pro.innovator

2011 - Winner Profile

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Professional Innovator Winner Paul Widger gives us his take on the competition

Should I take part?
My first reaction on hearing about the competition was “Is this for me? I’m only an accountant!”  Would I have enough examples of innovation to wow the judges?  Well, I may not be an inventor, but I do spend my life trying to add value to clients, going the extra mile, and I do have novel ideas and the energy to make them happen.  These are the seeds of professional innovation.

Stage 1 – The Application
I spent some time thinking about the meaning and connotations of Innovation.  Then I listed the things that I am proud of in my career and my life and tried to match them together.

Stage 2 – Written Challenges
The challenges were released on a Monday for completion by the Thursday.
So after a hard Monday back at the office, I found myself some time to clear my mind and consider the newly released challenge.  I researched the topic and jotted down my ideas.  I spoke to several people (ranging from 12 to 80 years old!) to get some different angles on the issue.

I then honed my brainstorming into a succinct answer, crossing out the less powerful points and juggling the rest around into a logical narrative.  My final draft bore little resemblance to my initial notes!

Stage 3 – Panel Interview
The judges asked me if I was nervous.  “Just the right amount”.  There’ll always be a little apprehension but try to relax and be confident.  If you’ve got this far then you deserve your place.
The panel didn’t let me get away with anything and I had to be on my toes throughout.  Having spent sometime time beforehand thinking about the key skills in innovation, I tried to think beyond each question the panel posed to see what skills they were looking for and tailored my answer accordingly.

What I got out of it
The series of events around the competition were high quality and stimulated my imagination.  It was exciting to feel a part of the programme – a lot of people were talking about it.

Innovation is about finding ways to do things differently for the better and there is plenty of opportunity to do that it in all businesses and professional services.  This competition and the programme of events succeeded in keeping that at the front of my mind.