Monthly Archives: September 2011
A new law signed by President Obama this month could mean a speedier patent approval process for inventors across the country. Continue reading
There’s a prevalent and long-perpetuated myth about innovators, that they are persistent; they don’t give up. Renowned innovators like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison have even said it of themselves, crediting their success in part on their persistence. But it’s at best a poor choice of words and at worst a fundamental misunderstanding of what innovation entails, even by some of its best practitioners. Continue reading
Successful innovation must be led. I know a lot of people say, “Creativity and innovation can’t be led or managed”. In my experience, if it is not led, the effort simply falls apart after a short burst of initial enthusiasm. Let’s think about what you’re really providing as a leader of innovation. You are creating an environment where employees can maximize their innovative thinking and creative problem solving skills. To do this, you have to cast a vision of your end state, then provide the people, process and technology to support that vision. We’ll look at the people, process and technology specifics in a future post, for today let’s think about what must be included in the vision. Consider that there are fundamentals of building any core competence in a large organization, and innovation is no different. As you read through the items below, notice you …
A Critical Executive Skill Chances are you are required, on a regular basis, to sell ideas. Time and again in my work as an innovation coach, I see that the ability to build the buy-in for our ideas is a key determinant of success, both internally and externally. How can you improve your skills in this vital arena? Here are six suggestions: 1. Realize that selling ideas is job one. Far from being a mere after-thought, or something that, once the idea is ready for launch, can be thrown over the wall to the marketing and sales team to handle, successful innovators know that selling is a constant need and never-ending requirement. 2. Focus on benefits, not features. Will your new product or service save the customer time, improve his/her social standing, solve a problem better than existing solutions? Every effective sales professional knows to concentrate on such benefits. Prospective … Continue reading
What does food processing equipment have to do with treating burns and severe wounds? A lot if you’re willing to think differently! Continue reading
“Experience” isn’t one single thing… It’s a combination of qualities. This is what allows companies – when something may go wrong with one aspect – that the entire experience isn’t ruined. Continue reading
