An insightful and perhaps shocking interview with the man who holds all of the reins regarding the running of Christmas. Watch here or go directly to YouTube.
10 People Who Can Help With Your Innovation Project
Here Ten is often seen as a magic number when providing solutions to problems. In this case it is a convenient way to provide a shortlist as there are a potentially huge number of people who can assist. Read on to find out who can help and why. 1. YouYou have the vision and have seen a way forward. A project needs to be started, the only way it can fail is through inaction so it is down to you to set the ball rolling. 2. BossA potential ally and gatekeeper. Get your bosses blessing (how is another matter) and those
Enhancing Creativity – 10 Phrases To Avoid
This brief list is distilled from a very long list of phrases gathered over many years. Each phrase is given along with comments on its appropriateness and potential underlying meanings. If you hear these uttered then a warning bell should sound inside your head. These are all potential blocks to personal and organisational Creativity. 1. We tried that beforeWell yes you might have done but were the circumstances the same and what happened exactly? Perhaps whatever you did was not executed correctly or you did not have the right skills? This is a phrase usually uttered by someone who has
Innovation or Lean?
A recent article published on the Knowledge@Wharton website suggested that the philosophy of Lean could exist along with Innovation. After reading the article I have two questions: Why would you want them to? Why put Innovation into a box (like Lean or BPR) when an Innovation system has the ability to change and respond to its surroundings? The article states “Lean has come to mean an integrated, end-to-end process viewpoint that combines the concepts of waste elimination, just-in time inventory management, built-in quality, and worker involvement — supported by a cultural focus on problem solving. Can such practical principles be
Business as usual – not anymore!
I and many others spend our time talking to businesses and posting articles extolling the virtues of Innovation, how it provides us with new products and services, boosts our intrinsic motivation, helps us get to grips with a changing world …. and survive.After doing this for nearly eight years, the number of businesses listening is growing but not at a fast rate. There are many people still with their heads in the sand. A recent tweet suggested that the last seven words of a dying business are “We’ve never done it that way before”. How many businesses worldwide are sticking
Creativity, Braintorming, Outcome Driven, Open, Customer Driven – STOP
I normally carefully plan the articles that I post to my blog and to various websites that I subscribe to but in this case I am driven by Innovation Rage! Each day I see posts telling me exactly how to be creative, how to manage my innovation projects and who I should collaborate with. Each time the articles seem to become more prescriptive and hence more constraining. Taken too much further this would mean that all of those innovation gurus out there are actually stifling Creativity and Innovation. Remember, Charles Handy once said that guru is just a word that
Can Creativity flourish in your working environment?
Here are some golden rules that you can use as a checklist to see if a) creativity could flourish if you are looking to embrace it or b) to find out why your best efforts at being creative are failing dismally. Here are some rules for dealing with things on a personal level: Mindsets must change, even if the changes are small Explore the ‘givens’, the problem boundaries Look at the broad picture AND details Value play Build up, say ‘yes and’ not ‘yes but’ Learn to live with ambiguity Don’t force creativity on people, nurture what is there Involve
Creative technique – Working With Aliens
This technique is one of a series in which random stimuli are used and alternative viewpoints are adopted. It works best with well defined problems or where new products or services are being considered. To start, define the problem or situation as best you can and brief those who are taking part. A group of half a dozen or so is ideal. Imagine that an alien spaceship has landed on earth and the aliens are looking at your problem or the object that you have described. Next try to imagine what sort of questions the aliens would be asking, what
