315 - Innovation Comes from Action
Discover why taking action, even if it’s imperfect, drives real innovation. This episode of The Daily Hint with Jens Heitland reveals how to move from endless planning to real-world results, offering insights for innovators and entrepreneurs looking to make a real impact.
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Innovation Comes from Action
In the world of innovation, one thing remains clear: action often matters more than endless planning. While the instinct to refine ideas before sharing them with the world is natural, taking steps—however imperfect—allows us to learn, adjust, and improve along the way.
In this episode, I talk about the challenges innovators and entrepreneurs face when trying to balance thought with action. There’s often a temptation to plan extensively, ensuring every detail is mapped out. Yet, as I shared with a university class recently, sometimes you need to “put something into the market” first, to see if it truly resonates. Once people show interest and start buying, you have real proof of concept—and only then can you refine your product or service with confidence.
This approach transforms the way innovators engage with their ideas. By acting quickly, you prevent getting trapped in theoretical plans that may never see the light of day. Remember, if you’re not putting ideas out there, you risk becoming a “paper tiger”—full of ideas, but lacking the action needed to bring them to life.
Take the leap, test your concept, and remember that innovation thrives on action. This episode of The Daily Hint offers a quick but powerful reminder that if you want to make a difference, you have to start by doing.
Highlights:
00:00 Introduction: Think Slow, Act Fast
00:03 The Challenge of Fast Innovation
00:16 From Ideas to Actions
00:27 The Importance of Market Testing
00:32 Fine-Tuning Your Business
00:36 Avoiding the Paper Tiger Trap
00:48 The Necessity of Action in Innovation
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Transcript:
This is how I think slow and act fast. One of the difficult things as an innovator is doing things fast. We are always thinking, we are always thinking things through to the end in our head. And sometimes that is preventing us from doing an action on things. I was just teaching the other day in the university and one of the things I was saying, when you are creating a business, don't create the business, put something into the market where people are buying from you.
When you know that people are buying something from you, you know it's going to work in the long run. And then you fine-tune exactly what it is and how you're delivering that. But if you don't act fast as an entrepreneur, as an innovator, it's very difficult because you're just a paper tiger. You're trying to find things out on paper without doing things.
You will never know it's going to work. Innovation comes from action and I want you to act.