Monthly Archives: February 2010
I attended a KM conference recently where a speaker remarked on how difficult it was to find experts in his company. He suggested that HR create a database and every employee should declare that they are an expert in something. Then when a manager needs to find an expert for an innovation project, he or she could query the database.There’s more to this story, and I’ll share the details in two blog posts that I plan to publish about this conference. But I wanted to take an excursion and talk about expertise locators.The expert database idea is doomed to fail. It will never be accurate or updated. But the problem of finding experts in your company is real. One would think that there should be a way to organize a list of experts. Databases are the wrong solution (I’ll explain why). But what solution would work?I’m excited about the approach … Continue reading
Brian Solis spoke recently on what the future of social networks will be. Ideas, it turns out. As I wrote on another blog post:”Solis, leading thinker in the integration of social media and PR, recently spoke on an intriguing concept: ideas connect us more than relationships. The premise of his argument is that ideas are what elicit passion in people. They animate us, and if we find someone with a similar interest in a given idea, we connect.”Then there was this observation by Intel’s Enterprise 2.0 lead Laurie Buczek on the only quantifiable value they found in their Enterprise 2.0 efforts:”Where we did quickly find quantifiable business value during an ideation proof of concept. Ideas that are discovered and turned into action have produced dollarized return of business value.”Both Brian and Laurie are pointing to the unique nature of ideas. Brian talks of ideas as connectors. Laurie talks of ideas … Continue reading
by Kevin RobertsOne thing about the January 27th launch of the Apple iPad clashing with President Obama’s first State of the Union address was that they both focused on Jobs.And check out the awesome enthusiasm Steve Jobs and his team have for their new baby in this video!A lot of hype and hyped-up criticism have accompanied the launch of the iPad. Nothing new there. Apple attracted lots of criticism with the launch of the iPod in 2001 (total sales: 220 million) and the iPhone in 2007 (total sales: 34 million). They centered on a perceived lack of functionality. So it’s not surprising to hear gripes that iPad doesn’t support HDMI or Flash graphics, or have a built-in camera.The critics have missed the point. The iPad is not a netbook or scaled-down laptop. In fact, it is only a distant relative to the traditional PC or Mac. Instead, its lineage is … Continue reading
I don’t want 300 channels. I only want 18 channels. OK, the average person wants 18 channels. I really only want six. Why can’t I have just six? I know, I know, it’s the economics of the industry. But industries change, don’t they? I mean, look what has happened to the music industry. I used to have to purchase an entire CD just to get the one or two songs I want, but now I can buy and build my own playlists song by song. It’s funny, but I’m sure I spend more on music now than I used to.You should know I just bought an Apple TV box. That’s not your fault – since the Blockbuster Video stores near me closed (and RedBox, while cool, doesn’t exactly offer a huge selection) I didn’t really have a good option for renting movies. So I thought it was worth a try. … Continue reading
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=42e7793c-49e6-4ee4-8021-c9d2f104da95)
If you follow this blog you know I’m a huge fan of “I Wrote this for You.” (Iain Thomas contributed a piece for this blog here.) Here’s Iain talking at a recent TEDx event is South Africa. It’s a heartwarming story about the power of story. It’s a must-see, if you want to change the world. And even if you don’t.Enjoy this post? Subscribe to our RSS feed and join our Continuous Innovation group!Matthew E. May is the author of “IN PURSUIT OF ELEGANCE: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing.” He is constantly searching for creative ideas and innovative solutions that are ‘elegant’ – a unique and elusive combination of unusual simplicity and surprising power.
HBO ran a program on preparations by four-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson and his team for racing in the 2010 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.At the first 2010 team meeting, Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus called the team’s attention to the bare walls in the meeting room. He highlighted the absence of all the awards and pictures celebrating the team’s fourth NASCAR championship in 2009. Knaus let the team know it is on the hook to perform at a level in 2010 to allow them to fill the walls once again with racing successes.Maybe a move like that is easier when you’ve won 4 NASCAR championships in a row! But it’s a great reminder for any of us:Don’t rest on your laurels. Instead, get motivated for the successes that lie ahead of you.So when you look around your office, what do you see?Are you stuck in past … Continue reading
