Episode 1512 - Imitation or innovation? The career defining decision

Dr. Jeff Moore // #LeadershipThursday // www.ptonice.com

In today's episode of the PT on ICE Daily Show, ICE CEO Jeff Moore discusses that the decision to innovate or imitate is a career-defining choice with long-term implications. The host emphasizes that while collaboration and sharing of ideas are common in any field, blatant imitation is detrimental to one's career. The host distinguishes between collaboration and imitation, stating that imitation involves repeatedly hijacking other people's logos, sayings, or content.

The episode provides three reasons why being an imitator ensures a mediocre and short-lived career. Firstly, the process of creation, coming up with something new and contributing in a unique way, is described as the most invigorating aspect of any career. The host emphasizes the satisfaction and impact that comes from thinking differently and having others benefit from one's novel ideas or techniques.

Secondly, the episode highlights the importance of authenticity in career success. The host suggests that imitators may experience imposter syndrome because their success levels do not match their actual contribution. They are described as grabbing ideas from others, recognizing what will resonate with their audience, and building their business without truly creating or going through the challenges that lead to breakthroughs. The more their success grows without a true contribution, the greater the asymmetry and imposter syndrome.

Lastly, the episode emphasizes the value of continuous creation and innovation for a long-lived and energetic career. The host encourages listeners to keep creating and strive for novelty and harmony in their careers. It is emphasized that the decision to innovate or imitate is a defining one, and individuals should aim to put forth their authentic selves rather than copying someone else's.

Overall, the episode argues that choosing to imitate instead of innovate can lead to a mediocre and short-lived career. On the other hand, embracing innovation and creating something new is described as invigorating, authentic, and essential for long-term success and fulfillment.

Take a listen to today's episode.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION

00:00 JEFF MOORE Alright team, what's up? Happy Thursday, welcome to the PT on ICE Daily Show. I am Dr. Jeff Moore, thrilled to be your host, currently serving in the role of CEO here at ICE. It is Thursday, which means it's Leadership Thursday, but it also means it's Gut Check Thursday. Let's talk about the workout. This is going to be familiar to a bunch of you. So this is the workout from the CMFA Essential Foundations Course 21-15-9 Deadlifts Bar Facing Burpees. Quick, painful. Go get some of that. Post your time, post ICE Physio, hashtag ICE Train, hashtag Gut Check Thursday. It's a classic workout, we've done it a lot. It's a really nice benchmark one to challenge yourself in that kind of middle distance, high intensity space to keep coming back to every year and see how your fitness is evolving. So give that a shot. 21-15-9 Deadlifts and Bar Facing Burpees. Upcoming courses, I want to highlight Modern Management of the Older Adult Live because we've got a ton of options. So if you're trying to become the fitness for provider for your older adults in your community, you've got to hit the MMOA Live course. This weekend, they are in Watertown, Connecticut. Next weekend, July 29th, 30th, they are in both, Waukonson's, Georgia and Meridian, Idaho. That'll be the first, that's in Boise. That'll be the first course, I believe, at Onward Boise. So go get some of that. And then August 5th, 6th, they are at Onward Physio in Frederick, Maryland. Important to note, August 12th, 13th, they are in Lexington, Kentucky, and that is at Stronger Life, and that is the MMOA Summit. So if you want to meet all the MMOA faculty, they're going to be at that one course, August 12th, 13th, and that's at Stronger Life. So if you want to see the Stronger Life operation that Dustin and Jeff and the crew have been building out in Lexington, that is a really, really cool opportunity to kind of see behind the curtain and meet a ton of faculty. So go check out those courses. That's Older Adult Live on the road everywhere. So go get some of that action. Innovation or imitation, the career-defining decision. That's what I'm calling this episode. And I am not saying that lightly. I think if you really zoom out, and if we're talking leadership here on Thursday and thinking about looking long, long term at your career, if you decide to innovate or if you decide to imitate is probably the great decider. I mean, let me tell you the three biggest reasons why. But let me first note that we're not talking about sharing ideas, building off of each other, sharing techniques. There is a very reasonable amount of collaboration that is not copying an imitation. We're talking about blatant imitation, right? Where you know who you are, that you're hijacking other people's logos or sayings or content on the regular, right? Over and over again. I mean, if you scroll your feed, it's like you're obviously doing this. You've probably been reached out to. And then on the other hand, many of you probably have your own imitators, right? Where you look and you're like, gosh, that person's always taking my stuff and trying to put a very lame or benign twist on it. But it's pretty obvious what's going on. That's what we're talking about. Being that person, being in a position where you've got that person tailing you, we're going to unpack both sides of it. There's only one line on being imitated, many lines on being the imitator. So three reasons why being an imitator ensures a mediocre and short lived career. Number one, creation. Coming up with something new. Feeling like you really contributed because you saw something a different way or said something a different way and other people legitimately benefited that would not have if you didn't create that process is the single most invigorating thing in any career. That process of thinking differently, of contributing something novel, of having somebody come up to you and say, Hey, because you said it that way, things have really gotten better for me. I hadn't heard it like that. I hadn't thought about it like that. I have not used that technique. And now because you did that, things are better off in my sphere. That process of creation is the single most rejuvenating thing in any area of business. When you look at entrepreneurs, you look at people who are constantly high energy, are constantly seem to be thriving. It is largely because they're tapping into that creation energy on the regular and it gives back three times what you give it. That process of doing things novel and useful is what extends careers. It's what makes careers exciting. It would make it so it makes you get up in the morning and be absolutely beside yourself to dive into that next project. It's what builds anticipation for the next year of business. It is all of the things that constantly give you energy back that make burnout sound like a ridiculous idea because you couldn't imagine ever wanting to stop riding that train of creation. Creation is invigorating. And if you're copying, you're not creating. So you're never getting that energy back. And there is simply a timeline for how long you can go without it. Number two, this is the one that people don't see when they feel like taking other people's ideas is a viable way to continue their business. It's not. And this is why you can't build on a foundation you didn't pour. I'm not saying you can't go take the idea and put it on your platform and get a few likes. You can do that. You can get a short term bump in your business. There'll be plenty of people who didn't know you did it. Like you can do that, but you can't build on it. One breakthrough and by breakthrough, I mean the process of the breakthrough. When you were thinking about a certain idea and you realize in the moment, hold on, there's a better way to do this. There's a better way to say this. There's a better way to build this. That process, that breakthrough, having that moment changes you. Like it really changes you because not only will everybody that you told think a little bit differently or be able to use it novelty, but you changed because your mind saw a different pathway. That change is what's required to make you different, to see the next thing. When you're going through the hard work of trying to make something better and having that breakthrough, that process of when it happens is what allows you to see the next one because you're now different for having had that breakthrough. If you're just hijacking ideas all the time that sound good or look good or think might get you some business, you're not actually changing. You're not developing. You're not going through those breakthroughs. So you're not going to have the next one or the next one. So pretty so