Success is … not forgetting the basics

The famous quote attributed to Thomas Edison popped into my mind when reading another blog:  “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”  The common interpretation is that there is a lot of work between coming up with an idea and making it real.  In a business context, it can take on a slightly different meaning.

The current buzzword making the circuit of the leadership in corporate america is “innovation”:  in order to be successful, we have to innovate.  We always have to be doing something new — something different from the rest of the crowd.  I’m not saying that innovation is bad — it is the only real way things get better (more efficient, reduce cost, better product, etc.) — but we need to make sure there is a solid foundation for the innovations to build on.

Karin Hurt said recently in her blog Let’s Grow Leaders:

Leadership impact comes in the context of the mundane.  Every day little words inspire connection more than any grand speech you could deliver.  It’s what you say when you think it doesn’t matter that matters.

We have to make sure we don’t overdose on the adrenaline of innovation and forget about all the basic things we need to do so that the “wheels don’t fall off” and “the lights stay on”.

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