Devotion—the power newcreators deploy to enrich the world

Devotion is one of the seven creative powers and a component of the first superpower, Transcend the Mundane.

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Devotion propels Realisation.

It is an expression of the Newcreator’s wholehearted and enduring commitment to enriching the world with value, meaning and joy.

It reflects the Newcreator’s love of life and the natural world of which he or she is part.

It enables the Newcreator to make good use of society’s infrastructure, institutions and resources for the purposes of human advancement and world enrichment.

The unspoken promise

According to Online Etymology Dictionary and other sources, devotion originally meant the act of:

Taking a vow.
Making a solemn promise.
Sacrificing oneself.

When the gestating creation progresses from Conceptualisation to Materialisation, crossing the threshold that separates the realm of possibility (creating world) from the realm of actuality (created world), the Newcreator makes an unspoken promise to serve as the creation’s spokesperson for its entire lifetime, helping it reach maturity and realise its value generation potential.

Before this threshold is crossed, the Newcreator is fortified by Faith.

Once across the threshold, he or she is sustained by Devotion.

Faith remains, providing assurance that the necessary talent, funding and resources will be forthcoming.

Does corporate innovation need to be done differently?

In the business world, the work of an innovation team is complete when the new creation (product, service or other kind of value generator) is ready to be introduced to the world at large. The creation is handed to the marketing team, which becomes responsible for its launch, uptake and future development.

The relationship between Newcreate and design thinking

Design thinking is widely used by corporate innovation teams. The design thinking process consists of five non-linear, iterative phases or core activities: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Nielsen Norman Group adds a sixth phase, Implement. Other versions abound, and I have not seen any that extends beyond implementation.

But if the unspoken promise is to be kept, the initiating Newcreator (the one who first voiced the adopted idea) must be included in the marketing team. At the very least, there should be a conscious transfer of responsibility to a marketing team member who will serve as its new spokesperson.

Quotes

Both authority and responsibility arise in the same moment — in that moment where some inner vision meets the world in a concrete action. Authority and responsibility are twins — born in the moment when we take the initiative.

I have authority over the thing I am authoring… As the author, I hold the vision. And I have a responsibility to that vision: to articulate and to act on that vision. Because no one else can. Authority and responsibility are the same size. I have responsibility for what I have authority for. I have authority for what I have responsibility for. Without responsibility, there is no authority.

Source: Clear Definitions #2: Responsibility, by Charles Davies.

Humanism is a devotion to humanity and the biosphere that humanity is part of. It is our passionate commitment to the best ideals that are supported by what experience, science, and civilization have taught us. Humanism is larger than any of us. We have a duty to continue Humanism’s evolving tradition, which has inspired countless individuals to make the world better. At the same time, it motivates us to fill our lives with transcendent purpose for a meaningful, exuberant existence that makes life worth living.

Michael Werner, Devotion to Humanity, on Unitarian Universalist Association website