Archive for: 2012

Innovation must reads of the week: Why non-experts are better at innovation

in Must reads of the week

Innovation must reads of the week: Why non-experts are better at innovation

Storified by Jorge Barba · Sat, Jul 14 2012 18:47:09

Rethinking the concept of ‘outliers’: Why non-experts are better at #innovation http://onforb.es/LhmoQb | via @forbes @medialab #MITre:invention, inc.
“I believe that people who will come up with creative solutions to solve the world’s biggest problems —  ecological devastation, global warming, the global debt crisis and distribution of dwindling natural resources, to name a few — will NOT be experts in their fields. The real disruptors will be those individuals who are not steeped in one industry of choice, with those coveted 10,000 hours of experience, but instead, individuals who approach challenges with a clean lens, bringing together diverse experiences, knowledge and opportunities.”
Interesting post by @bussgang Seeing Both Sides: Big Idea vs. Lean Idea http://bit.ly/LTHDUZScott Anthony
“Yet, I fear that the success of the Lean Start Up movement risks leading entrepreneurs to pursue Lean Ideas rather than Big Ideas.  I’d like to see that trend reversed, by pushing entrepreneurs to distinguish more carefully the differences between Lean Ideas and Lean Start Ups.”
Change is a threat if done TO me, opportunity if done BY me. One of 7 enduring change lessons: http://bit.ly/c4DduJRosabeth Moss Kanter
“I call these the Change Agent Bumper Stickers. Here are seven universal sayings that can comfort and guide anyone engaged in the effort of setting a new direction, orchestrating innovation, establishing a culture, or changing behavior.”
How to Innovate When You Have Limited Resources: http://onforb.es/NBPxoe | Forbes. | #innovationre:invention, inc.
“How can my group support innovation and be innovative without any resources? It’s one thing to have limited resources in the sense that you can only pick and choose one or two great ideas for action and implementation – and many of us fall into this bucket – but it’s quite another to have so few resources that you literally cannot act on any of them. Is it simply a case of the embarrassment of riches causing paralysis – in other words, in the face of so many great ideas is it so overwhelming that it’s impossible to even know where to begin – and so you don’t? Or is there truly so much day-to-day work that it’s impossible to see through the thicket of ideas  in the first place to begin to choose the good, practical ones?  Or is it more a case of a manager not knowing how to sift through the pile of so-so or just plain unrealistic ideas to find the good ones that can actually be implemented?”
RT @Innovering: Great content! RT @cloverleafinnov: What #innovation secrets do the most #innovative companies have? http://bit.ly/Oy7QbrTim Kastelle
“These companies not only have innovation as part of their strategic imperatives but also allocate both time and resources for fostering and promoting the culture of innovation within the organization.  Interestingly, many of these 16 companies utilize unique approaches to cultivate innovation within their organizations.” 
Must-read by I. Wladawsky-Berger: #Strategy & Execution in an Increasingly Complex World – http://blog.irvingwb.com/blog/2012/07/the-interplay-between-strategy-and-execution-in-an-increasingly-complex-world.html #complexity (via @dscofield)Ralph-Christian Ohr
“It is difficult to do strategic planning beyond a one to three year timeframe.  Unpredictable, unanticipated events require strategic corrections in even shorter timeframes.  Both strategy and operations need to continuously adjust to fast changing market conditions.  Our strategic planning now has to incorporate flexible execution.  Successful companies – especially market leaders being chased by small and large competitors – must achieve a delicate balance between carefully managing their existing operations, and formulating the appropriate strategies that will propel them into the future.”
The End of Middle Managers (And Why They’ll Never Be Missed) @Forbes http://ow.ly/c9aHA #socbiz #business #managementVala Afshar
“A company needs leaders—not managers. From the top down, every employee has the opportunity to lead, starting with the organization of one within the larger organization that we call “Me, Inc.” Every individual is responsible for shaping and creating their own future.”

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

backup your tweets

Useful Familiar + Useful Familiar = Value

in Creativity

For those of you who can’t find a fast, easy and reliable way to backup your tweets, my friend @dscofield alerted me to a very useful tool:

Here’s how it works:

backup your tweets…

Innovation must reads of the week: Why trends are for suckers

in Must reads of the week

Innovation must reads of the week: Why trends are for suckers

Storified by Jorge Barba · Sat, Jul 07 2012 22:51:01

New blog post: Are You Entering a Market or Building One? It’s a very important distinction http://bit.ly/NjqC4S #innovationTim Kastelle

When you’re launching a new innovation, you must think carefully about the type of market that you are in. If you are building a market, the main objective needs to be learning. In that case, you can launch something that looks like the Apple I. In fact, you’re probably better off launching something like that fast, because that will accelerate the learning.

When you’re building markets, you need to be building dynamic business models that evolve. That’s why the Apple I looks so different from what we see now from Apple. More than anything else, it’s because they were operating in a very different type of market then.

Great angle on "ambidextrous" organizations by @Grant27: Every Company Should Build a Second Corporation – http://s.hbr.org/NsIgFA #strategyRalph-Christian Ohr
Everyone knows that we live in a world of tremendous change. But our response has been what Andy Grove calls building a better fire house. We are committing to getting faster and more agile. But there’s an absolute limit to have fast we can get. Many corporations run pretty good fire houses as it is. They can’t get a lot faster. The world doesn’t care. It’s going to get much, much faster. Time to rebuild the fire house. Time to rethink firefighting.
Confronting the Pain of Innovation http://s.hbr.org/MAj8AqHarvard Biz Review
If your organization doesn’t talk openly and frankly about its “innovation pain” as it pushes to create new value in new ways, you’re guaranteed to misdiagnose and misunderstand critical elements of your innovation culture. What would you think of a doctor who discussed everything about a disease and its treatment except the pain that they cause? 
Why Trends are for Suckers – http://su.pr/2n57bO – Greg Satell – #innovation #sm #technology #consumers #mgmt #trendsStefan Lindegaard
So don’t get taken in.  No matter how many people are talking about the hot trend, unless it is creating true value by solving real problems it will die out soon enough.
"Be reverent about the process and good ideas will emerge." RT @natwhitlock On Learning from Improv http://risd.cc/M5k9KNjohnmaeda
Here are seven tactics to help spur uninhibited expression. With any luck, it’ll be raining innovative ideas in no time.
Cause & Effect http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2012/07/cause-effect.htmlFred Wilson
Read Sci-Fi to be cutting-edge
Great, You’re Inspired: Now Begin The Nitty-Gritty Of Idea Implementation http://bit.ly/O9nOsB by @ChrisGrivas & @pucciogjCo.Lead
For successful implementation, involving others in the development process is a key part of managing the change. Such involvement not only provides you the skill sets needed to improve your idea, but also increases the sense of ownership of the solution. With that buy-in and increased expertise, your innovative solution stands more of chance of succeeding.

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

Getting physical: The next step in customer disservice

in Customer Service

I’ve been hitting on this topic for the last two weeks here and here. And, I think a trend is beginning to emerge from both sides of the ball. On the service provider side, employees attacking customers because they are unmotivated and frustrated with their own jobs.

On the customer side, we are seeing customers take physical action because they are frustrated.

Bottom line, we all complain.

Check out what I noticed recently from people I follow on Twitter and Facebook:…

Invitation to co-create GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE manifesto

in Customer Service

Customer Service Manifesto

Dear friends of Great Customer Service!

Not a day goes by when we are reading horror stories about the state of customer service. Especially, these negative experiences attract a large audience. This has been going on for many years now, but it has catapulted since social media enabled people to speak the minds and reach anybody around the world.

We, professionals who are passionate about great customer service, cannot tolerate this any longer. We want to take a stand for great service, and show companies the huge benefits of providing awesome service.

Therefore, we want to co-create a manifesto, which will highlight the need and the approach for great customer service.…