Innovators beware. Innovation is a two-face coin.
Entrepreneurship fuels the dreams of young people aspiring to self-realize in contexts —career, work, society— where my generation never dared so.
There is a huge emotional cost to pursue one’s dream with a divided soul.
But there are unexplored assumptions about vision. If left unchecked, these may kill you. There is a huge emotional cost to pursue one’s dream with a divided soul. Call it La La Land syndrome, or the lack of integrity.
Integrity. A tricky word. Easily misunderstood as applying a moral code. Integrity and compliance are two things.
Remember La La Land. A jazz pianist (and entrepreneur) falls for an aspiring actress. Yet as success mounts, the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other rip them apart.
What is venturing worth, the movie asks, if it damages your very life?
If your dream is not large enough for the one you love, it is not large enough.
I could not think of anything more important right now for entrepreneurial leaders. Dreams (and “vision”) can eat up your soul. It can deprive your life of its very heart.
And if so, what is it truly worth?
So beware the La La Land syndrome. Pursuing one’s dream whole-heartedly creates impact. And this is a social and managerial innovation.
