We received a complaint from my 5 year old boy's Montessori saying the kid who seems to be busy with his activity one minute suddenly springs up to enact a super hero (Bahubali, Captain America) the next minute. Despite the downside of the child not being able to focus for an extended time period, it actually brought a distinct cheer to my wife and me. He is able to imagine some other world in his mind and transport himself there while forgetting his physical surroundings. While we are helping him with his focus, we do encourage him to speak his mind about his imagination - they are the most crazy stories and we love it and I'm sure the world will take notice too - one day!
This incident lead to other thoughts. What is so great about imagination and why is it embedded right within the purpose of Novartis (Reimagining Medicine) ?
Think about it, how would the world around us change unless someone is actually imagining its end state ? "Be solution oriented" is not a new phrase to any of us, but the orientation can only start by first imagining a so called ideal state. We often ignore imagination or even downplay it because it does not feel achievable or plausible.
Our purpose here in Novartis is to reimagine medicine and from an IT standpoint where I come from, I stronly believe it should convert to reimagining the IT system, solution, process for our business. Delivering a project or service is not only about meeting timelines/budget, documentation and quality compliance (which we anyways strive) it is also about driving true and undisputed value, it is being able to see that spark in the eyes of our customer. So, let us ask ourselves...
- Are we imagining/reimagining the way a project can be done with an open mind and absolutely no pre conceived notions of what is possible vs impossible ?
- Are we earning the wrath (in a positive way) of our vendors by challenging the boundaries of technology ?
- Are we nudging our team mates when they are frustrated and showing them the beautiful rainbow which we are trying to paint ?
- Are we constantly upping our game by throwing out an idea when there is a better one ?
Imagination though very hazy is actually the light that illuminates a path towards a greater goal. It is the hope that something big is possible in our world. And yes, our orientation towards it is the true value driver.
I read this rather popular quote on the Internet. "If I do a job in 30 minutes, it's because I spent 10 years learning how to do that in 30 minutes. You owe me for the years, not the minutes"
It is very narrow to assume that we are getting paid for the years behind us, we are paid for the value we bring in. And to bring value, let us start by visualizing the goal and continue to reimagine it.
All the best for 2020!
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