Only Optimists Innovate

Innovation and Optimism Changes Lives

Innovation is personally significant as a transformative force for enhancing people's lives. Reflecting on my experiences working in various fields, such as the internet's nascent days, the water sector, regulatory reform, politics, international trade and investment promotion, the G20 presidency and advocacy for optimism, I have noticed a recurring theme. The leaders of innovation I've collaborated with have been consistently curious, optimistic, and brimming with cheer and laughter.

This connection between optimism and innovation extends further, returning to my family's history. My refugee parents, grandparents, and their forefathers have demonstrated remarkable resilience. They thrived in the face of crisis, invasion and war, driven by an indomitable spirit of optimism and a knack for innovative thinking. (Lisa Leong asked me some excellent questions on this in "Victor Perton and the secret to optimism.")

Optimism is not merely a trait but a vital force. It's the key characteristic I've observed in all those who have spearheaded innovation. It fosters a mindset that sees beyond obstacles, ignites creativity, and paves the way for meaningful change. In both personal and professional realms, optimism continues to reveal itself as the underpinning of all successful innovation.

Many share this sentiment, including the former head of the Australian Prime Minister's Department, Dr Martin Parkinson, who told me, "Optimism drives curiosity, which in turn fosters innovation and invention."

My friend Paul Chapman, Chair of the Bendigo Invention and Innovation Festival, believes that "every innovator, inventor, and change-leader inherently uses optimism as their energy and sustenance."

Innovators must be optimists, even if they don't always sound like it, as most of their ideas fail. However, their resolve to create and solve problems never fades, and their commitment to the possibilities for positive change remains steadfast.

Optimism is not just a personal trait but also critical for creating a culture of innovation. As Glenn Barnes, Chair of the Australian Citizens for Democratic Renewal and former corporate CEO and Chair, told me, "Optimism is the font from which innovation flows." 

Optimism is also essential for education leaders. Matthew Rascoff, Associate Vice Provost for Digital Education and Innovation at Duke University, states, "Optimism is crucial for all education leaders, doubly so for education innovators."

This is because optimism is infectious, inspiring others to join the movement towards positive change.

Even in the face of obstacles, optimism is critical for innovation. My friend Dona Tantirimudalige, MD of Westernport Water, told me that "every step towards innovation requires optimism."

The courage to envision a better future, the resilience to dust oneself off after failure, and the willingness to take action despite uncertainty all require optimism. Similarly, my friend Dr Peter Riddles AM believes that optimism and innovation are virtually connected, each becoming the motivation for the other.

According to Robert Noyce, Intel's Co-Founder, optimism is the "essential ingredient of innovation". Without optimism, change would not be possible, and progress would stall. Optimism is rooted in the willingness to embrace change and the courage to venture into the unknown.

What to Do to Win in Innovation?

Recruit Optimists

Recruiting for optimism is a critical component in building an innovative team that fosters a positive outlook. Therefore, it's essential to ask questions that help gauge a candidate’s level of optimism. By asking candidates what makes them optimistic and what makes them feel optimistic, you can ensure that their positive outlook meets your need to surround yourself with positive people. Along with this, it's vital to look for clues in a candidate's background that indicate a positive outlook, such as volunteerism or hobbies that involve creativity and experimentation.

Develop A Growth Mindset

Once you've assembled an innovative team, promote a growth mindset.  First, promote a growth mindset by encouraging your team to view challenges as opportunities for learning and growth. Second, celebrate small wins along the way, recognizing progress and milestones as they occur. This helps build momentum and fosters a sense of progress and accomplishment. Finally, create a culture of experimentation and learning, where taking risks and trying new things is safe, even if they don't always work out. This kind of environment encourages innovation and fosters a sense of optimism and excitement about what's possible.

Focus on Optimism When Writing Strategy

Optimism is the critical component in developing and implementing a good strategy. In our Centre for Optimism survey of 400 leading strategists, the consensus is clear that good strategy requires realistically optimistic leadership in the strategy process. As Jeff Kerr-Bell told me, "Successful strategy cannot exist without optimism! Strategy is the act of navigating through challenges towards something better and you cannot envision or define better without being optimistic that it indeed exists! Therefore, no optimism =no strategy!"

Read More: Strategy and Optimism

Adopt The Habits of an Optimist

• Greet people with a meaningful question
• Smile and Say Hello to Everyone
• Ask the team and stakeholders what makes them optimistic.  You can use our 5-minute survey. I am happy to produce a summary.
• Try out the "What's your Optimism Superpower" exercise and share it with the team.
• Try out the "Imagine My Best Self" Exercise on your own and then with the team
• Use The Centre for Optimism for a session on "Optimism: The How and Why."

Words of Wisdom on the Relationship Between Optimism and Innovation

Dr Cecilia Hilder

 "We can’t have innovation without optimism - hope and confidence about the future. We now think of innovation in economic terms - about the wealth it will create - but innovation is creativity, it is doing and believing in making life better. Innovation is, in turn, optimism. We all have moments where it is hard to be optimistic, but those of us who have had very difficult things happen know that things get better. It is our obligation to show those around us the truth and the power of optimism."

Glenn Barnes, Chair, Australian Citizens for Democratic Renewal

"Optimism is the font from which innovation flows.”

Dr Martin Parkinson

"Optimism drives curiosity, which in turn fosters innovation and invention."

Paul Chapman, Chair of the Bendigo Invention and Innovation Festival

"Every innovator, inventor, and change-leader inherently uses optimism as their energy and sustenance."

Brad Roberts, Xinova

"Optimism is the core of innovation: that there’s a better way"

Dr Peter Riddles AM

"Optimism and innovation are virtually connected, each becoming the motivation for the other."

Chris Reddy, Leadership Coach

"All innovation, change and progress must come from a belief that things can improve for the better.   Innovation requires change. Change is not possible without optimism and the idea that we can overcome obstacles and challenges."

William, Prince of Wales

“We’ve got to hang onto optimism and hope because it is the biggest driver of change, the biggest driver of innovation." (Sep 2023)

Natalie Turner, Author of " Yes, You Can Innovate: Discover your innovation strengths and develop your creative potential."

"As innovators, we need huge doses of optimism, not just for identifying opportunities but for managing those ideas through implementation, partner building, collaboration, and ensuring that we're building something sustainable."

(Watch Natalie Turner on Life, Leadership, Vision and Innovation)

Robert Noyce, Intel’s Co-Founder

 “Optimism is an essential ingredient of innovation. How else can the individual welcome change over security, adventure over staying in safe places?”

Dr KH Kim

"Want to Innovate? Science Says, “Be Optimistic!”

Paul Ramadge, Managing Director, The PLuS Alliance

 “To dream, to imagine, to think about the world in new ways, to set out to make a positive difference, and to inspire others to join you . . . herein is the essence of optimism and innovation. Here's to the thousands of exceptional leaders who embody this spirit.”

Dona Tantirimudalige, MD, Westernport Water

 "Where necessity might be the mother of invention, without optimism, invention would seldom grow beyond the embryonic. What do I mean by that? Well, I believe optimism is critical in every step towards innovation. The drive to dream of what might be possible unconstrained by the perceived restrictions of the status quo requires optimism. The courage to not only envision the future you want but to step into planning and creating that future requires optimism. The willingness to step away from the theoretical and into action requires optimism. And when facing failure, the resilience to dust yourself off, regroup, learn, and try again (or try something different) requires optimism. Every step towards innovation requires optimism."

Adrian Furner, Managing Director, Kommercialize

"It took James Dyson over 5000 versions to create his 1st vacuum cleaner. To be a successful innovator you need to be resiliently optimistic or get lucky."

Paul Pastulovic, Yarra Valley Water

"The relationship between optimism and innovation is perfectly summed up in the line from the Frank Sinatra song Love and Marriage... ‘you can't have one without the other’"

Kay Clancy

 "Curiosity is about possibilities. Optimism is about possibilities. Blending the two is a perfect mix for innovation.”

Garry Miller, Expert in Design Delivery and Project Management

"Innovation is for everyone, little is needed nor necessary to be innovative. What is needed is a curious mind and an intent to do good. Today is the best day to start, or to take the next step. And remember innovation is a group activity too so don’t be alone, find others that believe in the same importance and get going with bags filled with optimism and hope."

Rob Solic, Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment

"The obstacle is the difference between the optimist and the pessimist. The optimistic leader is an innovator, not distracted by obstacles which cloud the outcome"

Melis Senova, Author of “This Human”

“We are creative beings and have the ability to change our perceptions of reality just by changing our minds. If we are optimistic in our mindset, we perceive our reality positively, which then encourages us to go about creating more of it.”

Evan Shellshear, Author of Bestseller Innovation Tools

 "The driving force behind disruptive innovation is a belief in the possible, a belief in progress, a belief in something better. "The Case for Optimism" embodies this disruptive perspective and gives us the mindset and drive to achieve it.”

Charmaine Quick, Managing Director, Goulburn-Murray Water

"Optimism is that mindset that enables you to know that tomorrow will look better when things get tough today. It enables you to believe in the possibilities and opportunities for tomorrow and innovations that can make this possible."

Neville Christie

"The daily practice of gratitude not only fosters optimism that leads to creativity, but it is the wellspring of innovation that creates a better world for all."

George Wall, Managing Director, Water Industry Operators Association of Australia

“Optimism, the belief that something good or better will come from our efforts, is inherently linked to innovation. Human nature says people are unlikely to put their effort into, or even search for something innovative if they don’t have optimism and belief. Without optimism, innovation will rarely be delivered.”

Lisa Chikarovski-Johnston

 “Optimism drives us to look at the ‘solution’ in the context of a ‘problem’ - it changes the negative connotation of ‘problematic’ into an opportunity to think about how we can do better. Striving to improve is the underlying driver of innovation - the desire to make the world a better place.”

Rob Hartnett, author of "It's all Possible: How to live an epic life and unleash the high-performance hero within you."

"I don't believe I have ever met an innovator who is not an optimist. It didn't matter if they were in technology, film, arts, business or sport. It is impossible to innovate as a pessimist. When you are innovating you are asking “what could be” you are challenging the existing process, the existing thought. The reality is when you are innovating you are saying no to facts: That is facts as they are currently understood.

 "Every innovator has looked at those who have gone before and said with respect, “great work, but I think there is a better way”. Think of Roger Bannister and the four-minute mile. Think of Einstein and then Stephen Hawking. Think of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Think of Sir Edmund Hillary. All innovators in their own way and all optimists for what is possible.

"Optimism allows us to understand that we see the world not as it is, but as we are with our current level of thinking. Innovation always requires a new level of thinking and optimism frees us to think at a higher level and inspire those around us."

Rob Hartnett in "Rainmaker" August 2024

“It is a known fact that you simply cannot be creative, innovative and drive change without bring optimistic. The good news is more and more leaders I speak with are realising this and are creating positive, optimistic environments for their teams. If you start with mindset before skillset and toolset you will have a much better return on investment from your people.”

Associate Professor Kate Fox, RMIT

"Optimism is having the security to fail on your own terms knowing that you will be backed in despite the outcome."

“I believe optimism is the sparkle in our world. It is the optimists that believe positive change IS possible; they are the innovators, pioneers and changemakers that persist and continuously work towards a more positive world.”

Matthew Rascoff, Associate Vice Provost for Digital Education and Innovation, Duke University

 “Optimism is crucial for all education leaders, doubly so for education innovators. The strange thing about optimism is that it is so infectious. It is a conversation-borne virus. Usually carriers don’t even know they’re transmitting it—but those on the receiving end always do."

Lynn Wood, Founder of Ideaspies

"Optimism is essential for innovation. Fortunately it can be learned."

Dr Tinashe Dune

“Optimism keeps me striving for what is innovative and creative. It is fuelled by amazing people who seek out new ways of showing the world how much better we can all be - for ourselves and each other.”

Nathan Carkeek - URNOONEEK

“You can’t have innovation without creativity and collective creative often lays dormant in people at the heart of organisations through fear of failure. Key to unlocking that creative is removing the fear. This at its core requires a mindset of optimism” 

Dewi Savitri Wahab, Advisor to the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs on Social and Culture matters.

"With optimism, we can be innovative and creative and thus, be a part of solution."

Raja Murthy

"Innovation ignites with ‘creative optimism’. Optimists see the glass half-full, not half-empty. Self-confident creative optimists find solutions through out-of-the-box thinking. They open a new path rather than follow derelict tracks. They are determined to find a way, and so they find a way."

Graeme Grovum, Corrs Chambers Westgarth head of innovation  

“Be realistic, optimistic and open."

“Realistic about your current position – solutions do not come about by ignoring a problem that clearly exists.  

“Be optimistic about what’s possible. Innovation is a mindset – a belief we can improve, a desire to discover and an optimism to succeed.

“Be open about where new ideas can come from. Restricting your firm’s efforts to internal ideas only is, no matter how great your team, a very limited well of inspiration.”

Surendra Soni in Optimism As A Creative Source And Strategy For Innovation

"Bridging the gap between simply being positive and being positively successful, optimism can be set into force as the creative source and strategy for innovation."

Martin Stark

"The best innovators share their passion with optimism"

Jefferson Harcourt, Grey Innovation Group

“Innovation and optimism are peas in a pod – they drive and influence one another, and in many ways are central to the human experience.”

Moses Ma On Innovation and Optimism

"The innovator's greatest reward is the bliss of proving the naysayer wrong. Your optimism isn't a form of shortsightedness; innovation is actually a spiritual discipline - one that requires exemplary positivity, perspective and perseverance. And any hope of turning our economy around requires that this positivity be shared by the majority of our citizens."

Walter Russell Mead

"Optimism, the belief that working hard and sticking to your principles will bring results, is a defining characteristics of the American spirit. Pessimists don’t change countries and cultures in hope of building a better life. And a nation of pessimists produces few world-class innovators and entrepreneurs."

Prof Brett Heyward, Professor of Practice, Graduate School of Business & QUTeX QUT

“What makes me optimistic? I'd have to say the human spirit. Our innovative nature comes to the fore at times of crisis, and I'm sure it will pull us through the COVID pandemic”

Josh Thompson "Goals Vs. Objectives: Why It Matters, And How To Set Them"

"Optimism  provides the motivation and inspiration necessary to set your goals and push the boundaries of what is possible. It fuels innovation and encourages striving for excellence." 

Commander Jay Apt, Astronaut

“Optimism is essential to provide the energy people need to do almost anything outside of their daily routine, whether it be founding a small business, discovering the secrets of electricity or having children,” he said.

Chris Griffiths, Author of the Creative Thinking Handbook in Innovate with Optimism

"The truth is, the energy afforded by an optimistic viewpoint perfectly lends itself to an innovative mindset. There is great power in optimism, and that is something anyone can harness. With the right adjustment in attitude, even a natural pessimist can use a positive outlook to their advantage in business."

Fernando Cardoso de Sousa, President, APGICO in Optimism and Innovation

"You cannot create anything without a good dose of optimism for creativity; as optimism is primarily an emotion in which the exercise of will is above all other feelings."

Robert D. Atkinson, President,  Information Technology & Innovation Foundation 

"Innovation and innovation policy must be grounded on a bedrock of aspiration and optimism. If society sees innovation as a necessary force for good there will be more innovation and better innovation policies. But if the dominant narrative is that technology is an out-of-control force for harm, there will be detrimental policies and less innovation. This latter situation is where the United States, Europe and Commonwealth nations (e.g., the West) find themselves today. Technology, especially digital technology and the corporations that produce it, are often seen as inherently suspect and problematic. Like Gulliver, they are giants to be tied down, not the necessary pillars of an advanced technological society." (Korea should not import West's 'techlash' May 2024)

Read more of these inspiring quotable quotes in "Optimism: The How and Why" by Victor Perton, CEO of The Centre for Optimism.