innovator!

I'm going to show some baby pictures at a meeting I'm going to in Colorado Springs. People at the last meeting in late October joked that I was missing the meeting due to my own special "creative project". Pregnancy was a fascinating time in my life. I loved it. It wasn't all easy, but I loved it because...
* it made prioritizing easier because any task that contributed to a healthy baby and healthy me was automatically top of the importance list
* I didn't feel guilty or uncomfortable with the idea of RESTING
* I felt special, got lots of positive attention
* I suddenly had a bond with people I didn't know; coworkers who never spoke to me before were suddenly like chatty old friends! I didn't resent that, I loved it.
* the physical changes were fascinating to me - the whole gestation system
* I had something fun to plan for
* there was always something to talk about

Did I learn anything about "innovation" from pregnancy, any principles that could be applied to R&D work? Hmmm...
* nurturing pays off
* interdependence is part of it
* it's essential to have contingency plans
* it’s essential to have support systems
* the serenity prayer applies
* you’re better off knowing your values and priorities going in
* it can be a wild ride
* realize that stress affects attention, memory, and decision-making
* you’ll forget a lot of the details after it’s over
* learning still comes to you much later