Have you ever contemplated what humans\u2019, \u00a0in the words of <\/span>Balvinder Powar<\/b><\/a>, <\/span>secret sauce<\/b><\/a> consists of? The secret sauce is human beings\u2019 competitive advantage over time: ingenuity. According to scientists, it comes from three attributes that not only we possess, but we, as a species, are incredibly <\/span>adept at<\/b><\/a>: \u201ctechnology innovation, group collaboration, and communication.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Ingenuity or the definition most closely-related to the Innovation for Growth HiOP <\/span>is<\/b><\/a> “the quality of being cleverly inventive or resourceful; inventiveness[.].” \u00a0The Canadian academic Thomas Homer-Dixon <\/span>claims<\/b><\/a> \u201c<\/span>[i]ngenuity\u2026consists of \u201csets of instructions that tell us how to arrange the constituent parts of our physical and social worlds in ways that help us achieve our goals.\u201d\u201d His paradigm implies that <\/span>humans<\/b><\/a> \u201c\u2026are pragmatic problem solvers.\u201d To come up with solutions, the three variables that go into the process of humanity <\/span>are<\/b><\/a>: \u201c\u2026matter, energy, and ideas.\u201d <\/span>Homer-Dixon <\/span>claims<\/b><\/a> that \u201c[w]e can state the relationship among these inputs as follows: human beings use ingenuity to guide the application of energy to arrange the matter around them (including materials and people) in ways that they hope will solve their problems.<\/span> More than ever, in today\u2019s world, ingenuity is becoming more of an imperative. Homer-Dixon <\/span>says<\/b><\/a> that this comes from the fact the world is becoming increasingly complicated with the advent of new technological advances, along with progress stemming from globalization. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the title of this post implies, it\u2019s that human ingenuity is the most strategic asset you can tap into in your team or organization. This lesson appears to translate across a variety of sectors. One of them, which provides an interesting insight, is in today’s digital world. In an article highlighting what the key to prosperity for the Internet of Things (IoT) will be, Jeanne Believau-Dunne <\/span>wrote<\/b><\/a> that \u201c\u2026[i]t is <\/span>only when people apply purpose and innovative thinking beyond revenue and profit that we will be able to reap collective benefits and security of the digital world.\u201d She rightly <\/span>points out<\/b><\/a> that \u201c[t]echnology itself has no ethics.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Human ingenuity is also a buzzword that we can find in the prospectus for major corporations. Not convinced?<\/span> EY<\/b><\/a> cites human ingenuity, along with creativity and judgment as one of the drivers for innovation and the subsequent development of new technologies when describing their Digital practice. Human ingenuity also comes up in the discussion related to climate change. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A recent article on Shell\u2019s <\/span>website<\/b><\/a>, where they spoke with Robert Anderson, the Director of the Energy Initiative at MIT, highlighted the need for problem-solving coming from investment in newer, more sustainable energy sources. In the US context, this is especially pertinent given the fact that the country is going to pull out of the Paris Climate accords. The Energy Initiative puts together top-notch research with partnerships from the sector, and to date helped launch more than 60 energy-related startups. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Always remind yourself of this <\/span>Zig Ziglar<\/b><\/a> quote: <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t build a business. You build people, and people build the business.\u201d<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n For you to lead teams that bear the brunt of innovation, building the business comes in two <\/span>prongs<\/b><\/a>: \u201cGreat companies invest in developing people. Great people invest in developing themselves.\u201d The skills you\u2019ve garnered throughout this HiOP arm you with what you need to invest in the people you develop, and then motivate them to motivate others in their professional development. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you want to know about the\u00a0<\/span>Innovation for Growth<\/b><\/a>\u00a0HiOP or pass the information along to a friend, click\u00a0<\/span>here<\/b><\/a>\u00a0for your copy of our informational brochure. And if you, or a friend, is set on joining us in our next intake,\u00a0<\/span>click here to start applying.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The secret to humans\u2019 success Have you ever contemplated what humans\u2019, \u00a0in the words of Balvinder Powar, secret sauce consists of? The secret sauce is human [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[375],"tags":[383],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7361"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8044,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7361\/revisions\/8044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/lifelong-learning\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What\u2019s the main takeaway?<\/h4>\n
After you\u2019ve wrapped up the Innovation for Growth HiOP, keep up with your skills with some recommended reading<\/h4>\n
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Know someone who would benefit from the next intake? Or do you want to sign up yourself?<\/h5>\n