Thursday, February 16, 2006

Does the walker choose the path, or does the path choose the walker?

Looking back on what we have done lately, I wonder about the path I have been following personally. I have always been on the forefront of new products or services. Products because I am what others consider a gadget freak, services, because as a consultant I was involved in rolling out new services and as an account manager I sold new types of services for Capgemini. Four years ago I was responsible for a company that had information retrieval technology and a knowledge management concept that were ahead of their time. Two years ago when working for an e-learning company I was intrigued by the possibility of using e-learning tools to create an extended enterprise/eco system for companies. Now I am working together with some interesting people to combine all these aspects into a concept that uses collaborative networks and learning to set up a culture for innovation and provides a path to innovate in a structured manner and provide the energy needed for change. Be it services or products.

Though always involved in innovative products or services and always being able to think in multiple boxes at the same time, not to be confused with out of the box thinking, I wonder whether the end result is a conscious choice. Or have I just been lucky? Did I make it happen, or did it happen to me? Much of what I have been doing the last three years has been trial and error and do I recognize a central theme because of cognitive dissonance, or have I been making conscious choices that led me here? It’s probably a bit of both, because we humans think we are such rational people, while in effect we are extremely emotional ones as well. I may never know the real answer, but one thing I do know. I don’t believe in coincidence. In Holland there is a saying that says that luck is with the dumb. In English I believe it is luck is with the bold. As just stated, I don’t believe in luck. I believe in being prepared, prepared to go for an opportunity when it arises, prepared to be open minded enough to seize the moment when it presents itself. Change is the only constant, never more so than today, so today, I believe, is the moment to seize. Whatever path chose me before, now is the moment I choose the path and start walking.

Check out our path over here!

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