The Innovators Monologue

with profound apologies to William Shakespeare

by Gregg Fraley

To innovate or not to innovate — that is the question:

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to stagnate or create while

feeling the slings and arrows of peers and loss of fortune

or to take up arms against inaction and seek to disrupt or improve

and if I fail to find sweet perfection or green fields, I die —

no more to market, sell, deliver, enrich, enable —

the end of the enterprise, alas rarely mourned but

the heartache, the thousand friends who lose jobs and life stations

that families, tribes, regions, spirits, depend on. ‘Tis a grand frustration

devoutly we pray to avoid, the death, and corporate sleep —

to sleep, perchance to dream of another enterprise, there’s the rub,

For in that sleep of death often new imaginations arrive

when too late to save the original enterprise

but birthing a new idea, a fresh soul, a soaring spirit,

it gives us pause, to respect the death of one thing, and the birth of another

for who would bear the whips and scorns of market critique but the innovator

to invent and create value that makes us proud and prosperous

for at its heart it is love of usefulness and worth, the fruit of self-expression

that feeds the soul and fuels the mind to grunt and sweat in the skunk works and garage

avoiding the daggars of those who seek to tear down brave noble efforts

to preserve precious feifdoms of futility, fear and thoughtless stagnation

seeking to avoid the undiscovered country by avoiding risk,

but finding that country none the less when inaction creates their future

in some other place, in some distant market, not of their choosing

Innovation I embrace thee as I turn my humble mind to the task of invention

and fill my heart and soul with love, flow, fulfilment, and creative projects —

and I know my sins and virtues will be remembered.

*********

I don’t know what got into me to write this.

It occurred to me that innovation is an existential question, so, what better piece of literature to rip-off than the bard’s Hamlet monologue. So, I tried my hand at this parody with a point.

My apologies to Shakespeare, and those who admire his work.

To make my innovation points more directly:

Let’s not forget that Shakespeare was an entrepreneur and innovator himself. He didn’t do his plays to hide them, he produced them and put them on, they were enjoyed and valued — and he got paid. He had an audience that appreciated his evolution over time and innovation towards more natural language. They treasured, as do people of today, and his rich use of metaphor, big ideas, compelling characterizations, and radical subject matter.

Innovate or die is the cliche that I’m exploring in my parody. I do believe that innovation and entrepreneurship are noble arts and they do indeed embody life and death, both of the individual, of organizations, and even communities. That’s a big topic and not so far afield from Hamlet’s own dilemma.

Creation of any kind is a lovely expression of humanity, and creation of value is the ultimate win-win. Personally, I hope my legacy is that I made the effort to create something and took the chance I would fail.

Like Shakespeare, I seek to deliver value in my innovation training, speaking, facilitation, or advisement services. If only I could do it with his elegance and style!

One thing for sure, I won’t deliver services in tights. Maybe one of those hats…