From living like snails, to flying like an eagle

I had taken my friend who is working in the IT sector for the last 10 years to a craftsman selling wooden toys. He was selling the same wooden toys his grandfather and his great-grandfather used to sell. He seemed to be unaware of the cutting of forests, the ban on cutting wood, the influx of electronic toys and the kids interest in the internet. Even when he was aware of these aspects, he seemed to be helpless to do anything about it. 

My friend and her husband had travelled together across half the world helping in the maintenance of the IT systems for various organisations. She was doing her work the way she had studied in college and had been trained at her organisation. While speaking to her about her profession, she seemed worried. She was aware of artifical intelligence (AI), but was unaware of the multitude of changes it will bring and the impact it could have on her daily routine work. 

How different was she, an educated IT professional, from the craftsman?

Both of them seemed to passively accept the changes around them without a concrete, well-thought-out plan based on an overall understanding of the situation.

Last week I was conducting an innovation workshop for industry participants and one of the groups came up with this wonderful metaphor of an eagle. There are many interesting aspects about the eagle. The eagle does not waste its energy flapping its wings like a small bird, it takes advantage of the directionality of the wind and glides almost effortlessly to reach great heights. From above it is able to get a macro view. But is it happy with this macro view? No. It uses this perspective or the so-called keen sight to see specific opportunities, say small rabbits, to hunt. It swoops down fast from a great height and catches the prey.

The participant group had used the metaphor for another interesting purpose but its such a beautiful metaphor in our day-to-day life. We live like snails-- working hard, prodding along unaware of what is happening around us-- while the eagle gets its way.

There are many lessons to learn from this:

1. Have a broad perspective – a macro view.

2. Be a keen observer of the world which is constantly changing around you.

3. Develop a keen insight to understand the causes and complex inter-relations.

4. Do not be a passive observer of the changes. Believe that you can bring about a difference. Be the change you wish to see. 

Each one of us should be aware of the social, technical, political and cultural winds of change so that we are not taken unaware. And more importantly, it should enable us to look for opportunities and grab them.

You never wait for a problem to come to you: a technology to first get patented, a new market to be captured, to begin innovation. You start with today, the present. And you observe the trends around you with depth and insight. There may be no problems to solve but there may be many opportunities to be grabbed. 

And this could just be the beginning of developing a new innovation strategy.

The writer is a senior faculty at the National Institute of Design. She imagines how it would be to fly.