Restlessness

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Sir Bob Geldof was truly impressive when I saw him speak at Innovation Edge last week. Something he said really struck a chord with me. About how innovation and great ideas often come from those who feel, or those that are, restless. He used a George Bernard Shaw quote to illustrate the point:

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the conditions that surround him... The unreasonable man adapts surrounding conditions to himself... All progress depends on the unreasonable man."

Being restless is not always a bad thing.

Comments

[david cushman]

I get the general point and love the quote. But I wonder if this time around it is the world that has been disrupted (by the power of the network where-ever it touches!) and it is the wilful recognition and reaction to this that marks out the innovators?
Not enough of us are recognising the change in the surrounding conditions.

[neilperkin]

Hi David. Yes, I see what you're saying. My (and Sir Bob's) context for this was based specifically around innovation as a reaction to inertia or frustration. I agree there's probably not enough recognition of the degree of change underway but perhaps it is from those that are restless enough to want to change the bigger things - models, ways of thinking - that the necessary innovation will come. Thanks for the comment.