Welcome to the Bonus Part of the Confidence Series. #ConfidenceSeries

In 2017, I enrolled for the Innovation & Strategy Course at Harvard Extension school. Before travelling to Harvard, I took a course by Drew Boyd (Co-Author of Inside the Box, and Professor at University of Cincinnati) who graciously sent me his lecture notes from his innovation class. 

Innovation by subtraction caught my eye. Here’s a quick summary.

To innovate, make a list of the components of the product or service, then remove the MOST IMPORTANT element (partially or fully), and re-imagine the result for a new product, new audience or new use. 

A few examples. 

Amazon Go

Amazon Go is a supermarket with no checkout counters. You walk in, pick what you want and just ‘Go’. They removed one of the most important elements of shopping, the checkout. 

Bicycles have two wheels which are critical to how it functions. Remove one wheel, innovate with the rest, and you get a Stationary Exercise Bike. 

Confidence Series

In the #ConfidenceSeries, I’ve shared 3 tips to help you build confidence 

1.) Build Competence 

2.) Do it Afraid 

3.) Do it Again.

What if I remove ‘Build Competence’ i.e you have no competence. How do you still build confidence? 

This bonus tip comes from my Faith background as a Christian (so not for everyone). 

Unlike Samson or David who killed Lions and developed relevant transferable skills to face fear in battle, Gideon had no such experience or competence. He was introduced as threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. Judges 6.

An angel appeared to him and told him what he was capable of, but his response was

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

Read… ‘I am not competent’ 

The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

When you feel incompetent, take God with you.

God is competent and He will tell you what to do. 

Gideon followed God’s instructions by pulling down the altar of baal and built a new one. He did it in the night because he was afraid of the people of the town. (Do it Afraid)

Then he did it again by defeating the Midianites with only 300 fighters, still following God’s instructions. (Do it again)

To bring it home, here’s the bonus point. 

You don’t always need competence to build confidence, you need to follow the instructions of a competent person. God is competent in ALL areas. 

PS: If you feel incompetent, please don’t stress out. You can catch up now that the world is on pause. Start by following God’s instructions. You might still have to do it afraid and do it again… just like Gideon. 

This song is God’s declaration that gives me HUGE confidence! Because on this occasion, God does all the work 😀.

Numbers 6:22 – 26

²² The Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

²⁴ “‘“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
²⁵ the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’