Innovation seems to be the buzz word of the day, although some would argue that innovation has died, it still is something that most organizations recognize as crucial to business growth. The push for innovation is creates an underlying tension that results in busy-ness. ‘We must innovate’ becomes the mantra. Everyone runs around doing, doing, doing in order to produce innovative results.

Henry Ford once said that he didn’t want executives who had to work all the time. He insisted that those who were always in a flurry of activity at their desks were not being the most productive. He wanted people who would clear their desks and prop their feet up, and dream some fresh dreams. His philosophy was that only those with the luxury of time can originate a creative thought.

I won’t go into what that means for American culture, but think about it within your organization. Are the timelines always tight? Is there pressure to stay in your desk? Do you get to bill thinking time? A while back I came across a fascinating story about GE and how the means to distribute electricity came into being. As the story goes, electricity had already been ‘invented’, but the means to distribute it nation wide had not. The gentleman, Mr. Gene Eby, and his team, who had been given the responsibility to develop the means could not come up with a material that would insulate electrical wires and safely carry power to the homes across America.  After a few years of working on the solution, they were getting nowhere. During his vacation, however, while doing some quiet reflecting and reading, Mr. Eby came upon the solution while reading the story of Jesus at the wedding in Cana. From the story he surmised that the clay pots used to hold the wine had to have enough strength to withstand the power of changing from water to wine. After some testing on historic clay shards he had his insulating material.

I love that story. Down time, the secret to consistent innovation. Think about what it means for your organization this year as you try to innovate and lead with creativity. Give yourself time to think. Take a walk or daydream a bit. Who knows where it could take you?