177. The (re)birth of an innovation blog — and why you should care
Let’s start out with the easiest one.
You have every reason in the world NOT to care about my blog or what I write about. If you’re not interested in innovation, especially so!
But let’s for a moment imagine that you ARE curious about what sort of blog this will be, why it is what it is and what you might get out of it. Let’s presuppose that for a minute, just to get the juicy thoughts streaming.
At its core, innovation is about asking “What if…?”
What if we could make the world more playful? What if we could get people to experiment more? What if we could create a world that was more engaging?
That, simply put, is my mission. To do what I can to make the world into a place where there’s less fear and more opportunity to try out new things. Where there is more possibility to ask exactly that question. What if…?
If I wanted to be philosophical and cheesy at the same time, I’d say that my grand question is this:
“What if we could get more people to ask what if?”
And that leads us to the blog you’re currently reading
This is my blog post #177. Obviously, this blog has a past. But let’s forget about that for a moment. Let’s instead talk about the future of it.
In this blog, I am going to be sharing my thoughts (and those of others!) on not just what ifs, but also on why thens, how tos, where nows and a whole plethora of questions of that nature. I’m going to be looking at things both big and small, personal and public and old and new, and I’m going to do my very best to distill some sort of insights out of those things.
The sort of insights, that will allow us to ask more meaningful “What if…?” questions.
I can’t for sure say what I’ll be focusing on, because that’s how it is with innovation — you may go in with a hypothesis, but you should be prepared to be proven wrong. If you’re not ready to change your mind, then it’s just dogma and that rarely leads to new ways of thinking.
I already know I’ll be running a series of series
Yes, yes, I know, I know. I like that sort of double use of words. Always have. So with that unspoken accusation accounted for (and it’s a fair one, I’ll grant you!), I want to take a look at several “series” of blog posts. I will of course be writing stuff that doesn’t fit neatly into one of these series, but these are my main building blocks for the blog’s new identity.
The “What if?” Series
How could I not have a series called What if? Right? In this series, I am going to play around with scenarios, possibilities and guesswork. A good example is this piece about automated vehicles and moving apartments.
The “Heroes” Series
Over the years, I’ve worked with thousands of people. The Heroes series is a space, where I celebrate some of those exceptional people, who have inspired me in one way or the other. Such as Signe Hertel, a young Danish architect.
The “Corporate Ideas” Series
It’s often easier to talk about the general by talking about the specific. In the Corporate Ideas series, I look closer at real world organisations and what they might do — like in this post on Disney’s upcoming Star Wars Hotel.
The “Innovation Nitty Gritty” Series
Often, when we talk about innovation, we talk about the big picture. The Innovation Nitty Gritty series is the opposite of that. It’s where I geek out over details — as with this toilet door handle in Oslo Airport.
The “Sparks of Inspiration” Series
My life is full of discoveries; of new people, methods, thoughts and concepts. Some of those end up here in the blog. That’s where the Sparks of Inspiration series comes in. My top post ever (on claps) belongs here.
If any of those five sound appealing to you, then you might just want to stick around.
And if none of them do, then this blog probably isn’t for you. And that’s ok!
Claus Raasted is an Innovation Strategist, and recently wrote “The Innovation Cycle”. He serves as the Director of the College of Extraordinary Experiences, is a Coach at McKinsey & Company and is a founding partner at the Global Institute For Thought Leadership. He also has a past in reality TV, but these days, who hasn’t?
