So You Wanna Be an Innovator…
Today innovation is the holy grail of job security. If it can be done cheaper somewhere else or faster by a computer, your job is toast. Yet to be an innovator is to balance on the edge or walk with the fiddler on the roof. The risk of falling must be reckoned against the risk of the (false) security of your comfort zone.
In Letterman parlance, here are 10 Rules for the Innovator:
#10 Find and honor and protect your sponsor
#9 Begging forgiveness is easier than asking permission
#8 Work underground as long as possible (ALAP)
#7 Fail Forward Fast—and cheap (F3)
#6 Be true to your goal but realistically assess risk
#5 Banish stragglers and whiners
#4 Enlist your own “hot group”
#3 Do whatever wins regardless of your title
#2 Circumvent stupid
#1 Come to work every day prepared to “bet your job”
Bonus: Make every day fun!
