Last month we talked about the Blockhead of No Time . This month I’m thinking about another Blockhead called No Alternatives (“NA”). Think about the innovation or creativity that you discuss in a meeting. How much you know there is a need for “out of the box” thinking and creating a solution for a longstanding problem, yet you stumble into a conversation about “what other organizations are doing”. Essentially deciding that “best practice” is the solution. Best practice is corporate speak for middle-of-the-road — aka average.

No Alternatives shows up when we start with what exists and modify it. Let’s assume you decide you need a new organizational structure, and you call a meeting of all the smart people to innovate a new structure. You begin by putting the existing structure on the wall. Then, you adjust it to something new. You feel accomplished and move on. What you did was simply modify what already existed, calling it a new structure. Comfortable, easy, average.

I don’t meet many people who are comfortable with average as their measure. Next time, start with a blank page. Ask yourself what we want to solve, what desired outcome we want, and what needs we (and clients) have, and then imagine. Put that Blockhead to the side, at least for a while.