and realize that they with others have the capacity to actually do it. They have that challenge, that goal, that purpose, and that vision in their professional lives and I can see the difference in these people. My conclusion, innovation is good for a person.” 

Personal Innovation is about innovating ourselves (think of yourself as a business) and making ourselves better at whatever it is we do.  Blockbuster to Netflix, Horse & Buggy to Ford, Atari to Xbox – you get the idea.  If we have clients, and they are currently happy, take it to the next level and just “wow” them with more, if we think we have reached a comfortable level of success, push ourselves to grow even further.  Just like rapidly changing technology and new products, without innovation we may risk being left behind as others realize the importance of innovation and they do something about it.  Look at things with a fresh set of eyes and be aware of the changes in our world, our profession and our craft -  and innovate to prepare ourselves for our own next level of development on a personal level.  What will you commit to?  When will you do it?  Who will you enlist to make sure you follow through?

Together.  We.  Win.

Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

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