Paradoxically, nonprofit leaders are charged with igniting sparks of creativity and innovation while at the same time being watchful for grass fires, or worse, burning platforms.

‘Stealing fire from heaven’

In Greek mythology, Prometheus was associated with innovation. His name meant ‘forethinker’, from which we can discern his role as an archetype of all futurists, designers, planners, and strategists.

In stealing fire by lighting a torch from the sun (being inspired), the forethinker paid a price imposed by Zeus. Zeus’s punishment was to send Pandora (a gift to all) to Prometheus’ brother Epimetheus (hindsight), who, despite being warned of the risks, wedded her.

While cringing at the misogyny in this narrative, if we see the moral tale as one related to the recognition that all strategic and innovative actions involve risks, and that these negative consequences need to be managed, we may find that the relationships between these archetypes reveal a universal and abiding truth (as intended by most mythological tales).

The imagined future

When making decisions about future directions or innovations (foresight), we can be so enthralled by the glamour of the new and novel that we fail to account for what could go wrong. (The unregulated uses of social media or AI offer topical examples). Part of the trick, of course, is imagining ourselves in a future scenario, exercising hindsight to discern what went wrong with our innovation or initiative.

We normally speak of ‘the wisdom of hindsight’ in terms of regret about what was done or not done that led to an adverse outcome. Alternatively, ‘hindsight bias‘ can cloud our thinking so that we distort our analysis of what happened, and the lived experience of those involved. A preferable approach to the application of Epimetheus’ gift is to timeshift so that our epigram becomes “The ‘wisdom of hindsight’ is best exercised in an imagined future”.

Applying this approach to our role as decision-makers acknowledges that an objective assessment of the merit of a proposal requires us to imagine all possible negative consequences, along with the benefits, as if they had already occurred. That would allow us to consider the contributing factors and the root cause of the possible adverse impact, and devise preventive and damage control measures to allow the innovation to proceed. In doing so we honour another Greek moral injunction – “First do no harm” (attributed to Hippocrates).

Much as William Ury advocates for ‘Possibilists‘ to replace Optimists (represented by Prometheus) and Pessimists (represented by Epimetheus), we might see the nonprofit leader keeping a lid on risks (Pandora’s box), and so containing the fire of innovation in a furnace that meets safe standards.

Using the energy metaphor, instead of trying to tame lightning and the wildfire it generates, we capture solar energy and store it for use according to need. Likewise, having cultivated the spark of innovation, we need to be ready to contain it using a well-framed system of controls.

Innovation without effective risk management is likely to come with its own ‘Pandora’s Box’.

See also:
Strategy and Risk: 2 sides of one coin
Temporal Sensemaking and Reflective Governance
Elevating perspectives
Regret: your improvement catalyst