The Unknown, the Future, and the Impossible

“We sell our souls at the altar of the incremental.”Well, we do if we embrace the view that that change is slow and steady, and comes out of what came before.But what if it doesn’t?  What if change is radical, disruptive, breakthrough?Innovation is always a matter of the dialog between these two poles, between the present and the future, between the known and the unknown, between the possible and the impossible.Those who are committed to the status quo will generally take one side of this dialog, while those who are motivated by their visions of what could or should be often take the opposite view.Into this dialog enters Charles Smith, with a very useful primer on innovation via his new book, Navigating from the Future, a thoughtful examination of the future, the unknown, and the impossible, which those of us who are committed to the pursuit of innovation will find of great value.Navigating from the Future provides a clear view of the philosophy and psychology of innovation.  I think you will enjoy it.Charles is also leading workshops on these themes, and I had the pleasure of attending one in Shanghai in September.  I came away with many pages of valuable ideas and useful notes.  The next workshop will also be in Shanghai later this month, January 28 and 29, 2010, and the title Breakthrough Innovation is entirely deserved.