Seven Principles of Convergence (pt. 2)

1. Think at the inter-section, not outside the box - The inter-section is 21st century. Wandering outside the box is not. The RealWorld (the first 3/4 seasons) Netscape, Gameboy, and the creation of the DVD were incredible 'outside the box' ideas. But companies like Apple, Ebay, and Innocentive and ideas like design thinking, crowdsourcing, and social media (to name a small handful of examples) are the next stage of innovation and these are companies and ideas at the inter-section - where convergence happens.

2. Recognize the patterns by identifying the trends - When you see, recognize and understand patterns that means that you've looked at and compared trends across industries and you are recognizing the shift from a different vantage point. You don't just see the individual trends in fashion, trends in financing or trends in philanthropy you see the shift in people and their behavior across the board, on the macro level. You're observing the change in behavior with respect to people, their ideas and how that plays out in multiple arenas.

3. Understand the whole by knowing the parts - Right now, for numerous reasons, people and their technological, professional, social and natural environments are moving towards being inter-connected. The day is already here where the distinction between one and the other is becoming hard to tell. So in order to truly create viable ideas for today you have to know, understand and embrace holistic thinking as the approach to dealing with business and socio-cultural challenges. This perspective is the future.  Anything else is not.

4. Ask excellent questions the right way - In order to get to the crux of a problem that ultimately allows you to arrive at the needed solution, asking the right question is essential.  Yet often, many people aren't doing that. Example: wrong question - Should I be using social media?  Right question - What is the value of social media in terms of the business that I am pushing forward?

5. Create scenarios that are "both-and" not "either-or" - In today's market completely discarding the 'old' and only embracing the 'new' is a bad idea. Additionally the whole notion of a zero sum game is not valuable and will only limit your creative capacity. Taking the approach that you don't have to make a choice by eliminating something allows new and incredible possibilities. 

6. Be creative in your thinking, disciplined in your action - This one is almost self-explanatory.  You can have 1,001 creative, cool, hot, gamechanging ideas, but if you don't know how to execute, your ingenuousness is pointless.  An incredible idea with no follow-thru is like a kitchen full of new groceries with no refrigerator - a waste.

7. When on the verge, persist and surrender - There are times when you are learning, growing, and pushing yourself into new personal and professional boundaries. It may be scary because its new to you and its unchartered waters but keep going.  Be persistent. Push through for that new breakthrough, that new project, that new possibility - but don't push so hard that you don't take time to see if what you're doing makes sense - at this moment, surrender. Give up your drive (temporarily) to get feedback, see if what you are doing has value (to yourself and others). Then determine what changes need to be made (if any). Then once again, persist. And the cycle begins all over again.