What is the innovation ingredient?

I think foresight is the innovation ingredient. Let me explain my thoughts on this:

Let’s take VR Glasses as an example. The early version of the invention itself was build with the purpose to let people experience things as if they where part of it. Maybe purely for entertainment purposes.

It took someone with foresight to think of useful purposes. The medical industry or education, for example.

But nowadays it takes insight to find other useful purposes for VR glasses. Because once you understand VR glasses there are a lot of useful possibilities.

In this example foresight is the game changer and insight results in a broader scope for usability.

foresight is a soft skill in my opinion, because is not based on facts and examples, where insight is just that.

Of course both skills can live perfectly next to each other. And a lot of times you need both. And healthy organizations also make good use of hindsight.

Hindsight is for a lot of organizations even more important for their viability and growth.

In my imaginology concept hindsight must be placed in the circumstances in which (the world of rules and behaviors) the event or situation was in. And often that is what is forgotten.

A foresight mission can be a risk taking mission. In imaginology I would put it in an imagined environment first. Then I will try to get insight in the foresights. Once I have this imagined insight I will get (virtual) hindsight. Based on the outcome we will get a hindsight based insight on the foresight ;).

Maarten Meijer — an Imaginologist. A conceptual thinker who moves between creativity, systems and strategy. I design visions, frameworks and futures that challenge the expected and open new possibilities.

My mission is simple: To initiate creation.
By disrupting fixed patterns, I help people think differently — to imagine what could be, and make it real.