Innovative Leaders and Potato Farmers – Part 6
Today we wrap up our discussion of the innovative practices of potato farmers which would be good for leaders to adopt. The characteristics are humble, curious, agile, optimistic, faith-filled, and active.
Practical and Actionable Advice for Application
James 5:7 states, “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains.” This is good advice for anyone who is involved with innovation in any industry. Even while one adopts the traits of being humble, curious, agile, optimistic, faith-filled, and active, an obvious additional and required trait is patience. Potatoes do not grow quickly, nor do ideas. Sometimes a blockbuster concept will hit the market as if it were an overnight miracle cure for all ills, however, typically, it represents a long period of ideation in which thoughts gradually evolved from one state to another, each time picking up another layer of insight that eventually led to a long sought-after solution. So, as non-sexy as this advice is, patience must be a top priority for those who wish to create value for society through innovation. At the same time, though, there are practical and actionable suggestions which can be done to prepare one for when the time comes to introduce the next big thing to the world.
- As odd as it may sound, one of the best ways to become humble is to fail a few times. Bravado will fade away as efforts fall short of desired and proclaimed objectives. While I’m not advocating intentionally failing, I encourage people to take risks and to attempt to do things that stretch their natural abilities and have the chance of not going as well as they hope. Just as a farmer cannot control all external circumstances, so, too, an innovator should attempt to do things about which they do not have complete control of the outcome. I have learned from personal experience that missing the mark from time to time has made me much more humble and far less abrasive to those with whom I work. Humility is also the result of one’s spiritual journey. The closer one intentionally is with their creator, the more they understand that they are not the center of the universe.
- To become more curious, force yourself to expand your thinking. Read about subjects that you aren’t interested in, talk to people with whom you disagree, and see movies and stage productions by highly creative people. Do as Pamuk advised, “Notice everything,” enjoy nature, and stop looking at your phone every ten seconds!
- To become agile, put yourself in situations in which you must do things differently, intentionally join teams with people with whom you haven’t worked before, try new restaurants, challenge yourself and your team to find new solutions to old problems without merely falling back on the way things have always been done, and spend time around creative and innovative people who will stretch your thoughts.
- To be more optimistic, take the advice mentioned above and do as Philippians 4:8 instructs: “If anything is worthy of praise, think on those things.” Take in less negative reports, spend less time with negative people, and make the conscious decision to be more positive. It’s not easy to do this, but it can be done, especially if accompanied by a pursuit of God’s influence in your life.
- Faith comes by seeking God and trusting Him to take care of the details. Again, this is not an easy task, but taken one step at a time, you will begin to see your faith grow with each step. Step two will be a little easier than step one, and so forth, and eventually faith will become a part of you. Again, it begins with a conscious effort to take the first step.
- There is only one way to put action into play – “Just do it,” as Michael Jordan famously said. The story of the farmer with which this paper began described how they got up, got dressed, grabbed coffee and then went to work. Innovators must do the same. They cannot lie in bed waiting for inspiration to hit them. Just as the farmer had to get out of bed and go plant the crop, so, too, innovators must be in motion, even when uncertain of what is needed. Inspiration will often come while someone is working on something unrelated to the problem at hand, but the key is that they are working on something. Be in motion and the odds are that innovation will come.
Innovation is Farming for the Future
Davila, Epstein, and Shelton stated, “Innovation must be a theory in action.” As described above, potatoes don’t plant themselves and neither do innovations. Just as the Journal of Chemistry and Industry stated, the future of farming, as does innovation, requires a “change of mindset.” For farmers, it may require changing the way one thinks about economic, political, and social implications as suggested by Suess-Reyes in her study, The Future of Family Farming, or through a radical change initiative dealing with sustainability, such as recently implemented by the Barilla Corporation and documented by Pogutz as recently as September of 2016. Innovators will be wise to emulate the example set by farmers described above, because innovation is, at its essence, a form of farming. Ideas are harvested from a field of other plants, but often only after a long period of tilling, planting, and tending. Just as communities count on the potatoes grown to nourish their families for generations to come, they also count on innovators to grow new ideas, discover new varieties and hybrids of solutions to the world’s problems, and create a sustainable and nourishing future.
I hope you’ve stayed with me throughout this mini-series and that you will adopt the potato farming traits of being humble, curious, agile, optimistic, faith-filled, and active in your role as a leader. Particularly if you desire to be an innovative, authentic, and selfless leader, these traits will be extremely valuable to you and your team.
Lead well.