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– Albert Einstein (Click to Tweet!)
How have you used your creativity and imagination lately?
MONDAY INSPIRATION – Albert Einstein
August 5, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
MONDAY INSPIRATION
July 29, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
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– Unknown
What have you decided to let go that has helped you move forward?
MONDAY INSPIRATION – Neale Donald Walsch
July 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
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– Neale Donald Walsch
Which side of the "comfort zone" are you standing?
5 Greatest Missed Opportunities of Leadership
July 18, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
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1) Not understanding what "expertise" really means": One of the greatest chellenges is that people think they need to be considered an 'expert' before they speak or write about a topic. The reality is: having a engagement with a "question" is itself an expertise. Being able to show why something matters to you is its own sense of developing an expertise. Start now.
2) Getting stuck in groupthink: Too much "agreement" can stifle an group by destroying its responsiveness and capacity for change. Be willing to be controversial and take a stand.
3) Expecting the oldest, most senior person to have the best ideas: Oftentimes, the "oldest" person in the room is the "most stuck" in the past. What can the wisdom and generativity of fresh eyes bring to a problem? Don't miss any opportunities to use this to your benefit!
4) Rechecking your assumptions: Why is it that our assumptions are actually the core tools holding us back? Sometimes simply reversing our assumptions could lead us to better solutions [ex. encyclopedia can’t be open source, instead meet: Wikipedia]
5) Never scheduling time for play and exploration: One of the best creative leaders once told me to schedule 1 hour a month by myself for "white space" to play and explore on new ideas. I've found this to be one of the most important times to explore and generate new ideas.
What are other missed opportunities of leadership in your life? Share with us (so we don't miss them too!) and how you are overcoming them in the comments below.
MONDAY INSPIRATION: JOHN C. MAXWELL
July 15, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
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MONDAY INSPIRATION: Ralph Waldo Emerson
July 8, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
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Do you agree most people know what they want to be? If so, do they just need a little push to march on the right path?
MONDAY INSPIRATION:Ralph Waldo Emerson
July 1, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
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What trail are you leaving?
5 Rules for Asking the Right Questions
June 27, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
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1) Understand your Assumptions: What are you asking and why are you asking it? What would you ask if you reversed your assumptions [i.e., When reimagining cars, what if you let go of your assumptions about drivers? Meet, driverless cars (thanks Google!)]?
2) Invite Openness: How do you invite others to help you think through the question? Instead of starting a question with "why not…" how about asking "what if…"?
3) Create Trust: Engage others so they feel they can be part of your questions. Ask: "How do you feel you are resonating with this question?" or State: "What I'm hearing you ask is…"
4) Stop being married to your questions: Practice asking more provocative questions: instead of "What's not working?", ask "If we were to achieve an outstanding service award, what would we celebrate"? (check the book Kill the Company by Lisa Bodell for more provocative questions).
5) Understand the role that questions play: Questions are meant to explore, spark, inspire–they don't solve the problem. They help uncover the key instruments that allow for solution generation. Start at questions and use the thread of dialogue, dissent and discovery to uncover the solution.
MONDAY INSPIRATION: Babe Ruth
June 24, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
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Best way to do this is by building your connections with those who can then steer you in the right direction and, most importantly, will never let you give up.
Top 5 articles you must read on Innovation
June 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
1. Bryan Mahoney's article, Innovation Strategy goes on to identify top five strategies to address innovation, one of which entails the creation of culture of innovation by promoting and rewarding entrepreneurship and risk-taking.
2. This article in Innovation Excellence by Paul Hobcraft expresses that organizations should not rely on a single innovation function, it must integrate with the entire organization.
3. How does a company like Google continue to grow exponentially while still staying innovative? Susam Wojcicki, Google's Senior Vice President of Advertising, discusses some of the processes and principles in place to make sure that the company doesn't get bogged down in the past as it keeps moving forward. 8 Pillars of Innovation
4. Today, we’re on the brink of a new digital paradigm, where the capabilities of our technology are beginning to outstrip our own. Computers are deciding which products to stock on shelves, doing legal research and even winning game shows. They will soon be driving our cars and making medical diagnoses. Here are five trends that are driving it all.
5. 7 Tips to Speed Time to Innovation: This article delves into the goals every organization should work toward to boost product development performance, looks at how these goals further a product organizations ability to bring innovative products to market, and outlines the ways that a Product Portfolio Management (PPM) Solution helps comapnies reach these goals.