Tag Archives: purpose

Serious about innovation? Here 2 more questions that demand the attention of leaders

Last week I shared with you what I call the litmus test for innovation leadership, two questions I ask leaders to get a feel for if they have what it takes to innovate; or create the context for innovation within their organization.

Those two diagnostic questions are key for me when I’m asked to help companies innovate. As I’m always on the hunt for new questions to add to my arsenal, while reading Alan Webber’s book Rules of Thumb I found two more questions that I believe demand attention from leaders:

Innovation starts with needs but it doesn’t end there

Businesses, either new or “me-too’s”, set out to fulfill a need in the marketplace. Whoever fills this need in a better way, usually is rewarded with profits for a long time. But, profits does not a sustainable company make. Though this particular story I’m about to tell you doesn’t talk about billions of dollars in revenue being evaporated, it does touch on the illusion of customer loyalty.

About 5 years ago, I started advising and then joined a celebrity baby clothing startup called Tuni&G which has a new line of newborn baby clothes for a boy.

Strategy doesn’t inspire people. Conviction does.

simon sinek on leadership

Before strategy, have an opinion.

Everyone wants a strategy, but not many have an opinion. I’ve talked about this before, purpose matters. And although I don’t like repeating the same message over and over again, I’ve got a feeling this is never going to end.

A real opinion, to me, is a stretch thought about what everyone thinks is important. For example, Steve Jobs believed design was just as important as technology. Hence, Apple builds products from an artistic point of view. And, it just so happens that they created products that became “must-haves”.

google's master plan