Jonathan Rojas - Innovation - Lesson 3

[jonrojas]

B - Choose one leader you know, have worked for, or have simply followed via press, books, podcasts, etc.
            What is one way trait or behavior that they practice that encourages innovation in their team?
            What is one thing that you took away from their work that you are striving to implement today in your work?

A: Leader: Linus Sebastian

    Linus the CEO of the Linus Media Group and they are one of the leading companies when it comes to technology news and reviews. His ability to innovate shows in his decisions to embrace YouTube, which at the time was young, to start video documenting his technology reviews. Computers were no where near as popular as they are today and there wasn't any precedent to stand by when it came to publishing video reviews about pc hardware. He wasn't afraid to try something completely out of the box and he would go on to start a massive industry based around technology review. He continued to innovate with his business decisions by being on of the first self-employed tech reviewers to start getting sponsored by various tech giants and even starting his own merchandise. He showed that one could make a living doing this and the success of Linus Media Group shows how far his innovation brought him. Something that I take away from Linus is his love for technology. Even with all of his success, he never lost the passion that drove him to start LMG to begin with. I personally hope to never lose my love for my craft. That passion drives my want to learn more and stay on top of what is going on. His dedication to the technology world is inspiring. 

[paulwickson]

Hi Jon. Thanks for sharing this. This leader is clearly someone who has inspired you and his love of technology it appears really resonates with you.

I'm particularly interested to find out how he was able to encourage innovation in his team? He obviously had a clear vision for what he wanted to achieve through innovation, how was he able to encourage others to share this?

[jennfriesen]

Hi, Jon! I like that you highlighted the importance of having a passion for what you do as I believe that is a strong driver of innovation. I am curious, though, that since innovation does not always led to success, how do you maintain passion for your craft when you experience failure?

[jonrojas]

Apr 16, 2021 15:14:40 GMT jennfriesen said:

Hi, Jon! I like that you highlighted the importance of having a passion for what you do as I believe that is a strong driver of innovation. I am curious, though, that since innovation does not always led to success, how do you maintain passion for your craft when you experience failure?

Failure is one of the greatest teachers in the technology world. In my own experience, especially when working with hardware, failures end to teach you more than a success. That's a large reason why there are failure codes and not success codes. In a field where there can be a multitude of ways to get the same result, you have to keep trying to find them all. Even if you do find a few right ways to achieve your goal, there could always be a better and more efficient way. Failure always drives me to find the right answer and it just fuels my focus on finding the right way to do it.

[jonrojas]

Apr 15, 2021 20:24:17 GMT paulwickson said:

Hi Jon. Thanks for sharing this. This leader is clearly someone who has inspired you and his love of technology it appears really resonates with you.

I'm particularly interested to find out how he was able to encourage innovation in his team? He obviously had a clear vision for what he wanted to achieve through innovation, how was he able to encourage others to share this?

He has an amazing ability to communicate and relate. He came up with tech just like a lot of his employees did and he used that to help inspire his employees. This strength in communication is also what lead to him being able to build such a large following as well. He has the ability to take these complex ideas and break them down in a way that is easy to understand.