How innovation starts: on loving more & dreaming bigger

I’ve been littering my articles with talk about love for some time now.

I see that some of you are also beginning to say the L-word too, which is excellent. Perhaps we can join forces and work together?

I’ve even gone global about the L-word in my September ‘learn to move mountains’ column of Sovereign Magazine – it really feels like a go-big or go-home moment – given the magazine is distributed to outlets in hardcopy and digital all around the world.

Why? Why do I keep talking about love? Why do I keep talking about it in relation to sustainability and sustainable development?

Because it is the starting point of true innovation and action.

My way of calling it is the Tao of Innovation. The ‘how’ of things, ‘how’ things happen, unfurl, unfold.

Love, with all of its spectrum, “is the white light of emotion[1]” and each of us is a prism. It is the micro-moments of connection with yourself and with others[2].

It is the ground zero of your imagination and creativity.

When you look through this lens, you gather your courage to explore and create your best solution. You can’t look away from the impact further down the line on people or planet. You are forced to keep coming back to designing solutions around flourishing.

In Love Letter to the Earth, Thich Naht Hanh writes:
“We are a living, breathing manifestation of this beautiful and generous planet. Knowing this, we can begin to transform our relationship to the Earth…We will fall completely in love with the Earth.”

In my September Sovereign column, I give you a task to do, set by young people that I’ve talked to. I don’t want to duplicate that so you need to read the article. I’m giving you another one to do, again set by the same young people. 

Dust off your organisation’s values. Whether you’re a solopreneur or a micro-business or a global brand. Is ‘love’ one of them? I’m guessing no.

What if it was? What if you and your organisation had to live ‘love for the planet’ as a value?
What has to change? Might you have to relinquish a growth business model for a model of flourishing? How would your business processes change? How would people show-up and do their job? How would you show-up and do yours?

Imagine it. Imagine how things would be different. Imagine how incredible real, disruptive innovation might be. It is so much more exciting than lazy duplication that promotes a status quo for a few. 

You are the thought-leaders, impact investors, platform builders. Maybe it’s time to break your own rules? After all, every journey starts with maybe.

You will need help. We go far together, so I have rather excellent workshops and coaching we can roll out to get everyone looking through this lens, connecting values and businesses processes, bringing new perspectives to increase innovation and impact.

I’ve often been urged to deliver messages more softly, to ‘pick pockets’ rather than punch. Meh!

I’m working on it but the opposite of love is fear, avoidance, scarcity; and we’re seeing tidal waves of that everywhere. I don’t much like tidal waves at the best of times, so I feel there is a need to be direct. You need to start breaking rules!

Do the exercise. With some urgency. Then take action. You don’t need to go alone. I’m here to walk the path with you, with a whole toolkit to help.

I wish you love and a kiss on the brow for courage. This is the how of things, the Tao of Innovation, how things happen, how things start.

[1] Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of Love
[2] Barbara L Fredrickson 

#flowinaction #wellbeing #imagination #ideas #creativity #innovation #entrepreneurship #purposedriven #values #resilience #socialinnovation #sustainability #sdgs #climateaction #noplanetb