Tag Archives: Strategy

Innovation must reads of the week: The Right Ideas in All the Wrong Places

in Must reads of the week

 

 

 

If you like these links, check out all the previous “Innovation Must Reads of the Week“. And don’t forget to

Innovation must reads of the week: How to be the ‘disrupter’ and not the ‘disrupted’

in Must reads of the week

If you like these links, check out all the previous “Innovation Must Reads of the Week“. And don’t forget to

What it really means to be different

in Innovation, Strategy

“Differentiation is not a tactic. It’s not a flashy advertising campaign; it’s not a sparkling new feature set. It’s not a laminated frequent buyer card or money-back guarantee. Differentiation is a way of thinking. It’s a mindset. It’s a commitment.” –  Youngme Moon

Differentiation is a commitment to innovation. Period.

The difference between a tactic and a mindset is that when you choose to be different with tactics, you are choosing excuses to be interesting. And, when “difference making” is your mindset, because you act according to your values and beliefs; you don’t have to try to be interesting.

But, sometimes this pursuit of differentiation is confused with technology. Innovation comes in a variety of ways, of course. It isn’t just technology which enable us to do more, there is also processes and even human innovation which can be valuable sources of new value.…

No strategy is foolproof

in Strategy

enjoy uncertainty

Anytime I meet with Presidents, VP’s or just the business owners of a company, I come in with no expectations whatsoever. I aim to be surprised. So, last week when I met with the President of an innovative construction company in Mexico, I was surprised.

I consider this company to be innovative because they developed a unique building, the only one, in the Baja region. And like any innovator, this innovation needs more attention. That’s where I come in.

Now, let me tell why I was surprised. Usually, when you talk to businessmen about innovation, all they want to know about is the ROI. They want to know that whatever you propose, will work. “If isn’t going to work, don’t talk to me” is what I hear.

But the guy I met the other day, he was different. He literally said: Here we’re all about leading our industry. And, to achieve that, we know that some things will not work. We don’t like reacting.

Good!…

Why it’s very hard to say no…yet very important

in Strategy

 

I firmly believe that strategy is about making choices. I didn’t have to read it in a book or sit down with Michael Porter to come to this conclusion. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been saying “no” to a bunch of things. I’m known to fire clients, or simply reject prospects without thinking about it. Sometimes, I don’t even take on clients because I perceive they will become a problem, and as a result it will become a pain in the butt work experience.

For me and my organization, it is very clear what types of organizations we want to work with. And, it isn’t because they can pay us more. It is because we admire, respect and feel that our values are aligned with their. It is a great filter to have. But for others who have worked  with me, it is hard to accept; because they focused on closing deals.

I didn’t draw this up in a strategic plan or just deliberately do it. It is instinctive. It is my personality to focus on what matters and eliminate that which doesn’t. And, what matters to me is completely different to what matters to you. This is what strategy is about……

Focus on the principles not the examples

in Innovation, Strategy

“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.” – Sun Tzu

We all use examples to explain our ideas. Some people use examples from the same category, and a small percentage of us use examples that fall outside those categories. To explain these ideas, we conceptualize them into principles.

In the world of strategy, we have stratagems. For example, the golden rule of strategy principle: Do what others are unwilling to do.

And example of how this looks in practice: Map every walkable street on Earth (including those shared with animals).

Most companies wouldn’t think about doing it. But one company didn’t shy away from the challenge: Google.…