To innovate, you have got to ask - 'What is your story?'

Hi,

Friday morning, 36th floor of a San Francisco high-rise - overlooking the Bay bridge.

On a conference call - "We have got to investigate more deeply as to what options are available. Let me spend some time thinking through this - and see if I can pull something meaningful. In the larger scheme of things, because this is so new, we clearly have a challenge in finding the information - but that is why this will be innovative."

Sounds like another day in the office? I bet it does. Definitely for many of new age professionals working in the most succesful firms of our times. So whats the take-away?
"Give me a break - can you not ask me for a take-away? "

Next after the above 'brief but professional call' came a few minutes of engaging thinking about how we approach innovation and what would make it intuitively relevant. And the core thought that evolved was that for any effort to innovate - it had to start from the individual and his or her innate sense of the world and the story he/she was looking to make of his/her life.

So if I were to ask you - "Whats your story going to be?" - and was willing to accept anything that you put up there and then together discuss our common view of the world 10 years out and what factors in our opinion would drive change - then we would start having powerful ideas. RElating these ideas then within the confines of a more practical business reality would be a whole lot more effective and interesting.

Need to run for another meeting - but I want to come back to this ramble and build more clarity and directness to it.

Thoughts/Comments?