Monthly Archives: March 2010
On Wednesday, March 10, 2010, I had the privilege of attending an innovation conference and discussion – Elsevier’s Corporate Connect Event: Implementing a Culture of Innovation. Given the low price tag (free) and complete sponsorship by one company (Elsevier), I was not sure how much information I would be able to apply directly to my company. I was very pleased to find that the event was far from a day long sales pitch and was truly an opportunity to connect and talk about ways to improve innovation within company walls.The event was organized into four presentations and one expert panel discussion (with multiple networking opportunities in-between). Presentation topics:Elsevier’s Innovation Journey (Jeff Honious at Elsevier)Building a Culture of Innovation (Peter Skarzynski at Strategos)Implementing a Culture of Innovation (Mike Hess at Medtronic)Supporting a Culture of Innovation (Cynthia A. Larson at Eaton)The expert panel consisted of four Information Specialists (super librarians) from Eaton, … Continue reading
Mocha Valencia Frappuccino, was the one of the new beverages in the summer of 2002* at Starbucks Coffee. I was the marketing manager in charge of the summer promotion. The beverage team described the taste profile like eating pieces of “chocolate orange” – like that made by Terry’s. (Which is interesting – because Terry’s Chocolate Orange wasn’t / isn’t a universal flavor the way Oreo Cookie or Orange Creamsicle are).Anyhow, it became a featured beverage.I don’t know about you… but orange + chocolate isn’t one of my favorite flavors.I don’t know about you… but I would never order that flavor… I wouldn’t even try it because it was new and different – it is not a taste that sounds appealing to me.However, sales of Mocha Valencia Frappuccino did fairly well that summer.Why?Because partners (employees) in stores sampled it morning, noon, and night. That summer, you couldn’t walk into a Starbucks … Continue reading
10 Steps to Customer Journey Mappingby Arne van OosteromWhen the nice people at MyCustomer.com asked me to write an article about customer journey mapping, I knew right where to begin.A product or service is merely a means to an end. The real deeper value lies in the story attached. I don’t want to own a coffee maker – I need to wake up early with a little help from a cup of coffee. I don’t want to use a train – I want to get home to my wife and children. I don’t want to go to a store and buy a stereo set – I just want to listen to my favorite rock music when I’m home, it makes me unwind after work.Unfortunately, most organizations are not capable of listening to stories. And this is why the gap between “inside and outside” has grown too wide. To stay competitive … Continue reading
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I came across Yougme Moon’s “Anti-Creativity Checklist” over at the Harvard Business Review after a tweet from @lindegaard and it got me thinking…In order to build a culture capable of encouraging innovation or creativity (or both), you must first do an inventory of the psychology and mental models in play in your organization.One great way to do this would be to build an ‘anti-innovation checklist’ or an ‘anti-creativity checklist’. If you start watching the vocabulary that people use in meetings where ideas are being discussed, the behavior of senior leadership as it relates to these areas, and most importantly – how people respond – you’ll get a better sense of where your organizational challenges lie with respect to innovation and creativity. Wouldn’t that make such an exercise of great value to an organization?Anyways, as an example, I’ve pulled out the fourteen items on Yougme Moon’s checklist from the video above, … Continue reading
It’s been said that successful people either are entrepreneurs – or think like entrepreneurs.Look around your company. Are you surrounded by entrepreneurs? Is your team comprised of people who take ownership of any project or task that comes across their desk or inbox? Do they embrace challenges, possess the process, and take responsibility – for successes and failures alike?Some may come away thinking that ‘corporate entrepreneur’ and ‘employee’ are contradictory. They believe that entrepreneurs take the ultimate risk – ditching the security of the day-job, as it were, and facing the personal, financial and psychological challenges of business ownership.That’s one definition. Another would be ‘corporate entrepreneurship’. This realm is inhabited by people who – though they receive a paycheck signed by someone else – see the organization (or at least their small domain within it) as their turf. This is the most valued type of employee.Innovation and corporate entrepreneurship are … Continue reading
I’m a bit troubled by the fact that many people in corporate America seem to believe that innovation is a mystical art, rather than a set of skills and capabilities that many people can learn and implement. I suppose around every complex problem solving process there seems to be a bit of magic, but at the core of all magic there’s a simple set of rules. It may take an Einstein to figure out the rules to relativity, but they are knowable, demonstrable and proveable. So, too, are the processes, capabilities and skills behind innovation.Another barrier to broader innovation deployment is the sense that innovation is an art – an intrinsic skill that you are either “born with” or not. I, for one, am terrible at drawing. I simply didn’t receive an innate ability to depict people or landscapes from my parents. I believe, though, if I tried to, I … Continue reading
