Monthly Archives: June 2010
This is the second of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘What are three specific actions that a non-innovative company can take to become more innovative?’. Here is the next perspective in the series: Creativity is not top priority for the emergence of an innovation culture by Yann Cramer An injection of creativity serum for all employees – if such a thing was ever invented – is not what the enterprise seeking to become more innovative needs. Essentially for two reasons: Firstly, creativity is part of human nature, though often repressed and suppressed. In the right environment it will naturally re-emerge and bloom. No need for chemical boost! Secondly, and perhaps more counter-intuitively, creativity is only a small component of innovation, one that may not make the real difference: the creative enterprise is full of ideas, the innovative enterprise … Continue reading
If I ran a bath & body shop, I’d probably market hard to men. I wouldn’t create products for men. But I’d work hard to get them to come and buy from my shop. I’d make it super-easy for them to delight their wives, girlfriends, daughters, sisters, mothers and other important women in their lives. I’d launch a wish list that my female customers could fill out and keep on file (both at the store and online) so that men could come in, see what they want, and make an easy selection. Easy. Done. Men know that the important women in their lives use and want this stuff, but have no idea how to shop for it. They’re intimidated by the sheer thought of walking into such a store. Make it easy for them, demonstrate that you can offer a quick translation and quicker …
It’s almost that time of year again. Strategic planning teams all over the world will gather behind closed doors in a vain attempt to predict the future – except for the visionary ones who are saying “Enough!” They have realized that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is, well, simply crazy. Remember the first James Bond movie you ever saw? Regardless of who was playing 007, you couldn’t help but be swept up as he outgunned and outsmarted the bad guys and saved the day. Now think of the last James Bond movie you saw. Did it give you the same thrill? Or did you almost fall asleep? It’s not the actor, or the mind-numbing car chases and explosions to blame. It’s the fact that we’ve seen it all before, year after year, we know how it ends. We’re left feeling vaguely unsatisfied, hoping … Continue reading
There is a right way and a wrong way to run a brainstorm or ideation meeting. A little preparation pays dividends. It is very important to separate the two phases of the meeting. The first part of the meeting is idea generation when you use divergent thinking. The second part is idea selection when you use convergent thinking. Here are my top tips for a meeting that will produce great ideas: Before the meeting Choose a diverse group. Six to ten people is ideal. If at all possible bring in some provocative outsiders to challenge the conventional thinking in your team. Appoint a facilitator. Ideally the facilitator should be external to the group. They can use different techniques to manage the process. The manager is often a poor choice for this role as they cannot stop themselves shaping the content. Meet off-site. Getting away from the office somehow helps to … Continue reading
There are lots of things in this world that people get addicted to: alcohol, nicotine, heroin, sex, and iPhones just to name a few. But perhaps the biggest addiction of them all is the addiction to our own ideas. Here’s how it works: We think something up. We feel a buzz. We tweak it, we name it, we pitch it, and POOF, the addiction begins. At first, like most habits, it’s a seemingly casual pursuit with a thousand positive side effects: increased energy, renewed focus, and a general feeling of well-being. Like wow, man. But then… We think about it in the shower. We think about it in the car. We think about it when people are asking us to think about other things. We even dream about it. Soon we want everyone to know about our idea. We want them to feel the buzz. We want them to nod … Continue reading
This is the first of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘What are three specific actions that a non-innovative company can take to become more innovative?’. Here is the initial perspective in the series: by Jeffrey Phillips Every firm has the capacity to innovate, so what’s often lacking has to do with strategy and vision. To be an “innovative” company means being willing to be different – to upset the structure of competition in an industry. So, one of the first things a non-innovative company must do is to decide to be different – to become a leader and a pioneer rather than a follower. To become proactive rather than reactive. As we like to say, the firm must leave the “safety of sameness”. Next, once the decision has been made at the executive levels to embrace innovation, …
