During my week as guest host here at FC Now, I've tried to amplify, explain, or improvise on the Ten Faces of Innovation from my new book that appears in the current issue of Fast Company. Those posts were mixed in with the prolific blogging of other Fast Company editorial contributors, so in case you missed the narrative thread, here's a link to posts about the Anthropologist, the Experimenter, the Cross-Pollinator, the Hurdler, the Collaborator, the Director, the Experience Architect, and the Set Designer.
Collectively, these innovation roles are intended to offer a chance for people feeling stuck in an ordinary work life to have the rewarding experience of being just a little bit more extraordinary. To break up patterns of routine or boredom with the chance to capture fresh insights or master new skills. In fact, maybe The Ten Faces of Innovation is ultimately about the chance to be remarkable, which is also the theme of The Big Moo a new book by Seth Godin and the Group of 33. You can hear the story of The Big Moo at Remarkabalize.com or at Seth Godin's blog.
Seth was kind enough to invite me (along with 30 of his closest friends and one really close relative)to contribute to the book. In return for that kindness, the Group of 33 agreed to donate 100% of our authors' royalties to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Acumen Fund, and Room to Read. For the past year or so, I have thought of these two human-centered innovation books as living in parallel universes, until last night when I re-read the first page of The Big Moo and realized it fit almost perfectly with the message of the Ten Faces.
So, as a parting thought on my last guest-host blog post for Fast Company, I'll offer up this text from the very first page of The Big Moo [with just one word added to make it dovetail with the underlying theme of the Ten Faces]:
WHO YOU ARE IS WHAT YOU DO
You are not a cog.
You are not [just] an assistant or an administrator.
You are not [just] a gofer or a middle manager, either.
No, you're creative. A valuable asset to your family and your community. A person who can make a difference to an organization.
You are capable of having an impact, leaving a legacy, creating things that are outstanding.
You are not ordinary.
In fact, you're remarkable.
Now, hurry. Don't let yourself (and the rest of us) down.
Related Stories: | Topics:Innovation, guest host: tom kelley, Fast Company Magazine, Seth Godin, Media, Books and Literature, Book Reviews |
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Recent Comments | 12 Total
October 23, 2005 at 3:22am by Martel
David Sandler, the founder of the Sandler Sales Institute said, "Who you 'I', is not who you 'R'." He meant that you are not what you do. What you "I" is a 10, on a scale of 1 to 10. You are a remarakable, creative human being, you are invaluable, and outstanding, as you stated. However, in our culture, we confuse who we 'I' with what we do; we think that our jobs-R-us, that we are a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker and if we only do a 5 job, then our self worth is only a 5. Based on our personal history, we may have been beaten down to a self concept of a 3 or 4 and we will tend to live up (or down) to that self-concept by failing to perform in our jobs. If we are raised with a high self concept, then we will tend to perform at a high level and if we have a bad day, we will dust ourselves off and start all over again. It won't make us self label ourselves as a 3. All of our "I"s are really a 10, this is the place to start to make our performance better, we have to separate ourselve from our job and work on our "I". The stronger our self-concept, the better we will function in the world.
October 23, 2005 at 6:28pm by roger fulton
fertile ideas planted in fertile ground, grow more fertile employees. And yet again, growth, happiness and more job growth, does it not?
Roger Fulton
Yuma, Az
October 23, 2005 at 8:43pm by Caryl Felicetta
I find that there are those who just naturally think or act "remarkable" and those that do not. Not that those of the second group can't change, they just are not "born" with that quality of behavior. We all know them; they are the ones that just get by.
Godin is truly a remarkable one, churning out ideas one after another. I recommend his publications (offline and on) to my team as well as my clients, hoping the remarkability to wear off on some and just continue to inspire others.
We will have the pleasure of seeing Godin speak in central NJ (Edison, about 40 minutes from NYC) on November 17th. You can find out more here.
October 23, 2005 at 11:58pm by Ryan Fedell
Being remarkable equates to "Living Heads Above the Rest" at My T-Shirt Guys.
Is there anything remarkable about selling t-shirts? Not traditionally, but we have changed that.
I am the co-owner of My T-Shirt Guys LLC a custom apparel company that believes in living and conducting business "heads above the rest."
What this means is that we create a totally new, unexpected service for our customers who routinely order t-shirts, but are treated like kings and queens.
Most owners in our business would not treat their customers the way we do, because of the time commitment with individuals and creating a real relationship.
How are we remarkable? Thats our secret unless someone has invited you to visit our site.
I think that everyone has the born potential to be extraordinary. It is a mindset, a desire to be more than you think you can be, and the realization you "I" is more important than "R."
October 24, 2005 at 2:33pm by T. Sheehy
Your thoughts align with a passage I remember from another class I took several years ago. It has been attributed to Nelson Mandela, but apparently isn't really his. No matter, it trully is the thought that counts. I love the passage and think of it often when I'm considering not making a true contribution.
Check out the passage at:
http://www.geocities.com/fascin8or/mandela.htm
October 24, 2005 at 4:14pm by Skip Corsini
When you draw a line from Art Kleiner through Peter Schwartz, Stewart Brand and Pierre Wack, you land at G. I. Gurdjieff (1872-1949), philosopher, seminal spiritual figure, and author of Meetings with Remarkable Men.
Among his writings one finds:
I have already said that there are people who hunger and thirst for truth. If they examine the problems of life and are sincere with themselves, they soon become convinced that it is not possible to live as they have lived and to be what they have been until now; that a way out of this situation is essential and that a man can develop his hidden capacities and powers only by cleaning his machine of the dirt that has clogged it in the course of his life. But in order to undertake this cleaning in a rational way, he has to see what needs to be cleaned, where and how; but to see this for himself is almost impossible. In order to see anything of this one has to look from the outside; and for this mutual help is necessary.
Evolving conclusion: Remarkable people are made, not born, because their unique qualities are only known when they interact with other people. Even people of high esteem and self worth don't know until they are in the right environment to flourish, a place where they can "be cleaned" of ego, conceit, and false assumptions, thus prepared for a search for truth. How many of us can really say this about ourselves?
Read Gurdjieff and you'll get it.
October 25, 2005 at 3:23pm by Ste_Br
Interesting… Our self-concept consists of our knowledge, assumptions, feelings about ourselves and our action we do. What we do is what we have to do. Because all our actions base on our inside qualities. So who we are is really what we do.
October 25, 2005 at 4:36pm by BillS
People need to get a personal life and stop confusing work with life. Most of us work because we need the money, not because it defines us, even if we love our jobs and are great at them.
BTW, if your personal life is consumed by watching, reading about and discussing sports during all your waking hours, then you're living vicariously through someone else's life and should get your own. I seem to be surrounded by a society full of people like this.
October 25, 2005 at 8:48pm by Olivier Blanchard
That was a great article.
October 28, 2005 at 8:39pm by Suze
I just have to share what I think is one of the most innovative companies I've heard of in awhile. I just read about VocationVacations in yesterday's Boston Globe. These folks place peoople into their dream jobs for a couple of days so they can test it out. Cool stuff....plan on taking one once I save up some $'s to do so.
October 31, 2005 at 11:09am by mahendrakumardash
Every one wants to be remarkable.And ultimately it becomes a race in a company to see who wins.The winner obviously is the best performer whose work makes him remarkable.In the race some one breaks his limb,develops health problems.But the winner sustains and retains his postion despite of efforts made by his fellow friends in the company to pull his leg down.
November 17, 2005 at 3:52pm by KERMIT WILLIAMS
WHAT IF YOU CAN LIVE IN A HOUSE THAT CAN PROTECT YOU IN WAKE OF A TWISTER AND A FLOODS WELL THAT CAN HAPPEN ONE DAY .I DOCUMENTED AND CONCEPTED PLASTIC RUBBER HOUSING THIS HOUSE OF THE FUTURE IS BEING AVAILABLE FOR LICENSING FOR NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT .