Posts Tagged ‘Innovation’
Improve your Social Media: Avoiding the conventional thinking trap
I read a lot of blogs. I pay attention to a lot of websites. I watch how other companies do things and I like to see what is and isn’t working for them. It’s my business to know what’s going on in the social media world. As I look at other people’s work I find it important and sometimes difficult to stay clear of the conventional thinking trap when coming up with social media ideas.
Here are a few statements that can lead to being captured by the conventional thinking trap:
- “I’ve been doing this for years and it works just fine.”
- “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
- “But that’s not how other companies do it.”
- “That potential employee is innovative and intelligent, but they just don’t have the experience/résumé.”
- “It seems a little risky.”
What’s wrong with these statements? If it isn’t broken why would you want to fix it? Experience is a good thing. Other companies do it that way because it works. There are a lot of costs associated with risky endeavors. This is all true, but consistently falling into conventional thought can stifle innovation, growth and improvement. The conventional thinking trap stops you from being the first to do something awesome, it stops you from creating something viral, it stops you from being a leader and slowly steers you into mediocrity.
How do you avoid the conventional trap? Here are a few ideas:
- Try it – If you have an idea for your website, your Facebook page or Twitter, just try it. One of my favorite quotes by Wayne Gretzky explains this principle: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Stop wondering “what if” and do it.
- Establish an innovative culture – Make it a practice to come up with fresh ideas. Take half an hour each week to brainstorm on how to improve your marketing. If you manage a bigger organization then get ideas from your employees. You could even create a contest and give a small bonus every week to the person that has the best idea. If you encourage innovation your company will thrive.
- Be different – This is a simple but powerful principle. If you conform to what everyone else is doing then someone will most likely do it better than you. If you can differentiate yourself from the norm, you become the standard. How can you be the leader if all you do is follow?
These are just a few ideas I had that help me to avoid the conventional trap. What are some of the thing you do?