Beyond Crystallized Execution - Fluid Innovation Thinking™ (FIT)
Crystallized Execution is what happens when innovation gets stuck. It’s the habit of clinging to old methods, pushing forward without questioning or adapting. In a fast-moving world, this leads to surface-level solutions that don’t really solve anything meaningful. Instead of evolving, you end up doing the same thing over and over, missing chances to make a real impact.
Fluid Innovation Thinking (FIT) is the antidote. Where Crystallized Execution keeps you in a loop, FIT opens up new paths. It encourages curiosity, flexibility, and a human-centered approach, helping you break out of rigid patterns and find solutions that truly matter. With FIT, you get a superpower that increases the ultimate impact of your innovation efforts.
You can innovate. You don’t have to be an entrepreneur to innovate. The journey has many paths, each tapping into your potential in a unique way. For some, it’s intrapreneurship—driving change from within an organization. For others, it’s about reskilling, upskilling, or simply bringing fresh, creative thinking to their current work. Innovation isn’t tied to a specific career; it’s a mindset that brings purpose and creativity to whatever you do.
You are not alone. Navigating this journey can be challenging. That’s where Fluid Innovation Thinking™ (FIT) comes in. FIT guides you in harnessing your crystallized knowledge, but focuses on your fluid intelligence to make an impact. It supports you through the stages of recognizing trends, shaping ideas, mapping journeys, and experimenting—all tools that unlock your Innovation Genius.
You get a superpower. In a rapidly evolving world, innovation requires more than just a flash of inspiration or a rigid plan. It requires a framework that adapts to change, embraces uncertainty, and leverages both our learned knowledge and our inherent ability to think creatively. FIT changes the game by guiding you through the innovation journey, whether as an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, or a professional.
Awaken Your Innovation Genius with the 4 Stages of FIT - Trends, Stories, Journeys, and Experiments
FIT is built on four essential stages, each serving a distinct purpose in the innovation process. As you explore the four stages of FIT, you’ll find that each offers opportunities to express your unique innovation style. Sage Thinkers, for example, might find Fluid Stories a powerful tool for connecting trends to meaning, while Creative Explorers may enjoy shaping Fluid Journeys to guide stakeholders through transformation.
Fluid Trends™
The journey begins with discovering "fluid trends"—emerging patterns that point toward future opportunities before they crystallize. By observing and interpreting early signals, you start to identify the direction your innovation should take, even before clear data is available. The FIT program has a full module dedicated to discovering, exploring, and harnessing the knowledge you gain from identifying fluid trends.
Discovering Fluid Trends is the most crucial aspect of Fluid Innovation Thinking (FIT). A successful fluid innovation journey begins here, in the space of uncertainty where data and established patterns are scarce. Identifying Fluid Trends is about recognizing the early signals of existing and potential mass adoption—patterns that suggest where future demand might emerge. Without these early insights, the entire innovation journey is at risk of wandering without direction, unable to bridge the gap between a promising idea and a successful, widely adopted solution.
In the earliest stages of innovation, when you’re operating pre-chasm, conventional data is unavailable. There's no significant user base to analyze, and no established demand to build upon. This is why discovering Fluid Trends is so essential. By identifying these emerging patterns, innovators can catch glimpses of potential futures that are shaped by adoption patterns. These trends serve as a compass, guiding innovators towards areas that show promise for growth and alignment with market needs. It’s about sensing what’s possible and mapping paths to bring it to reality.
Fluid Stories
The Fluid Trends™ are woven into "fluid stories" that shape the mission and vision of your project. Each story centers on the needs and aspirations of your stakeholders, guiding your efforts with empathy and purpose. The stories evolve as new insights emerge, maintaining a strong connection to the people you're creating value for.
In the world of innovation, storytelling is not just about conveying information—it’s about building a meaningful connection between the product and its audience. Fluid Stories serve as the backbone of the Fluid Innovation Thinking (FIT) methodology, translating Fluid Trends into a narrative that resonates with stakeholders and aligns with their needs and aspirations. Fluid Stories are more than just static descriptions; they are dynamic, evolving narratives that adapt as new insights emerge, keeping the innovation journey rooted in purpose and relevance.
Stories are powerful tools that help people make sense of new ideas. In the context of innovation, stories give life to abstract trends, transforming them into relatable and inspiring journeys that stakeholders can connect with on a personal level. Fluid Stories offer a framework for understanding not only what the innovation is but also why it matters. This deep sense of purpose is essential for engaging early adopters, teams, and even sometimes investors, who are driven to make a difference beyond a basic desire for popularity and profit.
Fluid Journeys
Fluid stories transform into "fluid journeys" that map the transformation of your stakeholders. This stage is about understanding the challenges and milestones your audience encounters as they engage with your innovation. By mapping these journeys, you can anticipate needs, resolve barriers, and create a supportive experience for those involved.
In the FIT methodology, journeys are the roadmap for guiding stakeholders through their transformation alongside the innovation. Where Fluid Stories create a compelling narrative, Fluid Journeys map out the specific steps and milestones that stakeholders will encounter as they engage with the innovation. This process is designed to keep the innovation focused on real-world impact, outlining the challenges, needs, and experiences of those who will interact with the product or service.
For an innovation to be successful, it must do more than just solve a problem—it must provide a path for the people it serves to grow and reach their goals. Fluid Journeys ensure that the innovation remains aligned with the needs of its stakeholders by mapping out their transformation over time. These journeys anticipate and address the unique obstacles stakeholders might face, showing a clear progression from their starting point to their ultimate goal.
Fluid Experiements
The final stage involves "fluid experiments" designed to test ideas, refine solutions, and validate market demand. Through iterative cycles, these experiments allow you to make adjustments and optimize the solution before full-scale implementation. Each experiment is a step closer to bringing a valuable, well-tested product or service to life.
In the FIT methodology, Fluid Experiments are where ideas turn into action. This is the phase in which innovations are actively tested, refined, and validated in the real world. Experiments bridge the gap between concept and reality, allowing innovators to gather concrete insights, address uncertainties, and adapt solutions based on real stakeholder feedback. This is where the innovation truly begins to take shape, with each experiment guiding the team toward a version of the product or service that resonates and performs in the market.
Fluid Experiments enable innovators to pivot and evolve their solutions based on what they learn, reducing the risk of failure and increasing the chances of success. Instead of committing to a single, untested path, this approach allows teams to explore multiple ideas, refine them, and only move forward when there’s clear evidence of alignment with stakeholder needs and market demand.
Self-knowledge is the beginning of all knowledge