The Three Types of People You’ll Meet When Implementing Change
We’d all like to think that our attempts to improve the workplace will be enthusiastically welcomed and embraced by our teams. In reality, though, when launching any new change initiative, you’ll encounter three types of people: Champions. They’re inspired by the possibilities of change. In fact, they may already have tons of ideas on what and…
Every Company Needs An Innovation Thesis
As the importance of innovation is starting to become clear for corporate leaders, there are a few myths and bad practices that are also taking hold. For example, I have heard several innovation leaders talk about letting a thousand flowers bloom and espouse the notion that there is no such thing as a bad idea. In my experience, this premise is…
How 30 Years of Radical Decisions Has Kept Haier On Top
If someone handed you a sledgehammer and told you to start smashing your company’s products, would you do it? That’s exactly what Haier CEO Zhang Ruimin did to prove a point to his employees. That was the first in a long line of radical decisions that have transformed the company from a fledgling refrigerator maker to the world’s number one…
Want A Future In Innovation? You Need The Skills, And The Tools, To Sell Yourself
iD Tech has been running summer tech camps for kids and teens since 1999, and their mission - to create life-changing tech experiences that embolden students to shape the future - hasn’t changed. But along the way, they realized teaching students tech skills wasn’t enough. In order to achieve their mission, and meet the growing need for skilled…
Recognizing & Overcoming the Corporate Immune System
What is the biggest threat to your organization, right now? Many organizations would answer “our competition.” In the race for sales, customer loyalty, and market share, it’s easy to look over your shoulder at the other lanes and feel like your biggest threat are external. This leads many organizations to ignore a deadly internal threat: resisting…
Innovation Is About Making Progress, Not Running Experiments
In my experience, there are plenty of innovation and startup teams that feel stuck. Despite using lean startup tools, they feel like they are running around in circles and making no progress. It seems as though they have forgotten why they started using lean startup methods in the first place. They have run a few experiments and they have learned…
How to Use the Science of Storytelling to Win Support
Once upon a time, in a high rise not too far away, I had an idea. A change to our business that would make us more attractive in tough regions. A killer idea, I thought. I checked Facebook one last time, freshened my coffee (long black, thanks) and locked myself away to create a 15 page Powerpoint (the business case tool of choice). After many…
Top 10 Sources of Innovation: Why Your Accelerator Barely Makes the List
US corporations invest more than $350 billion a year on innovation through R&D efforts. So it’s easy to assume that such formal efforts propel innovation more than any other factor. But a recent study of 677 strategy leaders by CB Insights shows it’s actually employees who are driving the majority of innovation. According to the study, upper…
9 + 1 Learning Programs to Boost Your Impact in 2019
With summer holidays over for most of us, it won’t take long before you realize Christmas is just around the corner (and you’ll be super busy chasing year-end deadlines). That’s why now is the perfect time to take a few minutes to reflect already on your goals for 2019, and what you need to learn to achieve those. Then, check out which of the 9 +…
How To Apply The 6‘I’s® Of Innovation To Create Impactful Projects And Teams
The benefits of innovation are clear. Higher margins, increased customer loyalty, new sources of income and exciting new projects that make a difference in customers’ lives, or more radical impact with business models that open up new markets. But whilst there is a lot of rhetoric and talk about the need to innovate many don’t know how or where to…
The Blueprint to Corporate Innovation Success: A Chat with Silicon Valley’s Mach49
“There’s no reason large companies cannot innovate to create meaningful growth. You have the capital, the resources, the channels, the customers, and great talent. Are you really afraid of startups?” And yet, even armed with all these resources at their disposal, large businesses are afraid. Mach49 is one of few companies that has perfected the…
Australia: Do You Have A Problem With Innovation?
According to recent research, unlike other parts of the world Australian enterprises aren't seeing the value in, or benefits of, innovation. Market research firm Vanson Bourne recently surveyed 900 decision-makers across the globe to assess the state of innovation in information technology, and businesses in Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) stood…
