You are the hero/heroine of this story, about to start on the epic quest of R&D to discover a new magic solution to vanquish a belligerent old enemy.
Like any hero/heroine you need to be fearless. Here are the five reasons why:
Fearless of Change
It is all too easy to be too precious about the idea that starts your innovation journey. Like the hero in a Pixar movie who starts off thinking their journey is all about one thing, but moves on only when they let go of it, you need to be fearless that your idea can and will change. Like many start-ups, you will probably pivot completely to focus on something you learnt or built in the early phases. Be fearless of change and give yourself some space to do it.
Fearless of Getting Lost
R&D is an opportunity to explore deeply and broadly, something we usually don't give ourselves the permission to do. Most of us usually have to fight the tendency to get lost down a rabbit hole on the internet, but early in the R&D process you need to research far and wide. You may be more comfortable staying with what you know, but inspiration and innovation often seem to appear when you feel you are losing sight of the core of your project. Wander so you can return and see the problem afresh.
Fearless of Criticism
There is no expertise without feedback. While you need to be confident that your expertise, lived-experience and perspective are your unique super-power, you also need to be confident enough to take feedback and advice. Without feedback our expertise stagnates and we will be very lucky to create something that works beyond the limits of our own narrow perspective.
Fearless of Tech
The majority of innovation is intertwined with the development of technology, and there are so many different technologies that no-one understands them all. Don't be scared of jargon, of talking about tech, of asking the stupid questions. Ask until you find someone who can explain things well.
Fearless of Failure
The very act of pushing the boundaries, requires you to err on the wrong side of them from time to time. Often the quickest and clearest lessons come when we are purposeful but still fail (not to be mixed up with failing purposely). Fail fast, to succeed quicker. Frankly, if you really are trying to doing something new, you are never going to get things perfect first time, or else everyone would be doing it already. Instead, accept mistakes as the fastest lessons, and learn how to learn quickly. As the saying goes 'You only truly fail if you fail to learn'. If you are really smart, you'll also try to learn from other people's mistakes (see my other post on Stop, Look, Listen, Think).