Also a very enjoyable article from Robert Wood, who makes an excellent point.

i still dont understand why people cant see the plainly obvious fact that the more “normal” someone’s career life is, the less likely they are to be a true innovator… and perhaps some may disagree with me here & quote all sorts of examples, but ultimately it comes down to how you define “innovation”, and i think the disagreement comes basically because people like myself (and perhaps you also) hold a much higher standard of expectation before we are willing to apply the adjective “innovative” to what it is that someone does… and what many people regard as successful examples of their ability to innovate, are to us nothing more than achievements of doing something bleeding obvious that should have been done YEARS ago, that did NOT require restrospective sight in order to see the need for it (despite claims to the contrary by those who took so long to act), and which they wouldnt have even been able to do in the first place if someone else didnt think of it for them, and they were just lucky enough to have a boring enough work history to impress HR people and thus get into the position of authority where they could affect such a change.

i am not implying that this is universally the case… so dont go getting upset (anyone reading this) because i seem to be dissing your success… however, what i am pointing out (yet again), and this relates to the debate about executive remuneration also, is that people in positions of power often get far more credit than they are due, both in terms of recognition & reward.

So whether its innovation we are talking about, who makes a better CEO, or anything else, the same facts remain true… if you want to achieve something BEYOND the every day, you do have to look outside the square for someone capable of thinking outside of it… and in many cases, this means you need to actually give some serious consideration to the candidate who pisses you off the most… because the guy you like, the “safe bet”, who ticks all your boxes, and fits into that nice little box, is probably the wrong guy… and if everything that has happened in the world over the last decade isnt enough to prove this to people who still disagree, well then you can see why i often just give up talking in these debates… there is no point in talking to people who believe they already know the truth.

Of course both together thay are powerful as you can see opportunities others miss. Work on your problem solving skills early then increase your knowledge through life = growth mindset and success

so someone doing well at uni means very little indeed with the present methods of testing & examination

…and even when cheating is not involved, there is also a HUGE difference between someone who just memorises stuff well, and someone who doesnt remember as much, but what they do remember they have a profound understanding of