Daily Inspiration: “Right now, urgency is the mother of all innovation!”

“Right now, urgency is the mother of all innovation!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

When it came to innovation, for many industries, there was a lot of talk, but little action. I’d see it over and over again with many of the ideas through my vast, global client base.

All then, with this thing, of a sudden, things that were deferred for years needed to get done.

For years, retailers – and particularly grocers – have talked about the need to ramp up there online shopping and ‘click-and-collect’ (or in-store pickup) infrastructure. Discussions ensued, committee meetings dragged on, decisions were deferred. And then all of a sudden, they had to do it.

Health care organizations spoke of the need to think about a world of what I’ve called “real time analytical predictive healthcare dashboards” which provide real insight into the emerge of disease on a community basis in real time. And then all of a sudden, they had to do it.

Organizations with complex supply chains spoke of the need to utilize artificial Intelligence and other sophisticated big-data tools to help them better manage complexity, and to allow for greater insight into potential bottlenecks and challenges. And then all of a sudden, they had to do it.

Companies spoke of the opportunity to accelerate their internal communication opportunities through sophisticated online video conferencing tools. And then all of a sudden, they had to do it.

Some governments spoke of the  need to put in place some sort of guaranteed income supplement for the less fortunate. Other governments spoke of the fact that they would never, ever do such a thing. Socialism! went the argument! And then, all of a sudden, they ALL had to do it.

Right now, the urgency to get things done is suddenly overcoming all the planning, all the objections, all the barriers that have existed and which have gotten in the way of doing the things that need to be done. Because all of a sudden, we had to do it!

For over a month and a half, I’ve thought about the idea of doing a live, real time online broadcast on a regular basis. And then all of a sudden, I felt compelled to do it.

Because, all of a sudden, we had to do it – urgency is the mother of all innovation at this particular moment in time!