Archive for: August, 2012

Is critical thinking irrelevant because of social media?

in Creativity, Innovation, Leadership, Questions

developing critical thinking skills

Here’s my answer Steve:

It’s a circular orbit in every sense. It has made more obvious what we already know: Critical thinking is non-existent on the web. Or anywhere else for that matter.

And it comes back to the same tune we’ve talking about for what seems like forever: Where all think alike, nobody thinks too much.

We’ve gotten to the point where people are passing around dogmas freely. Even in areas where there is supposed to be critical thinking, there is a complete lack perspective. I’m also starting to see that most think that the only ones who should have perspective are scientists, poets, philosophers and such. Simply because they have more “free time” to think.

In reality, time for reflection is a valuable skill we should cultivate in others.

…

How can a business differentiate without changing the product itself?

in competition, Innovation, Question-To-Innovate, Questions, Strategy

How can a business differentiate without changing the product itself?

Via Quora: What can you change in a business that is strong enough to differentiate the business from all competitors, but without touching the product itself?

For example,

  • GILT, changed PRICE but didn’t change product, and opened a niche for discounted designer clothes.
  • Phones International, changed the DISTRIBUTION MODEL of the mobile phone industry but it didn’t change the product (cell phones), and opened a niche for ‘single brand distribution.
  • The Book People, changed the TARGET CUSTOMERS, but didn’t change the product (books), and opened a niche selling books to corporate clients.
  • Adwords, changed the BUSINESS MODEL, but didn’t change the product (display ads), and opened a niche for ‘performance advertising’.

These are significant differences that not only differentiate the companies from all the others, but disrupted the market in some way.

What other variables can you change in a business in this way?

How are these variables called?

Where can I learn more about this?…

Must read innovation posts of the week: Mintzberg on What’s Wrong with Management

in Must reads of the week

Must read innovation posts of the week: Mintzberg on What’s Wrong with Management

Storified by Jorge Barba · Sat, Aug 25 2012 20:19:03

Bringing Science to the Art of Strategy http://s.hbr.org/SNCHmy #playingtowinHarvard Biz Review
#Leadership Alert – Mintzberg on What’s Wrong with Management http://ow.ly/1m8bkySoren Kaplan
Business Model Innovation Through Process Change http://s.hbr.org/NWwmDsHarvard Biz Review
Orgs need complementary #innovation systems – my latest: Evolutionary and Revolutionary #Innovation – http://bit.ly/Pd3nMGRalph-Christian Ohr
There are two sides to the equation of shaping #innovation – http://bit.ly/Pgn7iFPaul Hobcraft
How to Design Culture: 16 Patterns to Build Adaptive Learning Organizations. http://feedly.com/k/NYiwR2 #organizationaldesignNilofer Merchant

If you like these links, check out all the previous “Innovation Must Reads of the Week“. And don’t forget to

the customer experience is

What is customer experience in layman’s terms?

in Innovation

the customer experience is

I believe that business leaders should treat customer experience is an imperative. Yet, there are still some parts of the business world where “customer experience” is a new word.

With that said, I jumped on a chat with Kerry Bodine, co-author of Outside-In. A new book about why organizations should focus on customer experience, and how.

One of the challenges in understand what customer experience means, is understanding that there is a HUGE difference between customer service and customer experience. Most think that customer service is customer experience.…

got purpose?

The 6 most important questions every strategist must own

in Leadership, Strategy

got purpose?

Last week I discussed the importance of leading through questions. Since that post got some good traction, I decided to put together these six questions that I found scattered throughout the book “The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs“. If you haven’t read it, read it!

In my opinion, every business leader and strategist must own these six questions below:…

innovation clarity

Create your own definition of innovation

in Innovation

innovation clarity

As part of my auditing process, one of the key questions I ask is: what was the most recent innovation in your industry?

Depending on how this question is answered, it will tell me a few things:

  • How this company both defines and perceives innovation
  • If they are focused on innovation
  • If they are keeping tabs on their respective industry

That question is followed up with a similar but less obvious question: who is the most loved in your industry and why?. This one tells me if they even care about delighting their customers. But it can also tell me if they associate customer loyalty with innovation.…