Think like a farmer, act like a hunter

The title of this post comes from a piece by Jeffery Philips on using innovation consultants. He has a very good discussion of the many sides of innovation. The farmer has to build an organization that can produce new ideas and that knows what to do with them when they arise. The hunter needs to jump on an opportunity when it presents itself. He says:

Without the farming, there’s no ready stock of ideas in the pipeline. Without the hunter, there’s no recognition of the opportunity.

In my experience, people like the excitement of the hunt but their organization is not ready to create or leverage the opportunities that come along. Innovation is the strategic imperitive of the coming decade. Don’t go hungry.