Why pausing is essential to innovation

Rethinking pause.

I travelled to the Ayrshire coast last week for some early year reverie.

• Walking on the beach when I would normally be in meetings

• Salty sea air when usually in traffic

• Wind stinging my cheeks instead of a fiercely heated office

A trip takes effort, especially in January. Yet it always pays off, and more.

Here’s my theory -

The gaps between are where interesting things happen.

To get to change, we need to break patterns.

Those who I work with know my tendency towards the gaps. The moments to pause, reflect, digest. That gives my brain space to question, make sense, then form thoughts.

In conversations and meetings, space allows ideas to unfurl.

Without pause, there’s no space for progression. For quality. For innovation.

“The gaps between are where the interesting things happen.”

We can only get sameness from going at a consistent pace.

The natural world knows this (hibernation, leaves shedding, seasonal plumage, tidal patterns etc.).

Pause is crucial.

And it’s win win.

More energy. More ideas. More clarity.

How have you used pause to innovate?

Beach at Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland, January 2025