The Company You Keep

Recently I was re-reading a blog post by Jim Carroll.  In this post Carroll suggests that innovation has a lot to do with the company you keep.    He suggests to his clients that if they want to be innovative and stay competitive you need to surround yourself with the following types of people:

optimists. You need to hang out with people who see all kinds of opportunity – not gloomsters who are convinced there is no future out there!

people who do. Action oriented people. Folks who accomplish things. Those that do.

people with open minds. Innovators aren’t prepared to accept the status quo – they are willing to explore and understand different viewpoints, and use that as a kickoff for creativity.

people who have experienced failure. Innovation comes from risk; risk comes from trying things. Try lots of things, and many will fail. That’s good. That builds up experience, which gives you better insight into a fast paced world.

oddballs and rebels. Some of the most brilliant thinking and best ideas can come from those who view the world through a different lens. They may seem odd at times, but they can be brilliantly creative.

good listeners and debaters. They’re willing to challenge ideas, analyze issues, and think through the possibilities.

people who think differently than you do. If you really want to be innovative, go to two conferences a year that have nothing to do with what you do. You’ll be amazed at what you learn, and how it will re-stir your creative juices.

Although Carroll’s primary audience is business, I believe that these same ideas apply to educators and I can’t help but think about my own situation as I read over this list.   In reading this list I realized how fortunate I am to have my personal learning network!  Prior to becoming connected to my network, the only professional connections I had were the people who worked directly with me in my building along with a few other tech facilitators from neighboring schools.   While I worked with some great teachers and an amazing media specialist I was limited to a small group of professionals to draw energy from and therefore my creativity was somewhat limited.    My ideas were smaller because my scope of possibilities was smaller.

Today, however my story is much different.   My PLN allows me to surround myself with people who will listen to my ideas and give me feedback.  It offers me a way to connect to optimists and action oriented individuals who  inspire me to push the limits and bring innovation into our classrooms .    Without my PLN the world is small and limited to the ideas that I can imagine.  Through the help of my PLN, I am able to surround myself with people who have helped me become the innovative, creative educator that I am today.

The most exciting thing about all of this is that all educators can have this!   Thanks to web 2.0 tools, innovation  is not limited to a lucky few who happen to work with a dynamic group.    Innovation is within all of our reach!  So my question to you…. What company do you keep?   Do you have the right people in your network?   If not go out and get them.  Inspiration and innovation is within your reach!