What I Was Doing…

We all remember the scene in the movie, Forrest Gump, where Jenny and Forrest were walking down the dirt road and three bullies began throwing rocks at Forrest. At first, Forrest did not know what to do. Then Jenny looked at him and said, “Run Forrest Run!”

When Forrest began to run, it was not pretty. As a matter of fact, it was downright pitiful. He was running down that dirt road in braces with nowhere to go. But he did not give up. He kept running as fast as he could to get away from the bullies. Before you know it, the braces started to break and fall off – much like shackles being removed from a prisoner. FORREST WAS FREE! 

He could not only run, but he could run fast – and he outran the bullies – becoming stronger in the process!

What I Learned…

The moral of that scene is much like many of our experiences in the world of innovation. We find ourselves faced with bullies – sometimes from the outside – but many times from within our walls. People are often afraid of the unknown. They fear that they might mess-up or worse, they might fail.

Recently I was asked about running ahead – and if there were anything I would do differently in my approach to innovation within the two industries – healthcare and higher education – that need INNOVATION. Here is my response:

[wpvideo DuLN6eGA]

What I Will Do…

As a man, father, husband, and leader, I have made a conscious and challenging choice – to let people run!  As I was preparing for this week’s blog post, I came across a page on LifeHack.org entitled, Run, Forest, Run! 16 Life Lessons We Can Learn From Forrest Gump. As I read through it, I found that many of the points highlighted need to be part of our innovation toolkit. Here are the six I believe are key:

  • Don’t Be Afraid To Be Honest – If we are willing to be honest, we may be able to come to the right sooner than later.
  • Don’t Be Afraid To Lose (Fail) – Fail Fast, Fail Forward! Just Do It!
  • Always Try New Things. You Might Be Great At Them – If we do not try new things, everything will always be the same. That is not Innovation!
  • Sometimes, You Just Have To Do The Right Thing – Even When Everyone Tells You Not To – Remember, we all are humans. We all are consumers. Do what is right!
  • You Never Know Who’s Lives You’ll Change – Exactly!
  • Do What You Love – Why would you do anything else?

What You Can Do…

It is all about RUNNING! It is all about taking ACTION! We as innovators know what needs to be done, but what matters the most is that we – RUN!

I encourage you to take 30 minutes this week and do something that you have been afraid to do. Go have fun! Go learn something new! Break free!

I would love to share your story on the POWER OF YES in INNOVATION in my upcoming book! Send me an email with your story.

Thank you to Mark McFerron for your creative mind in this video and Brownrygg Woolls for your mad video skills!

Posted in Consumer Experience, Design Thinking, Empathy, Human-Centered Design, Innovation and tagged , ,

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