Real innovation requires real risks.    The nice thing is you can manage risk.  You can plan for risk.  You can’t plan for all possible outcomes, but you can plan for risk.  It’s an inherent part of innovation. How can you create something new, if you aren’t thinking of possible outcomes and how to learn from them?

Sometimes innovations seem to just happen naturally, but any innovation requires someone to risk trying something new — even if that thing seems like a “gimme.”  Many people have ideas all the time, but very few actually speak them and more importantly take action to bring them to fruition.  And, many people have ideas that are not innovations.  To be an innovation it has to help something grow and move forward, not just be change for change’s sake.

I’ve decided to apply professional discipline to my own career and life now.  I haven’t done a full risk matrix, but I have played out many possible scenarios.  I’ve had a pretty interesting life and career so far.  I started out as a professional Stage Manager and Prop Designer and then spent the next 10 (ish) years  working my way around the Interactive world.  I’ve designed sites, and even won a couple of awards.  I’ve built sites – not something I’m really good at.

Most of the time, I’ve been on the marketing side – agency and client side.   I’ve been part of the group that develops and executes interactive marketing strategy.  I’ve worked on everything from media plans to content strategy to social media.

What I haven’t done is often expressly discuss the other things I’ve been doing.  The thing is,  I think it’s this “other” stuff that has made me really good at what I get paid for.   The “other” stuff seemed like things you don’t talk about at work, and really did people need to know about it?

Yep.  It’s time.

I say I’m connector of people, ideas, and information.  More simply, I’m a good strategist and tactician because I can see through other people’s eyes and connect patterns and dots together.  I can do this not because I got an MBA, which I didn’t, but because of all the things I have studied and done.  Don’t get me wrong, I think an MBA is probably a good thing for a lot of people to get.   But while my peers were getting MBAs, I was on a slightly different track.  I was in “seminary” – to use a convenient word.

Over three years, and two different jobs, I was a part of the inaugural class of Kohenet: The Hebrew Priestess Training Institute and on an ordination track with the spiritual group to which I belong.  Welcome to the risk — talking religion with work!  Don’t worry, I’m not going to preach at you or try and convert you.

For me the skills I’ve learned from all of this that enable me to do my job well are:

• Critical thinking
• Applied Curiosity
• Collaboration
• Presentation
• Research
• Empathy
• Analysis
• Fearlessness
• Project Management

From my first day the Shakespeare Theatre when I was asked if I was afraid of snakes, because I was going to be in charge of two baby pygmy ball pythons for Anthony & Cleopatra.   To having to learn to repel, field strip a Baretta 9mm, and manage Secret Service Inspections — all as a 23 year old Prop Runner.  As I moved into more Prop Design and Set Dressing, I had to learn to see the vision of the Director and Set Designer — and put myself into the world of the show.  My greatest compliment as a Prop Designer was for a production of A Raisin in the Sun at the http://www.olneytheatre.org/.

From my “seminary” training, I learned how to listen and provide pastoral counseling.  I learned applied empathy and critical thinking skills.  Trust me — sit in room of 20 opinionated, educated women and discuss a Torah portion and what it means.  You have to apply dozens of skills to that, which only improve your analysis, critical thinking, discussion, debate, presentation, research, empathy and collaborative abilities.

I think there is a lot of value in publicly discussing how our “other” interests and experiences make us better at how we earn our living.  So many of us have informal Liberal Arts educations, that for one reason or another, we don’t really discuss.

It’s time to innovate and take some new risks.

It’s time to talk about all the “other” things I do and how the lessons learned there can translate to the corporate world of marketing and communications.