Want to Keep Innovating? Start From The Beginning…Again

Bill Buxton, Principal Scientist at Microsoft Research and pioneer in the human–computer interaction field, wrote this about innovation in one of his BusinessWeek columns:

We live at a time where we hear repeated calls for the need for creativity and innovation. What better way to cultivate the full potential of our creativity than by sustaining the passion, curiosity, delight, energy, and enthusiasm of the beginner, coupled with the wisdom and experience of the expert?

Innovation happens in fits – usually early fits – so the real question is how does someone (or a group or company) keep on innovating? Bill suggests that a prerequisite for innovation is a certain level of openness, humility, and an unabashed willingness to be a beginner again. Wise words.