Expert insights. Personalized for you.
If you are trying to transform an organisation which is sluggish and risk averse into one which is innovative and entrepreneurial then you have taken on a massive task. One approach is to use the Prosci ADKAR Change Management methodology as advocated by Jeffrey Hiatt and Tim Creasey. MORE
McLean in 1957. Containerization was a massively important innovation which powered the expansion of global trade but it was a difficult idea to implement. Before containerization, goods were physically manhandled as break bulk cargo. MORE
Roger Hargreaves and the Mr Men Books. In 1970, Roger Hargreaves’ 6-year-old son Adam asked his father a question. It was a question that only a child could ask. No adult would ever conceive of it. Adam said, ‘Daddy, what does a tickle look like?’. In response Hargreaves, a cartoonist, drew a picture of a round orange blob with a face and long rubbery arms. It became the central character in Hargreaves’ first book, Mr Tickle. MORE
A catastrophe produces an unexpected set of circumstances and this can lead to opportunities for innovation. In January 1992 a container with 29,000 plastic bath toys was washed overboard in the Pacific Ocean. They were manufactured in China and were on route to the USA. MORE
If you are launching a new product or service or if you want to review sales and marketing tactics for an existing product or service then here are twenty probing questions to ask. They are intended to challenge conventional assumptions and to take you back to the basics of sales and marketing. MORE
Until 1954 there was only one television channel in the UK. It was the publicly owned BBC. In that year the government auctioned licences for commercial TV stations. These would be regional operations which could offer advertising on TV for the first time. Various companies were interested in this opportunity and they naturally focussed on the regions with the best demographics – it seemed natural that rich regions would generate more advertising revenue. MORE
Henry de Zoete and Will Hodson, co-founders of Look After My Bills, secured the best ever deal on the BBC show Dragons Den (equivalent to the US TV show Shark Tank). They received offers from all five investors on the show. They ended up selling just 3% of their business for £120,000 ($160,000 US). MORE
If you are planning a new product or a new business then you will probably need to get some approvals. You might need to raise some finance. In either case you have to convince some sceptical decision makers. Here are four key questions that they will want you to answer: Problem. MORE
There are many ways. Here are some suggestions: First recognise that we all live inside boxes which frame our view of the world. We all make assumptions. Stay curious and open-minded. Ask many questions about any situation and be receptive to different points of view. MORE
Which of these is the most important skill for a leader of innovation? Setting the vision, goals and metrics. Generation of great ideas. Selection of the best ideas. Starting exploration projects. Listening to customer feedback. Managing the portfolio and stage-gates. MORE
If your organisation is facing a difficult time during the current downturn then here are some questions to ask at your next executive meeting. Are we doing all that is necessary in order to survive? I guess that is the question that you are already sharply focussed on. MORE
Women are under-represented in the lists of great inventors, innovators and pioneers. How many can you name in this quiz? Who was the first woman to be elected head of state in modern history? Which pioneer of nursing was the first person to use pie charts and was the first woman member of the Royal Statistical Society? Which female mathematician is considered to be the world’s first computer programmer? Who invented the modern life raft? MORE
Image by Mhouge from Pixabay. I was pleased and proud to be appointed to the position of CIO (Chief Innovation Officer). It seemed like a great opportunity to join a dynamic executive team and help drive the growth and ambition which inspired the company. Unfortunately, things did not work out well and there are some hard lessons to be shared. Here are some things I wish I had anticipated. The CEO had the goal and the vision but not the commitment. MORE
Are you creative? I want to show you that you are can be more creative than you might think. Please take a moment to view these three Creativity Challenges on Youtube. Creative Challenge #1. Creative Challenge #2. Creative Challenge #3. MORE
The Customer Journey Map is a popular management tool. It is a visual representation of customer interactions with a company and a tool to investigate, analyse and thus improve customer experiences. MORE
Why are tribes so hostile to those who depart from the norms of the tribe? Joseph Palmer was born in 1791 in Massachusetts, one of 14 children. He grew up to be a successful farmer. He took to wearing a beard which was a most uncommon practice at the time. The local people in Fitchburg took strong exception to this. Children threw stones at him, women crossed the street to avoid him and men cursed him and spat on him. Joseph Palmer. MORE
We hear plenty of advice for leaders on what they should do to drive entrepreneurship and innovation in their organizations. It might be smarter to just stop making some of the common mistakes which inhibit innovation. Here is a list of things that leaders should definitely not do. Do not encourage people to contribute ideas unless you mean to act on them. MORE
Supercharge your memory with my online course. Here are three video clips from my five day memory challenge which introduced the course. How to remember names. Memory pegging – how to remember a list. Memory pegging part 2. Enroll on the full course for more great memory tips and techniques. MORE
Gibbard and Tamborello. In 2001 two musicians, Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tambrello, wanted to collaborate on some new compositions. The problem was that they lived hundreds of miles apart at opposite ends of America’s west coast. So Tamborello composed some rhythms (or ‘beats’) and sent them to Gibbard on CD by post. Gibbard added some instrumentals and vocals and returned the arrangements to his partner. MORE
Akio Morita was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1921. His father owned a business brewing sake. It had been in the family for 14 generations and it was expected that Akio, the oldest son, would step into the business but the boy was more interested in electronics than in brewing. MORE
How do you go about making a really tough decision? Like whether to quit your job, buy a house or dump your boyfriend? You have weighed up all the options, written down the pros and cons, tossed and turned in your bed but still cannot decide. Maybe you should just roll a dice or spin a coin and follow the chance result. Heads you go, tails you stay. MORE
Which of these is the best approach to working with your manager? Avoid them and just get on with the job. Do exactly what they say. Try to become very good friends. Understand their needs and help them succeed. Which social media site is most important for business? Tik Tok. LinkedIn. Facebook. Instagram. Which person shows the most management potential? Someone who coaches fellow-workers. Someone who always gets the job done. Someone who fits the corporate culture. MORE
How can you assess how innovative your business is? The Innovation Sophistication Index is a list of just 24 statements. For each statement you score one point if you fully agree with it for your organization. Please try the list below now. MORE
Joanne K Rowling is the British author of the Harry Potter series of fantasy novels which have become the best-selling book series in history with over 400 million copies sold. She acted as screenwriter and producer on the Harry Potter movies which is the second highest-grossing film series ever. MORE
We tend to revere our clinicians as towering experts in their fields. So how often do you think doctors misdiagnose? How often might your doctor tell you that you have some illness or condition, but it’s not right? For example, a doctor might diagnose the flu, but the patient really has something much more serious – like Lyme Disease. You might be surprised. MORE
Photo of Cape Town by HP Botha on Pixabay. The Western Cape of South Africa has much to offer the visitor. Here are some recommendations for fascinating places to visit. Cape Town. Watched over by the imperious Table Mountain, Cape Town boasts many splendours. MORE
(With apologies to Paul Simon). Say goodbye with a wave, Dave. Just get up and leave, Steve. Go for the kill, Bill. When you hear an idea. Don’t try something new, Stu. Just do what you know, Joe. Don’t mess with success, Jess. Treat failure with fear. Don’t share your concern, Bern. Don’t talk at all, Paul. Ignore the crew, Sue. Keep working alone. Adhere to the plan, Stan. Do things the same, Jane. Don’t rock the ship, Skip. You’re on your own. Don’t use your head, Fred. MORE
166 During the economic depression which followed the financial crash of 2009 car sales slumped across America. Automobile makers tried all sorts of promotions, many featuring big price cuts, but they could not lure buyers onto their forecourts and persuade them to buy. Rebates and other traditional incentives just were not working. Hyundai USA took a different approach. They kept asking why and went past the most obvious answers. Why are sales down? Because people are not buying. MORE
Is your organization a little too comfortable? Are your people risk averse? Is there a blame culture? How can you encourage innovation by getting men and women to be more adventurous and entrepreneurial? How can you get them to take more risks? MORE
As an author and trainer, I have run master classes around the world on lateral thinking and innovation. I have now created a number of online courses to help you acquire skills in these areas. Please take a look at these courses. Master Lateral Thinking. Problem Analysis Tools and Techniques. Six Thinking Hats and the Disney Method. Advanced Brainstorming Techniques. Supercharge Your Memory. An 11 Step Plan to get you a Great Job. The Young Person’s Guide to Success. MORE
In times of severe recession should you cut costs and focus on survival or take the opportunity to invest in innovation so that you can benefit from the eventual recovery? Well the short answer is that you have to survive first. If the cash dries up and you cannot pay the rent then a pipeline of great innovative products and services is of little help. So it is natural that companies hunker down, cut costs and focus on getting through the recession with the business still intact. MORE
Here are some thinking tips to help make you a better chess player. Funnily enough the same approaches can be very helpful in other walks of life too. Develop your pieces. At the start of the game don’t move the same piece several times or launch a premature attack with just one or two pieces. MORE
Abraham Wald was born in 1902 in Transylvania which was part of Austria–Hungary and is now in Romania. His family were devout Jews who would not allow the boy to attend school on Saturdays so he was home-schooled by his parents. MORE
Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad. Here are my choices for the top TV box sets to binge watch. Breaking Bad. The very best. Bryan Cranston is brilliant as a high school chemistry teacher who starts a new career as a meth producer. Five seasons of compelling drama. The Sopranos. A gripping tale of an everyday Mafia family. Tony Gandolfini stars as Tony Soprano, a complete villain, who you cannot help supporting. Six fantastic seasons. MORE
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Leaders of innovation have a bias for action. They get on with things. No matter how well the business is doing they are not content to settle for what has been achieved so far; they are restless to try new initiatives. These seven verbs describe some of their key actions. Focus. MORE
If you want to lead a transformation in the business, then you have to sell the idea over and over again to people throughout the organisation. In particular, the leader has to answer these questions which are present in people’s minds even if they are unspoken. Why do we need to change? MORE
Destination Innovation
AUGUST 2, 2020
Gibbard and Tamborello. In 2001 two musicians, Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tambrello, wanted to collaborate on some new compositions. The problem was that they lived hundreds of miles apart at opposite ends of America’s west coast. So Tamborello composed some rhythms (or ‘beats’) and sent them to Gibbard on CD by post. Gibbard added some instrumentals and vocals and returned the arrangements to his partner.
Destination Innovation
APRIL 20, 2020
Which of these is the most important skill for a leader of innovation? Setting the vision, goals and metrics. Generation of great ideas. Selection of the best ideas. Starting exploration projects. Listening to customer feedback. Managing the portfolio and stage-gates.
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Destination Innovation
FEBRUARY 21, 2020
There are many ways. Here are some suggestions: First recognise that we all live inside boxes which frame our view of the world. We all make assumptions. Stay curious and open-minded. Ask many questions about any situation and be receptive to different points of view.
Destination Innovation
APRIL 3, 2020
If your organisation is facing a difficult time during the current downturn then here are some questions to ask at your next executive meeting. Are we doing all that is necessary in order to survive? I guess that is the question that you are already sharply focussed on.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
Every sales forecasting model has a different strength and predictability method. It’s recommended to test out which one is best for your team. This way, you’ll be able to further enhance – and optimize – your newly-developed pipeline. Your future sales forecast? Sunny skies (and success) are just ahead!
Destination Innovation
JUNE 30, 2020
(With apologies to Paul Simon). Say goodbye with a wave, Dave. Just get up and leave, Steve. Go for the kill, Bill. When you hear an idea. Don’t try something new, Stu. Just do what you know, Joe. Don’t mess with success, Jess. Treat failure with fear. Don’t share your concern, Bern. Don’t talk at all, Paul. Ignore the crew, Sue. Keep working alone. Adhere to the plan, Stan. Do things the same, Jane. Don’t rock the ship, Skip. You’re on your own. Don’t use your head, Fred.
Destination Innovation
SEPTEMBER 13, 2020
Which of these is the best approach to working with your manager? Avoid them and just get on with the job. Do exactly what they say. Try to become very good friends. Understand their needs and help them succeed. Which social media site is most important for business? Tik Tok. LinkedIn. Facebook. Instagram. Which person shows the most management potential? Someone who coaches fellow-workers. Someone who always gets the job done. Someone who fits the corporate culture.
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Destination Innovation
DECEMBER 5, 2019
Supercharge your memory with my online course. Here are three video clips from my five day memory challenge which introduced the course. How to remember names. Memory pegging – how to remember a list. Memory pegging part 2. Enroll on the full course for more great memory tips and techniques.
Destination Innovation
APRIL 10, 2020
As an author and trainer, I have run master classes around the world on lateral thinking and innovation. I have now created a number of online courses to help you acquire skills in these areas. Please take a look at these courses. Master Lateral Thinking. Problem Analysis Tools and Techniques. Six Thinking Hats and the Disney Method. Advanced Brainstorming Techniques. Supercharge Your Memory. An 11 Step Plan to get you a Great Job. The Young Person’s Guide to Success.
Destination Innovation
JANUARY 9, 2020
Are you creative? I want to show you that you are can be more creative than you might think. Please take a moment to view these three Creativity Challenges on Youtube. Creative Challenge #1. Creative Challenge #2. Creative Challenge #3.
Destination Innovation
OCTOBER 29, 2018
Is your organization a little too comfortable? Are your people risk averse? Is there a blame culture? How can you encourage innovation by getting men and women to be more adventurous and entrepreneurial? How can you get them to take more risks?
Advertiser: Treehouse Innovation
You can achieve a huge amount in a short period with a virtual design thinking project. While some teams want to come together for several weeks or months to tackle a challenge, others want to run short, sharp projects to find a quick solution. And with the right preparation, attitude, and structure in place, that's totally possible.To help make sure your short innovation projects are a success, download this free guide from the team at Sprintbase, a virtual design thinking platform, to learn their top tips.
Destination Innovation
JUNE 15, 2018
How can you assess how innovative your business is? The Innovation Sophistication Index is a list of just 24 statements. For each statement you score one point if you fully agree with it for your organization. Please try the list below now.
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Destination Innovation
JULY 12, 2018
McLean in 1957. Containerization was a massively important innovation which powered the expansion of global trade but it was a difficult idea to implement. Before containerization, goods were physically manhandled as break bulk cargo.
Destination Innovation
MARCH 27, 2020
In times of severe recession should you cut costs and focus on survival or take the opportunity to invest in innovation so that you can benefit from the eventual recovery? Well the short answer is that you have to survive first. If the cash dries up and you cannot pay the rent then a pipeline of great innovative products and services is of little help. So it is natural that companies hunker down, cut costs and focus on getting through the recession with the business still intact.
Destination Innovation
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018
Leaders of innovation have a bias for action. They get on with things. No matter how well the business is doing they are not content to settle for what has been achieved so far; they are restless to try new initiatives. These seven verbs describe some of their key actions. Focus.
Destination Innovation
NOVEMBER 28, 2018
A catastrophe produces an unexpected set of circumstances and this can lead to opportunities for innovation. In January 1992 a container with 29,000 plastic bath toys was washed overboard in the Pacific Ocean. They were manufactured in China and were on route to the USA.
Speaker: Donald Fan, Senior Director of the Global Office of Culture, Diversity & Inclusion at Walmart Inc.
In the digital era, rife with uncertainty and ambiguity, innovation plays an essential role in sustaining organic growth and outperforming the global competition. Research proves time and again, there exists a robust bond between innovation and diversity & inclusion (D&I); our challenge is to help our leaders understand how to plant the seeds of innovation in the fertile D&I garden in order to drive a strategic and competitive advantage from the office and in the digital landscape.
Destination Innovation
JANUARY 14, 2020
If you want to lead a transformation in the business, then you have to sell the idea over and over again to people throughout the organisation. In particular, the leader has to answer these questions which are present in people’s minds even if they are unspoken. Why do we need to change?
Destination Innovation
OCTOBER 23, 2018
If you are planning a new product or a new business then you will probably need to get some approvals. You might need to raise some finance. In either case you have to convince some sceptical decision makers. Here are four key questions that they will want you to answer: Problem.
Destination Innovation
MAY 2, 2019
Roger Hargreaves and the Mr Men Books. In 1970, Roger Hargreaves’ 6-year-old son Adam asked his father a question. It was a question that only a child could ask. No adult would ever conceive of it. Adam said, ‘Daddy, what does a tickle look like?’. In response Hargreaves, a cartoonist, drew a picture of a round orange blob with a face and long rubbery arms. It became the central character in Hargreaves’ first book, Mr Tickle.
Destination Innovation
OCTOBER 14, 2018
The Customer Journey Map is a popular management tool. It is a visual representation of customer interactions with a company and a tool to investigate, analyse and thus improve customer experiences.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
Sales enablement is the strategic process of providing sales teams with the content, guidance, and mentorship needed to engage targeted buyers. It’s all about equipping sales professionals with the tools they need to put their best-selling foot forward. And if sales teams want to continuously sell better -- and faster -- their sales enablement process must have a game-winning strategy. It's time for you to start selling smarter - and hitting your sales number - with the best B2B database in the market. Get started today.
Destination Innovation
NOVEMBER 7, 2018
Akio Morita was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1921. His father owned a business brewing sake. It had been in the family for 14 generations and it was expected that Akio, the oldest son, would step into the business but the boy was more interested in electronics than in brewing.
Destination Innovation
JULY 26, 2018
Joanne K Rowling is the British author of the Harry Potter series of fantasy novels which have become the best-selling book series in history with over 400 million copies sold. She acted as screenwriter and producer on the Harry Potter movies which is the second highest-grossing film series ever.
Destination Innovation
AUGUST 29, 2018
Henry de Zoete and Will Hodson, co-founders of Look After My Bills, secured the best ever deal on the BBC show Dragons Den (equivalent to the US TV show Shark Tank). They received offers from all five investors on the show. They ended up selling just 3% of their business for £120,000 ($160,000 US).
Destination Innovation
DECEMBER 2, 2018
Photo of Cape Town by HP Botha on Pixabay. The Western Cape of South Africa has much to offer the visitor. Here are some recommendations for fascinating places to visit. Cape Town. Watched over by the imperious Table Mountain, Cape Town boasts many splendours.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
This eBook highlights best practices for developing a pipeline management process that helps sales leaders and their team C.L.O.S.E (you’ll see what we mean in this eBook) more revenue through data-driven prospecting, stage analysis, and subsequent sales enablement.
Destination Innovation
JANUARY 28, 2020
If you are trying to transform an organisation which is sluggish and risk averse into one which is innovative and entrepreneurial then you have taken on a massive task. One approach is to use the Prosci ADKAR Change Management methodology as advocated by Jeffrey Hiatt and Tim Creasey.
Destination Innovation
NOVEMBER 19, 2018
Abraham Wald was born in 1902 in Transylvania which was part of Austria–Hungary and is now in Romania. His family were devout Jews who would not allow the boy to attend school on Saturdays so he was home-schooled by his parents.
Destination Innovation
MARCH 22, 2020
Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad. Here are my choices for the top TV box sets to binge watch. Breaking Bad. The very best. Bryan Cranston is brilliant as a high school chemistry teacher who starts a new career as a meth producer. Five seasons of compelling drama. The Sopranos. A gripping tale of an everyday Mafia family. Tony Gandolfini stars as Tony Soprano, a complete villain, who you cannot help supporting. Six fantastic seasons.
Destination Innovation
NOVEMBER 21, 2019
We hear plenty of advice for leaders on what they should do to drive entrepreneurship and innovation in their organizations. It might be smarter to just stop making some of the common mistakes which inhibit innovation. Here is a list of things that leaders should definitely not do. Do not encourage people to contribute ideas unless you mean to act on them.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
Businesses are laying off workers, shutting their doors (some permanently), and struggling to react to the radical destruction that coronavirus (COVID-19) is doing to our society and communities. Most have already sustained massive damage, and we still have yet to see the scope of impact of the global pandemic that has upended the globe. Any return to normalcy may seem far-off, but sales and marketing are on the front lines of restarting the economy. When the dust settles, we have a responsibility to turn our shock and grief into fierce determination, and lead the charge of responsible, strategic, sustainable future growth. However, there’s no team better suited to lead that charge than the marketing department. Marketers are uniquely positioned to provide creative solutions to aid their organization in times of change and chart a course for navigating success.
Destination Innovation
JANUARY 4, 2019
Until 1954 there was only one television channel in the UK. It was the publicly owned BBC. In that year the government auctioned licences for commercial TV stations. These would be regional operations which could offer advertising on TV for the first time. Various companies were interested in this opportunity and they naturally focussed on the regions with the best demographics – it seemed natural that rich regions would generate more advertising revenue.
Destination Innovation
MARCH 30, 2019
Women are under-represented in the lists of great inventors, innovators and pioneers. How many can you name in this quiz? Who was the first woman to be elected head of state in modern history? Which pioneer of nursing was the first person to use pie charts and was the first woman member of the Royal Statistical Society? Which female mathematician is considered to be the world’s first computer programmer? Who invented the modern life raft?
Destination Innovation
MARCH 9, 2020
Image by Mhouge from Pixabay. I was pleased and proud to be appointed to the position of CIO (Chief Innovation Officer). It seemed like a great opportunity to join a dynamic executive team and help drive the growth and ambition which inspired the company. Unfortunately, things did not work out well and there are some hard lessons to be shared. Here are some things I wish I had anticipated. The CEO had the goal and the vision but not the commitment.
Destination Innovation
MAY 20, 2020
How do you go about making a really tough decision? Like whether to quit your job, buy a house or dump your boyfriend? You have weighed up all the options, written down the pros and cons, tossed and turned in your bed but still cannot decide. Maybe you should just roll a dice or spin a coin and follow the chance result. Heads you go, tails you stay.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
Recent digital transformation has shifted the B2B landscape by ushering in the era of buyer empowerment. With more access to user reviews, analyst opinion, and industry research, decision-makers are more informed than ever while navigating what is now known as the “buyer’s journey.”
Destination Innovation
MARCH 16, 2020
Why are tribes so hostile to those who depart from the norms of the tribe? Joseph Palmer was born in 1791 in Massachusetts, one of 14 children. He grew up to be a successful farmer. He took to wearing a beard which was a most uncommon practice at the time. The local people in Fitchburg took strong exception to this. Children threw stones at him, women crossed the street to avoid him and men cursed him and spat on him. Joseph Palmer.
Destination Innovation
JUNE 5, 2019
During the economic depression which followed the financial crash of 2009 car sales slumped across America. Automobile makers tried all sorts of promotions, many featuring big price cuts, but they could not lure buyers onto their forecourts and persuade them to buy. Rebates and other traditional incentives just were not working. Hyundai USA took a different approach. They kept asking why and went past the most obvious answers. Why are sales down? Because people are not buying.
Destination Innovation
SEPTEMBER 19, 2018
If you are launching a new product or service or if you want to review sales and marketing tactics for an existing product or service then here are twenty probing questions to ask. They are intended to challenge conventional assumptions and to take you back to the basics of sales and marketing.
Destination Innovation
OCTOBER 8, 2019
We tend to revere our clinicians as towering experts in their fields. So how often do you think doctors misdiagnose? How often might your doctor tell you that you have some illness or condition, but it’s not right? For example, a doctor might diagnose the flu, but the patient really has something much more serious – like Lyme Disease. You might be surprised.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
As data continues to play a starring role in today’s B2B organizations, both marketing and sales operations professionals are poised to solidify their place as critical revenue drivers. In particular, the evolution of the Marketing Operations (Ops) role has created a new standard in marketing and has become a vital component of an organization’s success.
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