Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show! It’s me, your favorite Grammy Nominated Spoken Word Artist Sekou Andrews, stepping off the stage and onto the page. Tonight, we aren’t talking about the rhythm of the beat, but the rhythm of your business. We are talking about movement. We are talking about flow. Because let’s be honest, sometimes our professional lives get a little… backed up.
We say we want disruption. We say we want to be the World’s Best, the Top of the food chain, the Leading edge. But deep down? Deep down, we just want to be comfortable. We want the “smart” house without having to be smart ourselves. We want the “next level” without the next level stress. But here is the hard truth, served up with a side of spoken word soul: If you are not failing forward, you are falling behind.
So, in the spirit of late-night laughter and hard-hitting truths, I present to you the Top 10 Signs You Are Suffering from Innovation Constipation. Let’s get things moving!
10. Your “Comfort Zone” Has a Permanent Groove in the Couch
You know that spot on the sofa? The one that perfectly contours to your shape? That is your career right now. You aren’t blazing trails; you’re grazing tales of the “good old days.” You think “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a strategy, when really, it’s a resignation letter. You are so cozy in the status quo that you’ve started wearing slippers to board meetings (metaphorically… I hope).
9. Your “Diversity Strategy” is Hiring People Who Look Different But Think the Same
You love the idea of diversity, but the reality of disruption makes you twitch. You want the visual of a United Colors of Benetton ad, but you want the consensus of a clone army. You’re afraid of the friction. But listen, you can’t make a fire without friction! You’re building a vanilla team and wondering why you can’t get that chocolate-chipotle flavor of innovation.
8. You Think “Spoken Word Poetry” is Just for Coffee Shops
You think inspiration is fluffy. You think “soft skills” are for soft people. You haven’t realized that as a Spoken Word Poet, I don’t just rhyme; I reason. You are ignoring the power of story to move data. You are trying to sell the spreadsheet without the soul. You forgot that before we were B2B or B2C, we were H2H—Human to Human.
7. You Are Waiting for Permission to Be Awesome
You are standing on the edge of the pool, looking at the water, waiting for the lifeguard to blow the whistle and say, “Okay, you may now splash.” You’ve forgotten the Vanguard Artist spirit of the cannonball! You are waiting for the title, the promotion, the email from corporate to tell you it’s okay to lead. Spoiler alert: The future doesn’t RSVP.
6. Your “Smart” Devices Are Genius, But Your Process is Dumb
Your phone is smart. Your watch is smart. Your umbrella is smart (seriously, why?). But your workflow is still operating on Windows 95 logic. You are using Instapoetry speed to consume content, but encyclopedia speed to create change. You’ve confused buying technology with being technological. You added “AI” to your email signature, but you still print out emails to read them.
5. You Have Replaced “Why?” with “How Much?”
Remember when you were a kid with a big head and big dreams? You asked “Why?” about everything. Now, you only ask “How much will this cost?” or “How much time will this take?” You’ve stopped being a Motivational Poet of your own life and started being an accountant of your own limitations. You are auditing your dreams instead of living them.
4. You Think “Failing” is a Four-Letter Word
It’s actually six letters, count ‘em. F-A-I-L-E-D. Past tense. Done. You are so terrified of the stumble that you’ve stopped walking. You treat failure like a stain instead of a scar. Scars are cool! Scars have stories! You want the highlight reel without the blooper reel, but the bloopers are where the learning happens. If you aren’t tripping, you aren’t traveling.
3. Your “To-Do” List is Longer Than Your “To-Be” List
We are not personal; we are just busyness. You are running around like a headless chicken trying to hit KPIs, but you’ve lost the MRI of your soul. You are so focused on what you have to do today that you forgot who you wanted to be today. You are a human doing, not a human being.
2. You Haven’t “Pinky Promised” Your Team Anything Real
Level one commitment? Weak. Level two? Legal. But level three? That Pinky Promise? That’s the soul contract. You are managing people, not leading humans. You haven’t looked them in the eye and promised to make them safer, better, or bolder. You’re leading with a policy manual instead of a pulse.
1. You Are Still Waiting for the “Perfect Time”
Here it is. The number one sign. You are buffering. You are waiting for the economy to stabilize, for the kids to grow up, for the stars to align. But listen to your favorite Grammy Nominated Poet Sekou: The future is buffering right now. If you don’t disrupt yourself, someone else will disrupt you. The perfect time was yesterday. The second best time is right now. Get up. Get moving. Fail forward.
There you have it, folks! The Most Inspiring, Most Inspirational kick in the pants you didn’t know you needed. Now, get off the couch, take off the bubble wrap, and go make some waves. Splash, splash!
