or centuries, Discovery remained the elusive profession of scholars, but with time became business as usual for multinational firms, and then even more widespread with the rise of venture capital. These institutions learned to willingly accept risks and hardships for the sake of untold profits.
Today, with the growing demand for innovation, commercial research activities involve more and more recruits, who need a deeper awareness of the nature of Discovery and to learn how the wisdom and practices of QUEST are distinct from the commonly taught project managementpractices and Delivery skills.
The sponsors of innovation shall
- recognize the uncertain nature of every quest;
- grant the license to fail, be ready for the pivotal moments and epiphanies that deflect the team from the chosen path, and be able to turn them round to reconsider the strategy and approach;
- see to it that enough information is provided to the research team without delays;
- behave as an old, wise general, and in times of sudden progress not let the exultation get in their head, and in times of trouble remember that a future invention may be very close at hand;
- keep their patience and resources quadrupled.
The leaders, our brave captains, shall
- establish and enforce the rituals of information exchange and record keeping, even though most parties will complain about it being redundant and claim that everything is already clear for everyone. Of course, this does not reflect reality, notwithstanding the commonly mistaken belief;
- attempt to achieve quick wins, but always be prepared for the long siege, since discovery is akin to industriousness;
- maintain the faith and discipline, as for a very good reason, accuracy in procedures induces accuracy in attained results;
- restrain dragons and be well-schooled in a matter of customary traps.
The crew, the explorers, shall
- be proficient in arts, sciences, and methods of research;
- not let uncertainty and indistinctly formulated goals provoke fatigue and procrastination, as it is the profession of a researcher to make sense of unusual matters;
- know how to extract knowledge from every failure to cultivate a true invention;
- establish the good practices of logging their experiments, maintaining transparency, and sharing knowledge;
- be meticulous in fixing the results and conclusions even for dead-end endeavors in their studies.