Dangerous Disruptive Ideas #cindertoflame

This marks the 13th article of the Cinder to Flame Info Bites newsletter (on LinkedIn). We will play upon the theme of superstition and dread associated with dangerous, disruptive ideas that evoke feelings of fear, irritation or disdain. With such an encounter, your heart beats faster, breathing shallows, facial muscles tighten and you begin to sweat as the fight and flight reaction begins.

Disruptive ideas often arise from divergent thinking, they threaten the natural order of things and paint a picture of significant change, chaos and destruction. They defy what is known and appears to be working successfully (even for years). They question conservative strategic plans, stalwart processes, solid corporate structures, permanence of positions and fixed work routines.

When confronted with a disruptive idea, what is your best option? Exercising mindfulness can help you become attuned to your thoughts and emotions. With heightened awareness, you can recognize negative feelings “in the moment” as they arise. It affords an opportunity to process information before a knee-jerk response. Performed rightly, it is a humbling experience that opens your mind to new possibilities (in stark contrast to slamming the door shut).

A healthy corporate culture for major innovation is a psychologically safe environment that motivates individuals, teams and leadership to share disruptive ideas and perspectives. This freedom is demonstrated through formal (and unwritten) permission to find fault or deficiencies in the current corporate system of processes and strategies - without threat of potential repercussion.

Effective entertaining of disruptive ideas requires more than polite listening. It entails serious consideration that accepts the challenge to delve deeper and question how your Corporation can transform and shift the paradigm of service or product design and delivery. This switches gears from a defensive reaction to exploration of potential possibilities.

Corporate case studies of effective major innovation began with a disruptive idea that was nurtured within a healthy corporate culture. Cultural facilitators encompass the boldness to accept risk and enlist fortitude - to embrace failure as a learning opportunity on the journey to success.

Consider this quote from Dr. Travis Bradberry:

“Influential people are never satisfied with the status quo. They're the ones who constantly ask, 'What if?' and 'Why not?' They're not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom, and they don't disrupt things for the sake of being disruptive; they do it to make things better.”

Try this challenge:

Think of a dangerous, disruptive idea that triggered a negative reaction in you. Reflect deeply, consider how this idea could be viable and grow. Take the idea one step, then two steps further and continue to build upon this possibility. Now, consider how your initial feelings toward this disruptive idea may have changed?

Cinder to Flame helps Corporations solve complex challenges with strategic services that energize people, fuel a healthy corporate culture and ignite major innovation.

There are multiple facets of a healthy corporate culture for major innovation, including psychological safety and receptive (open and positive) mindsets toward out-of-the-box ideas so that they can be cultivated with the potential to grow into innovative solutions.

On Cinder to Flame’s home page, you are asked two questions:

How effective are the solutions that address your Corporation's complex challenges?
Are you ready to generate more innovative solutions?

Visit: https://www.cindertoflame.ca/

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