Innovation like magic

I have been practising martial arts for nearly thirty years, and I still mess up the basics from time to time. For example, all throws operate on a similar principle: throw the other person out of balance, position yourself in the way, and then push and pull to throw.

The secret is not in knowing this fundamental elements of the throw, but performing them at the right time with the right amount of force. The perfect form would be to enact all the moves nearly simultaneously. The throw then looks like magic, leaving the other side wondering what had happened.

If any of the moves is too slow or too fast, or too strong or too weak, the throw will most likely not succeed. They other person will adjust and resist. Worse of all, they might use our carelessness to throw us out of balance, reversing the wheel of fortune.

This principle of simultaneous performance applies to corporate innovation as well. We cannot focus on just developing ideas, or just managing one idea, or just changing and reorganising to be more innovative.

Therefore, if we want our innovation to be like magic that dazzles others, then we ought to orchestrate our innovation development efforts, managing innovation investments at scale, and organisational change.

And more importantly, we must remain attentive to our own balance, so we are not taken by surprise.