Tag Archives: Innovation

For innovation distinguish form from function

in Innovation

The internet is killing newspapers right? Yes and no. What it is killing is it’s form (ink on paper), what it’s not is it’s function (sifting through everything that happens in a day and selecting what’s really important).

The form of the newspaper as we know it is slowly disappearing but it’s function is not.

If the newspaper companies, like the Washington Post, see themselves as being in the business of running printing presses and distributing newsprint, they are slowly disappearing. But if they see themselves as an event editors, they are surviving and thriving.…

Can mastery and innovation coexist?

in Innovation

Jonathan Fields posted this question in a Psychology Today article last week. Here is my answer and would love to hear yours.

It’s a great question and not at all difficult to answer, though it’s better said than done. First of all, mastery is never achieved. It’s a goal, but a goal we’ll never reach. As much as you think that somebody is  ‘the master’ of something, it’s just a psychological illusion. It’s your human biases at work. It’s an illusion because you’re already thinking that it can’t be improved in some way. And that my friend, is your endgame.

In the world of sports this phenomenon is more obvious, and even the people who are considered the best at what they do will tell you they’re always improving because they know they’ll never fully master their craft.

In the business world it’s not all different. Companies have evolved since forever, some started as a completely different business than what they are today. You may master some process but that process will eventually become irrelevant. It will be replaced by either another process (incremental) or by an unforeseen evolutionary paradigm (disruptive).…

Innovation posts of the week: Unpredictability is the new consistency

in Must reads of the week
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How are you connecting the dots?

in Creativity, Innovation, Questions

Connecting the dots. It’s all about connecting the dots. And it’s never been more important and more relevant than it is today in this information overload world we live in. Or is it?

I don’t claim to have all the answers on how to connect the dots but I recently received an interesting comment regarding this unknown activity and it got me thinking about it. My buddy basically says that those of us who engage in curation/filtering are crazy.

Why?

Because since we curate information that we find useful for others, we’ve got ideas to spare. We’ve got ideas about how to have ideas and then some.  And if you curate information about diverse topics, we have ideas about stuff that doesn’t make sense to the majority of people. And this makes others feel overwhelmed because we can criss-cross from one topic to another.

On that last point is where a lot of ‘dot connecting’ happens.…

Innovation posts of the week: Anticipate what’s next

in Must reads of the week

To innovate recognize when the system you are in is stuck

in Innovation

Last year, I wrote that a smart way to spot opportunities for innovation is to look for ‘undeniable truths’. Situations, ideas, statements that cause people to nod their heads in agreement.

And to make my point, I used a cartoon from The Oatmeal about why customer service sucks. Well, here’s another one (they do come in handy don’t they?) about why restaurant websites suck:…

Innovation posts of the week: Where does innovation come from?

in Must reads of the week
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