This month, we’ve launched the Fordham Road Blog where we offer you insights and examples of Mission Drift and the steps behind the Magis Method.  We welcome your comments and questions as you entertain where and how this method may apply to your work or your organization.

In this month’s post, Carol Tobin, the author of “What’s Driving Your Innovation” invites you to consider whether you face a wide path or a narrow one on the road to innovation.

In “What’s Driving Your Innovation,” I spoke of the risks of taking too short of a leap versus the reward of moving into a competitive position with an innovative offering.  I say too short because that pace can leave you disconnected from your customers or your core offerings and misaligned for the next round of

Image  by rogerblake2 via Flickr 

innovations.  This is where I introduced Reflective Sensing as a method of remaining open to the evolving landscape while moving into a new understanding of its value to you – a shift that can feel as if you are standing still while the world spins about you; like the jockeying of horses in the Kentucky Derby.

The idea of Sensing may sound reminiscent of the Meyers-Briggs personality indicator of someone who is rooted in the present and does not see how the present factors will play out.  While Sensing will make you profoundly aware of the synergies and disconnects with your current values, partnering that practice
with a Reflective, post-mortem, practice restores the relevance of these values.When you’re “losing your religion,” that awareness of who are your allies and the competitors, the values that are deepest, like the tread on your tires, will hold onto those most critical in your network.  And how you navigate the range of
possibilities, like your attentiveness to the road and the guardrails, will develop your responsiveness for the next leg of the race. Holding onto a diverse range of partners or driving styles can deter you from the speed necessary to navigate next year’s or next quarter’s market opportunities.

The guardrails in this case are the organizational and personal visions (values statements) for the organization. If there are none in the area of the business in which you operate, then the road is wide open and will call for continued negotiation and assessment as you go.  Is there value in stating these terms up-front, even if they are quite broad, such as Google’s policy of “do no evil?”  If the culture provides for this level of conversation, the conversations will come.  Do you have the same considerations in place for yourself and your organization? Do they reinforce your responsiveness and competitiveness?  We would like to know.

- Carol

Via Veritas, LLC