BOTTOMS UP

INDIVIDUAL VS COLLECTIVE PARADOX
• The unavoidable paradox at the heart of innovation is the need to unleash the
talents of individuals and, in the end, to harness those talents in the form of a
collective innovation that is useful to the organization
• People are willing to face the personal challenges of innovation when they feel part
of a community engaged in something more important than any of them as
individuals and larger than any could accomplish alone. A sense of community is
powerful because it's about belonging and, above all, identity. Members consider
their inclusion in the community a key part of who they are. Its collective “we”
helps define the “I” of each member. Thus, members feel a strong bond with each
other and are eager to do their part in supporting the vitality and advancing the
cause of the group. They feel responsible both to it and for it. They believe its
survival and success depend on each of them. No one wants to let his or her
colleagues down.
• That shift in perspective—when “we” becomes as or more important in key ways
than “I”—is what enables every member to do work that feels unfamiliar or risky
but is needed for the good of the community.