Category Archives: Innovation

Invert, Always Invert: Unlocking Solutions with Reverse Brainstorming

Invert, always invert. This simple yet powerful phrase, often attributed to the 19th-century mathematician Carl Jacobi, is the key to unlocking a new perspective when tackling complex problems. When we get stuck, sometimes the most productive approach is to flip the problem on its head. Reverse brainstorming is a tool that helps us do exactly that.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Innovation (And How to Avoid Them)

If you’re not sweating, you’re not innovating! Most ideas die in analysis paralysis inside large, established businesses. A few weeks ago, I was talking to the President of a large utility company in Mexico. This company is a former client who I have consulted for in the past.

The 20 Most Effective Ways To Search For Problems To Inspire Your Next Big Idea

Innovation is the result of solving problems in a new, surprising, and useful way. But before you solve a problem you have to find one worth solving. It’s why I say that problem-finding is more important than problem-solving.

Driving Innovation: 15 Ways Leaders Spark Change in Their Business

Most organizations stop innovation in its tracks before it even gets started. For example, a risk-averse culture will never innovate; that’s a fact. How do you drive innovation? You start by eliminating what impedes it and by nurturing the right behaviors. Innovation is as much about attitude and perspective as it is about process. It’s the opposite of business as usual: messy, non-linear, and challenging.