Phil McKinney asks: are customers a source of ideas for innovation?
Two years ago The Economist published a report where it indicated that by 2020 customers will replace R&D as the main source of new ideas. Well, apart from customers, there are many sources where companies can get ideas for innovation; partners, competitors, non-competing companies and employees.
Some of the most innovative ideas can come from customers themselves. But, you must involve them.…
in Innovation
For things to change somebody somewhere has to act differently…
There’s a great thread going on in the Beyond Innovation LinkedIn group about exciting examples of driving a culture of innovation. In my experience, it was one singular person driving it and enlisting people. Always. Most of the people who commented on the thread have similar responses. This is not surprising at all, it is rare an organization that has innovation embedded in their core DNA.
But one response that stood out is about how NOT to drive a culture of innovation!
VP of Culture of Innovation John Coyle at Maddock Douglas chimes in:…
in Innovation, Leadership, Strategy
Ultimately, just like your business strategy, your innovation strategy needs to be focused. It can’t be all things to all people. It must be able to stand on its own.
Last Friday I conducted a second innovation workshop with graduate students from UABC, the largest university in Tijuana. Before we were done, I made sure they took two things to heart:
The last point is important, and hopefully they caught my drift because a lot of what the media considers innovation fits into the silly category……
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szr0ezLyQHY
I just came across this video of how the Nordstrom Innovation Lab created, tested and built an iPad app in just one week with the intent of enhancing the eye wear buying experience. I thought I’d share this with you as a follow up post to the three part series I wrote on how to leave small thinking behind.
Though the video was posted almost three years ago, it is still quite relevant for rapid prototyping towards innovation.
There are a few things that I want to bring to your attention about rapid prototyping:…
in Creativity, Innovation
If you’re planning on designing your own wedding, we’ve got a treat for you for you today! Bronte Dwyer, a stellar wedding stylist at Foreva Events in Australia, is sharing her secrets—everything it takes to make the wedding day magical. Paired with ethereal photos by Ivy Road Photography from a recent styled editorial, we’re certain you’ll walk away inspired and prepared to tackle your wedding design with newfound knowledge in your pocket! GWS out…over to Bronte!
Designing a wedding is not a small job. It takes creativity, boldness and an eye for detail. The truth is, every single detail of your wedding will contribute to the overall look and feel of your wedding. Details such as the colour of your plates, the texture of your flowers and the shape of your chairs are all important pieces of a puzzle which together will create the overall picture of your wedding.
So how do you make sure all of your wedding elements work together? We have a few tips and tricks we want to share with you, to make styling your wedding easy. We hope that by the time you finish reading you will feel confident to get started designing the wedding of your dreams, but before that, you better check out these bachelorette experiences.
Your colour palette is one of the most defining decisions your will make when it comes to designing your wedding. Start by thinking about what colours you and your partner love. Look at your wardrobe, what colours do you like to wear? Look at your furniture and home styling, which colours stand out? Look at the pictures you’ve saved of weddings you love and notice the colours. Do you prefer lighter, soft colours or darker, strong colours?
Choosing the right colour palette for your wedding will determine the overall look and style of your wedding. Sometimes it’s easier to to choose one colour you love, then pair it with complementary colours. When pairing colours, make sure you don’t go overboard. You might be thinking, “But I love pink, purple, orange, green and blue”. Great, but let’s try to narrow that down for your wedding. Try starting with one central colour and two to three complementary colours to pair with it.
Remember, it’s not just the obvious elements like flowers and stationery that bring colour into your wedding. Elements such as the background of your venue and the furniture materials used will also contribute to your colour palette. For example, if your wedding is in an outdoor York Maine wedding venue you’ll have green or blue with trees and the sky, and if it’s inside the colour of the walls will become a part of your colour palette as well. It’s also important to think about the tones of materials you would like to use. What colour metal, what type of stone, what colour wood will you use? Where possible, try to incorporate only one tone of wood, metal and stone and stick with that material throughout your wedding design.
Remember to consider the contrast of tones in your colour palette. Unless you’re going for a completely light look, we’d recommend having at least one dark or medium tone colour in your palette in order to have contrast. This will bring the lighter elements to life.
Finally, it’s important to let your colour palette guide your decision making. Before deciding on any element of your wedding, put it through the filter of your colour palette to ensure it will work with your overall style. If you really want to have an eye for detail, don’t include any element that doesn’t fit with your colour palette. You’ll be amazed at how applying this one simple step will help your wedding design stand out.
in Innovation
Though business leaders say they want innovation, the vast majority hate the concept of creativity.
But as much as us innovators are fed up with this, the truth is that it isn’t the executives fault because people are wired to reject uncertainty; no matter how smart they appear to be. Fears and biases stand in the way of a boss that talks a good talk, but doesn’t walk.
But, there is a flip side to all of this: business-as-usual, no matter how predictable it may feel, is littered with biases too. …
Unlike scrappy startups, and maverick organizations, innovation doesn’t happen with a snap of a finger in traditionally managed organizations; it needs fearless leaders.
As I mentioned in last week’s question-to-innovate, innovation is a team game, and there many types of people who can fill those roles. Today, I’ll touch on the “who do we unleash to make innovation happen?” part of the equation.
Most likely you are in a traditional organization where management still rules the day, bureaucracy can stand in the way or enable innovation. Let’s imagine that you’ve talked about and agreed that innovation needs to become more than simple talk in your organization. To make this happen, you’ve decided to unleash the hounds: the fearless and passionate people who don’t follow the rules that you’ve sat on the bench.
Still, who among these mavericks can really push through?…