No innovation for Engineers? You are the problem.

Innovation. There is no one easy way to categorise it. To some of us, it's just a 'buzzy' word which is used by managers to justify another life sapping meeting...

"Come on folks let's innovate!", sounds the call, but later that meeting. "Nothing today then folks?...let's try again next week." and the next and the next...and the next...

But, can we force innovation? Probably not, but I believe that you can lubricate it. What you can't do, is force others to do something which doesn't come naturally. But innovation does come naturally. So what's the problem?

You are the problem.

and

You will be guilty of thinking one of the following;

1. Paranoia! We all covet and protect our inner most innovative thoughts and ideas - like they are the next winning lottery ticket. We associate our ideas with a potential value, and fall into the trap of assuming that; "If I can't get rich on this idea, then no-one else will". Wrong. The truth is, someone else will eventually think of it. That person may also do something about it. 
2. Lack of Importance. You believe that ideas are numerous. So therefore you place no value in your original thoughts, and they never see the full light of day. You forget that one of those ideas could be a 'good idea'. One could be a 'great idea'...
3. You'll look dumb. No one likes to look stupid, you are not creative [so you've been told], and you keep your mouth closed, head down. Choosing the easy life.
4. Logic Bubble. Nothing kills creative thoughts quicker than thinking that you know it all already. This is what is called a logic bubble. You can act intelligently within it, but outside of it you need help, and possibly more diverse networking opportunities to innovate.

It may be that you exhibit one or more of the above behaviours, but even if you find yourself doing ALL of the above, you can still innovate.

So again, what is the problem?

You are the problem.

and

You will not be doing any of the following;

1. Taking Notes. You don't use a note pad, or a Dictaphone, or even your smart phone to record your daily thoughts and ideas. You don't free up the space in your head by having a download session every once in a while.
2. Listening and chatting to other groups of people. You definitely won't be the type of person who chats with strangers about their life, and you will not think of solving their problems with the experience which you already gained elsewhere. 
3. Exposing yourself to different environments. You will be sitting comfortably in your life's bubble, experiencing the same things week in and week out. That's fine, but if you want to stretch and learn and grow - then you have to be prepared to feel uncomfortable. For a little while atleast.
4. Exercise. Clinically proven to boost the quality of your thoughts. Running and walking for example has been linked to higher levels of brain activity. The surge of blood and endorphins to the brain turbo charges your ability to visualise. Well, you won't be doing any of that. 

In reality though, you can still achieve original thoughts - even if you never deliberately partake in any of the above experiences.

The question still remains. What is the problem?

YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.

and

You will be a happy, satisfied, comfortable, and scared engineer. Scared of what you are really capable of.

This is why you are the problem. That is why innovation will not happen for you. But you already knew all that.

Next time you arrive at your work office - try arriving 20 minutes early. Have a chat to someone who you have not spent much time talking to in the past [the cleaner if it makes you feel good]. Talk to them about their problems. Then, no matter how stupid it sounds, suggest one way in which they can resolve their issues.

Blurt it out to them, if you have to. Then go away, and write it down when you are able. Check back with that person a week later.

Finally, post it up as a comment here so we can all have a good laugh at it.


Engine[er]

2 Months in - Starting up an Enginee[er]

UPDATE: Almost 100 views for this month for this post alone! Thanks so much for your interest and please remember to comment!

This is a quick stock take of what's been happening to me over the last 2 months, and what is currently on my mind. It finishes off with a bit of a rant. Many apologies.

1. On doing Stuff
I love doing stuff. Who doesn't love waking up and doing lots of stuff all day long? Since I started working for myself, in amongst the productive hours of a new working week, doing stuff has become my life [I call them productive - my accountant may call them fee earning hours]. Truth is that all my week is productive of a kind, and working for yourself causes a major shift to your perception of what work actually is. The basic principle though is that every moment you spend thinking, considering what to do next, acting upon it, listing, dreaming, prioritising or learning, then you are working. So there.

2. 30/70 split seems fair
You need to earn a wage, and doing this in the shortest possible time gives you more time to brain storm a better delivery system, network, improve your service or re-adjust your attitude towards your chosen market.. I currently run at about 30% practical fee earning work to 70% dreaming and learning. I've been told by an accountant that this is a poor level of output, and I intend on doing something about it once I have crossed a few goals off my 'magic' to do list first.

3. There are 2 halves to every story
Before I started out on my own, I was told that if I can earn a wage on 40% of my time during the week then I would be doing very well! [TOP TIP: price your hourly rate to deal with this eventuality]...but that's not what my ex-bosses have told me over the years. Sweating it for a large company saw me 100% utilised on fee earning projects - which perhaps goes a long way towards why it is that large consultancies have trouble, especially in holding onto key technical personnel, and possibly this is why they are my ex-bosses? The lesson here is that you cannot sustain a 100% productivity without a cost. This could be to your general health and well-being, or it could be your creativity. Both add up to major burn out issues though. It is lucky then, that the majority of us were born with two halves to our brain - and our left-hand side would be screaming "GET US OUTTA HERE YOU MORON!" especially since this portion of the brain is very good at predicting our future. If my future = depressing [then] I re-adjust my environment to suit. In other words, make some changes. All my decisions are not as life changing as this though.

4. Be Proud of who you are
If you are an Engineer like me, but not me, then you are a very very lucky person! You keep good company [Steve Jobs, Sir James Dyson, Bill Gates, Henry Ford etc.] . Some of the last centuries most prolific inventors, designers, and entrepreneurs were Engineers of some sort. We get introduced into jobs where our insane ability to focus completely on a single process gives us a steady role in most organisations. We also make others lives better, because we are such useful people and are deeply influenced to serve the communities around us. Naturally we are creative creatures, but the majority of the time we take it upon ourselves to capitalise upon our technical skills. Why? Because to put it simply - we can. We can do both.

5. Do it to be on the A-Team
Being solely technical is not the kind of existence that we would wish upon ourselves for the entire length of our careers, it just happens that we are very good at solving problems. Importantly, the longer we stick at carrying out this unselfish, non-egotistical existence, the more successful our projects are as a result. It's a symbiotic partnership. We get to build stuff, design stuff and breath life into more stuff... the rest of team get to practise their creative, managerial and other useful organisational skills etc. Skills we have also.

6. Engineers serve society best by continuing to innovate
Most non-engineering types will not have the same dedication to continually plugging away at some new skill until they are the expert in a field, because they don't understand the pain and the eventual pleasure of being able to speak 'engineerish' on any given technical subject. Non-engineering types will be quite happy handing over this responsibility. We must not lose interest in the world around us, because this may incarcerate our freedom to innovate freely. The minute that we give up learning and stop applying all these cool talents to any given real world problem, is the exact same 60 seconds that commits us to a life long of slaving away nine to five, slowly losing the will to learn or worse... revoking our responsibility to pass on our great enthusiasm to a new wave of prospective engineering students.

I realise that the above points could  fill several blog posts of varying subjects, but I apologised for my  crassness already. There is no doubt that I will eventually pick one or two of these and expand upon them further... have you any preferences?

Have a great day.


Engine[er]