“We’ve been brainstorming ideas, but we haven’t decided on what to do”, “We brainstorm all the time but end up with the same ideas”, and “We brainstorm around ideas that only management wants”. Last week I visited a prospective client in the manufacturing industry, these are some of the things that they told me when I asked them about their innovation efforts.
Archive for: February, 2024
Use These 20 Questions To Help Stimulate Innovative Thinking
Innovation is as much about attitude and perspective as it is about process. A big one for me is shifting perspective to stimulate innovation. So, how do you inject ‘perspective’ into your thinking? It all starts with a provocative question.
Are “Best Practices” Stifling Innovation In Your Business?
“Best practices are just past practices. You need next practices.” I once said to a client. The reason? Visit any traditionally managed business and you’ll see the same pattern: they operate like their competitors. They hire the same people and have the same business model, processes, and everything else in between.
Open-mindedness: The Secret Weapon of Innovation Leaders
Open-mindedness: Bullsh*t or Superpower? Forget charisma, forget vision. The one quality truly separating innovation rockstars from the mediocre is a shockingly underrated superpower: open-mindedness.
Leadership is The Ultimate Equalizer
Want to make a difference in anything you do? That’s the mindset and attitude of a leader. Leadership is the ultimate difference-maker in groups, teams, organizations, and businesses. There is no shortage of training, seminars, talks, books, courses, and articles; still, great leadership is rare. The industrial era command and control model still reigns supreme, and businesses feel like employees are there to serve the business owner(s).
Are You Accelerating Progress Or Are You Impeding It?
I truly believe that whether a business thrives or dies is largely determined by the quality of its leadership. And, great leadership is spread across the whole business not just one person. Yes, businesses are surviving even with bad leadership but because no better option exists.