The Masters of Business Imagination

The Innovation weblog points me to a manifesto by Jim Carroll enshrined, The 'Masters of Business Imagination' Manifesto.

Jim says :

Complacency in a time of rapid, disruptive change can be a death sentence – not only for organizations, but for the careers and skills of those who work there! It's time to abandon the thinking that has had you anchored firmly to the past – and to shift your focus to the future, with enthusiasm, motivation and imagination.

You can do this by abandoning any pretence that the skills of yesterday will be important tomorrow. Figuratively and literally, it is time to move beyond the thinking that has led us to a world of MBA's – Masters of Business Administration – and focus upon the critical skill that will take you into tomorrow.

The world doesn't need more administrators. It needs more MBI's – Masters of Business Imagination!

The elements of an MBI

• see things differently
• spur creativity in other people
• focus on opportunity, not threat
• refuses to accept the status quo
• the ability to bring ideas to life
• has the skill to learn and unlearn
• refuses to say the word “can't”
• accepts challenges with passion and enthusiasm
• embraces change rather than shying away from it
• listens to people who are different then them
• lives for the opportunity to have ideas challenged and debated
• instead of saying “it won't work,” asks the question, “how can we make it work?

The MBI Manifesto is a call to action – a call to creativity – and a call for imagination. Pursue the MBI, and you will rediscover a world in which change and challenge is turned in to opportunity and success.

I think Jim is right that the world is changing and we need to change the way we teach our future leaders and ourselves if we have to make a difference. The one thing which a lot of people do not include is that "as we have become a society of organizations" it is important that the skills considered to be useful for a "business guy" should be relevant to anybody. From Educators to doctors to not-for-profit guys and everybody in between.