Where does inspiration come from? Sometimes from desperation.
Simon Sinek tells the story of how a young Steven Spielberg devised a simple, ingenious way to scare the daylights out of the movie-going public.
Here’s how that’s relevant to our executive search business — and to yours:
“We have a false belief that innovation happens with lots of money and resources. In fact, the opposite is true. It is a lack of resources, it is a lack of money, it is after something goes wrong are we able to truly innovate — to truly re-imagine how something could work. This is why large companies rarely produce truly innovative products — because they have the money and resources to build anything they want. The problem is, the things they want aren’t that innovative because they weren’t hindered or forced to find new ways. Small businesses, in comparison, are where big ideas happen. Slim on money and resources, they figure out how to make something work with what they have. Then big businesses buy the small businesses for their big ideas.”
This is good news for us all, we think. Not everyone has a Hollywood movie budget. But it doesn’t take a blockbuster budget to have a groundbreaking idea. Innovation is often borne of frustration. So, when you feel you’ve exhausted all possibilities, keep trying. You’re almost there.
“Innovation is not born from the dream; innovation is born from the struggle. Innovation, at its core, is not simply about building the future; innovation is about solving problems in the present. And the best innovations, just like the shark in Jaws, is often something we don’t even know is there.”
