The Wisest Person Makes the Best Cup of Tea

Consider the humble cup of tea.  What makes it taste great, and what can go wrong?  If you don’t take sugar and you’re served a cup with three lumps in, you’ll leave it on the table (if you don’t spit it all over the sofa).  How about if you notice the cup is dirty as you’re taking your first drink?  There are a number of reasons the wisest person makes the best cup of tea:

·       Consideration for others – the wisest people consider what other people need, and then deliver it.  When making a cup of tea you don’t give milk and sugar to someone who does without.

·       Attention to detail – making sure everything is clean and tidy for your cup of tea.  The wisest people take this to another level, not just considering the must have details, but considering how they can provide extra.  No dirty cups here, but also a consideration of what type of cup would be best for the tea.

·       See the bigger picture – are you making one pot, or tea for a whole group?  You need to know where you fit in and how this affects what you’re doing.  The wisest people see the picture beyond themselves and look out further.

·       Genuine enjoyment – needless to say, if you hate making tea you probably won’t care about the other things!  The wisest people choose to do what they love which makes them even better.

What does this have to do with innovation?  Everything!  If you are not looking at what people need and anticipating this, you’ll make innovations that fall flat, and may make an impact only once and awhile.  Equally, if you don’t enjoy the area you work in, there will be less motivation to innovate, because you’ll just want to do your job and get home.  So innovation is all about being wise, and applying examples from all walks of life and, yes, even enjoying a cup of tea.