“Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.”
I’m sure you’ve heard this expression before — usually from the mouth of someone who has made a fine art of boredom. However, the person with the t-shirt is rarely looking for the thrill of adventure or the excitement of discovery. Rather, they are most likely trying to shut down someone else’s effort to innovate.
The reality is that it is a rare instance when history repeats itself exactly. So chances are that the t-shirt person has not actually experienced this particular set of circumstances before. There may be variation around the edges that a person fixated on their prior experience has failed to notice. Of course, it is in that variation that opportunity lurks. Yet there are none so blind as those who will not see. Is it any wonder that innovation is so challenging?
So tell me: how big is your t-shirt collection?
Above and Beyond KM 