Humans are creative. Whether that creativity expresses itself through the strokes of a paintbrush or the programming of a computer program, we have an innate ability to make something out of nothing.
This is the part of us that is most like God.
God is a Creator and He gifted humanity with the ability to create things of their own. This is a beautiful gift that also comes with immense responsibility. This creating power we have can either be used to harm or to destroy. It can be purposed to bring goodness or to bring evil. But throughout our history, we have seen humanity excel in our ability to create good things that bring necessary advancement to our societies.
Think about all of the inventions that have radically changed our world:
The wheel
The Printing Press
Electric lights
The Telegraph
The engine
Antibiotics
Film recording
This is only a tiny sliver of the huge collection of world-shattering inventions. One thing that all of these advancements have in common? Innovation. In short, each of these inventions was actively improving upon a previously used technology.
As society began to grow and develop, the need to improve upon our ability to travel, communicate, treat medical ailments, and so much more needed development as well.
Without innovation, our society would stay at a standstill. We believe that the ability to innovate and stay on the cutting edge of technology is of vital importance for your business or non-profit. However, before we get to that, we do want to caution you about some of the risks of innovation.
As we have seen throughout our history, there has always been pushback against every technological advancement. (There was even a time when people rejected the introduction of coffee!) While some may brand these nay-sayers as old-fashioned folks who refuse to “stay up with the times”, we should cut them a bit of slack.
Embracing new technology can be scary, especially if you have lived your entire life one way and are expected to adapt to something entirely unknown. We don’t reject change because we are stubborn, we reject change because we fear what we will lose if we change.
When embracing new technology, we should be hesitant to go all in without any consideration whatsoever. Learning what the professionals are saying about the particular technology is wise. It is also wise to consider whether that particular technology would benefit your organization or not.
A good rule of thumb is to embrace technological advances with an open mind. If you constantly reject innovation, you will never grow. If you jump on every single “technological advancement bandwagon” you find, you may end up wasting a lot of time or resources.
So why stay on the cutting edge of technology? Let’s talk about it.
Imagine a time before the assembly line. When products were manufactured, each item had to be painstakingly assembled individually which took hours upon hours. With the implementation of the assembly line at the start of the 20th century, productivity in manufacturing shot through the roof.
Many of the inventions that have shaped our society have taken a very long process and transformed it into a shorter one. Automobiles replaced horse-driven carriages, telephone calls replaced telegraphs, and Google replaced the encyclopedia.
When we innovate, we can simplify complex practices into something that is more time and energy efficient. Innovations like these help us work smarter, not harder. As Bill Gates once famously said, “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”
A great example of a modern innovation that improves system and productivity is social media schedulers. Instead of allotting specific time to manually post on social media, you can opt for this service which automatically shares pre-scheduled posts. It is as easy as that!
Improving systems and productivity through innovation will help you not only save resources but will also free up time for you to do other important things in your organization.
The Printing Press is one of the most important technological advancements, especially when it comes to the church. The Gutenberg Press made it possible for the Holy Bible to be printed and distributed to believers and nonbelievers in mass. This advancement enabled those who were literate to read the Scriptures themselves outside of regular church hours.
In later periods, printing presses were utilized to develop other materials such as religious tracts. While some may give these materials a bad connotation, they are another essential innovation that propelled growth in the life of the church.
During the time of the Civil War, these tracts became an essential tool in providing hope and an invitation for salvation to those soldiers who were literally in the trenches. The tracts went where the preachers couldn’t and provided a way for those desperate to hear the Good News of Jesus.
As we can see, the technological advancement of the Printing Press increased visibility not just for the church system, but for the message of Jesus. The tract was essentially an advertisement material for the Gospel, and it made it spread like wildfire.
As time went on, the innovation of digital advertising only expanded the reach and visibility of those things which were once confined to paper. The Internet itself has opened the door wide to reach endless amounts of people in a way that we simply could not before.
There was a time you would have to wait days for your letter to get to a friend. Now you can send a message with a tap of your finger. Innovations serve to save us time and in that same vein utilize this newfound speed to increase overall reach and visibility.
As society continues to innovate, we will see even more growth… which will lead to more innovation! This cycle will continue as long as humans still can think and create.
While not all humans are actively creating monumental innovations like the combustible engine or World Wide Web, there will always be people out there who are looking to improve upon the current systems we follow.
As you can see, innovation doesn’t just apply to the world of I.T., medicine, or transportation. Innovation can happen in the ways we approach organizational systems, employee relations, digital strategies, and so much more.
There should always be at least one person in every organization who looks at a system or process and asks “how can we make this better?”
These types of forward-thinkers help us move out of stagnancy and embrace the growth that naturally comes when we evolve in the way we do things.
Resisting change is like resisting the current — you may win the struggle for a while, but you will inevitably be swept where the river is going. Instead of fighting against these advances, it is wise to take the time to do your research and lean on the experts who understand these innovations well.
Staying on the cutting edge of technology can be a bit scary at first, but learning to embrace change is an essential component of promoting substantial growth.
Our team at PMF Creative is constantly looking for the newest technological advancements to stay on the cutting edge of technology. We would love to help you learn about these innovations and how they can benefit your company or organization. Contact us today to learn more!
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