Seeking The Seeds of Innovation

How do you stay abreast of the latest innovative developments - not only in your specific field of endeavor - but also, in the tangential areas - by which the cross-pollination of ideas may deeply enrich your ability to add value in your chosen profession?

Just about every week I think of an industry, or niche vertical, in which I would like to know more.

I then do a bit of research to find what are some of the latest developments in that industry.

Then I filter my research to focus on what companies have achieved a significant depth and breadth of stature and visibility in that field.

Then I invert my research filter to focus on what are the small innovative start-ups that are potential emerging disruptive forces in that field.

Then, once I have a short list of companies to further research, I examine their web sites, check their vitality (by examining their recruiting/job postings, examining their Open Source contribution activity, examining their latest news/blog postings; and their Glassdoor review comments and scores). This helps me ascertain a probability range estimate for which of these companies will survive and thrive - and which are likely destined for a different outcome.

Then, I begin the deeper analysis - of reviewing the LinkedIn profiles of their executive leadership team - and then work my way through the ranks down to the senior technical leads. This helps me understand "how deep is their bench" in terms of experience and technical expertise - but also, in leadership.

Then, I'll check their social media accounts (e.g. Twitter, Github, SlideShare, Medium provide some of the most useful/interesting results) - and add them, as appropriate to the category lists I've created to help me automate my monitoring of activity across a broad variety of topics.

The seeds of innovation can be found everywhere - sometimes in the most mundane. But you have to keep an open mind - and constantly feed it with ideas (nutrients) to ensure that the soil is fertile for the growth of new seeds.

Sometimes, a random seed will take root. Or, more often as not - it is the confluence ("grafting") and serendipity of different idea seeds that morph into somethings new - spurring a new insight, or a completely new line of thinking about a problem.

For generations - up until my father, my ancestors livelihood was farming. I continue that proud tradition - in my chosen profession - of planting, harvesting, experimenting, and creating new hybrid "seeds".