The Big Problem With Personality Tests
Just because your personality test seems accurate, doesn’t mean it is…. Many years back, while working with a client, I was asked to take a written personality test that was required for all executives in the company. Eight senior leaders took this test, costing the company more than $10,000, not including the time invested by […]
The Danger of Hiring for ‘Culture Fit’
Contrary to conventional wisdom, opposites don’t attract–and this is bad for innovation…. I remember speaking with a recruiter who once turned down a candidate I had recommended. I asked why and was told, “He didn’t fit the mold.” In other words, unless you fit our cookie cutter requirements, you won’t work here. This point of […]
The Big Problem With Customer Satisfaction Surveys – and What to Use Instead
To gather real insights, you want stories, not surveys… Many years ago, I gave a 90-minute speech to 400 non-military researchers at the US Air Force. These scientists create planes and weapons for our military. The first 45 minutes of the presentation seemed to go really well. The audience was high energy, laughing when I […]
Why Your Own Expertise Can Be Your Enemy
What worked for your company in the past may be the wrong strategy for the long term… Many advertisements for investment opportunities warn that past success is no guarantee of future results. The reality is much worse than that. Past success may actually lead to future failure. In the 1960s, Sears accounted for one percent […]
The Best Way to Know if Your ‘Brilliant’ Idea Actually Stinks
“Yeah, but.” That’s the enemy of innovation. Right? We’ve all been told that we need to stop uttering those words and replace them with “Yes, and.” But what if “yeah, but” is not the problem. What if there is something more insidious–and less obvious? A bigger enemy of innovation is, “Wow, this is a great […]
Why Following Someone Else’s Success Can Lead to Your Failure
You attend conferences. You read books. You take training classes. All with the goal of learning strategies from those who have paved the path to success before you. But what if following in their steps could lead you down the wrong track? 3M talks about its 15 percent rule–a philosophy that allows anyone in the […]
Coming Soon! Inc.com Articles
If you visit this blog often, you will have noticed that I slowed my writing down a bit over the last month. That is because I just launched my new Inc.com column on innovation. If you want to read the article as they are posted, you can go to my author’s page. All of my articles […]
My 2018 Theme
In my last post of the year, I shared my process for planning the new year. In summary, instead of resolutions, I set themes. Themes are not goals to achieve. Rather they are words that help guide and shape the year. I first wrote about this concept in my 2005 book, Goal-Free Living. And now it is […]
Start 2018 with a Innovation Retreat Week
How do you spend the first week of the New Year? For many, it is back to the grind stone, picking up where you left off in 2017. The new year becomes an extrapolation of the past year. My intention is to use the new year as a chance to innovate and create. Therefore, I […]
For 2018, Use Themes Not Resolutions
2018 is around the corner. Time to make some changes in your life. Right? Ready to set some resolutions? Before you do, did you know that only 8% of people are always successful in achieving the desired results. 92% fail! (if you are interested in some fascinating statistics about resolutions, read this article: Interesting New Year’s […]