There's a Week 4 Reading Reflection

In the Chapter 5, the author talks a lot about innovation and new inventions. He mentions on page 166 that innovation is a result of a purposeful search for new opportunities. I tend to disagree with that umbrella statement. I think that at times that is true, and that some inventors work long and hard to make new things, but I think other times people happen upon a great new thing. For example the creator of Dip n Dots froze his ice cream too long at a very low temperature and happened upon his idea. I think often times new ideas are spurred by things going wrong.

I was also confused by the idea of a good climate for creativity. I think that ideally that is good, but things don’t always happen when the time is right. I think that if you wait for the perfect time, it will never happen. I was surprised that the book recommended an innovator to wait until the perfect climate and time was right. Sometimes you don’t have everything you need and life is crazy, but it could be the start of something great.

I would love to ask the author what the climate in his life was like when he started his innovations. I wonder if it was a hectic time, or if his climate was calm and creative. I would also ask if he wished that he started it at another time or if the time he began ended up being just right.