in Innovation
This past weekend I participated in Startup Weekend Tijuana 2. Some people asked me why I was participating in SW since I was one of the Co-Organizers.
Here are 10 reasons why your company should participate in Startup Weekend and break barriers to innovation:
This is the fifth of a series of weekly posts where I will answer a few common questions about innovation. Please feel free to add your own response. Also, if you have any questions you think we should discuss, let me know.
Yesterday’s #innochat discussion focused on the situation lots of aspiring innovators operate in: a NO environment.
First, what does a NO environment look like? For me, it looks like:…
in Innovation
You have to shed some of your old skin to make room for the new one
While I don’t advertise it, I do give workshops on social media marketing and research. I give them on a “people/businesses ask me for them” basis. Why? Because I’m not really interested in telling you how to increase the number of Likes and/or followers. This is what the industry has become about. And businesses, like always, go head first without truly understanding what “this” is really about.
What I’m really interested in telling you, is what this “social stuff” means beyond marketing. What it means for how you organize, how you hire, how you deliver on your value proposition, how you work, how you communicate, etc. What it means to let real-time customer-insights direct your strategy.
As I told a buddy of mine recently, this is not an add on process where you just “install” a new feature to your business. My buddy wanted to know what the expected ROI was for these social media initiatives. This is a short sighted and correct MBA question. But that is not the question you should be asking because this is not an add on. It is not like adding new rims or a new intake system to your car, it’s the opposite.
It’s about subtracting some of what you already do to make room for the new.…
in Innovation, Leadership
If I were to tell you that you can’t innovate, would you try to prove me wrong? If your customers were to tell you that they will leave you because you can’t exceed their expectations, would you commit to exceeding them?
What if your customers suddenly became immune to your marketing speak? What if they suddenly stopped moving toward your preferred outcome every time you nudge them?
What if your customers offered to help you exceed expectations? Would you take their offer?…
This is the third of a series of weekly posts where I will answer a few common questions about innovation. Please feel free to add your own response. Also, if you have any questions you think we should discuss, let me know.
All the time.
The best and most productive activity and organization can do, is to always be thinking about how they will become irrelevant. Think about how you will be disrupted, and disrupt your success.
And, it all starts with the individual:…
in Innovation, Questions
I don’t have just one, but a few. My favorite quotes about innovation come from people who are not in the business of innovation. They are not Captains of Industry. What they are, is cultural icons. Both these people are my heroes, and share the same two initials: MJ…
in Innovation
Why does critical thinking have a bad reputation? Is it because it seeks to uncover the truth? Do people think that the truth is negative? Is it because it is a Hope Killer?
I think that criticism is a form of optimism.
@cloverleafinnov wrote a nice post about how to think like an innovator. One thing they mention is how the ability to criticize is valuable:
Criticize. Creative thinking is critical thinking. The question “How can I improve this experience?” is a very powerful brainteaser. Just think of how many products out there solve problems or inconveniences: the remote control, the Swiffer, the Post-it… Next time you are in a frustrating situation like standing in a line which is taking too long, for example, ask yourself the question: “How can I improve this experience?” The answer may surprise you with its simplicity. This is how unpleasant experiences become idea starters.
The ability to think critically is probably the one thing I have trouble transferring over to others. I’ve even said that it is the gap between being truly innovative, to merely coming up with ideas.…
