Strategic Partnership with Linkage
Press Release… Stephen M. Shapiro Joins Linkage in Elite Partnership Business Consultant to Bring Methodology on Innovative Culture to Linkage’s Clients Burlington, MA (PRWEB) February 02, 2012 Linkage, a global leadership development company, announced its partnership with innovation guru Stephen M. Shapiro. Mr. Shapiro has consulted with Fortune 500 corporations for nearly 20 years on […]
Goals Are Stupid
NOTE: This article is on the American Express OPEN Forum with the title “How to Make Goal-Setting Work for You.” But the title I really wanted was “Goals Are Stupid.” I’ll let you decide if they are or not. We are a society obsessed with goals. Nearly everyone sets them. In fact, we just finished […]
How Candy Makers Helped Develop the iMac
I love it when companies are able to find solutions to problems in non-traditional places. I was recently at a conference where someone said that Apple was having difficulty making the clear, colored plastic that adorns the iMac. None of the plastic manufacturers could find a solution that could make the product hard and durable […]
Lessons of Pawn Stars
Yes, you read that correctly. PAWN Stars. This reality television show on The History Channel chronicles a pawn shop outside of Las Vegas. I enjoy the show because of the history associated with the pieces that are brought in for sale. In addition to rifles from the revolutionary war and antique political documents, people bring […]
One Small Step for Your Business, One Giant Leap for Success
Quite a few books and studies recently have touted the power of incremental change. Small actions can have a huge impact on long-term business growth. The appropriate degree of change needed for innovating within organizations is, in general, a 45-degree change, consistent but not too radical. That tends to be more effective than a 5-degree change (purely […]
My 2012 Themes Revealed
Anyone who follows this blog knows that the New Year is my favorite time for reflecting on the past and creating the future. If you have not read my article on “Making Resolutions That Work,” please do so. Or, if you prefer, you can read the variant of this article that appeared in the Wall […]
My Favorite Blog Posts of 2011
Given that we are in a new year, I thought it might be nice to reflect on the past year. So today I want to share with you my favorite blog entries from 2011. I chose my top 10 for three categories: 1)innovation & creativity, 2) general business, and 3) life and happiness. Admittedly, the articles I […]
"Best Practices Are Stupid" Named Best Innovation & Creativity Book of 2011
I am excited and honored to announce that my book, Best Practices Are Stupid: 40 Ways to Out-Innovate the Competition, was just named the best “innovation and creativity” book of 2011 by 800-CEO-READ. Winners in other categories include Jim Collins, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Eric Ries. You can see the entire list here on the 800-CEO-READ website. […]
You Don’t Hear Your Customers
The other day, I asked my business manager to follow up with a client about an unpaid invoice. She contacted the company’s accounts payable department and was told that the invoice was paid on June 1st, 2012. (italics added for emphasis) OK, I have some pretty talented clients, but I don’t think any have mastered […]
Are You Asking the Right Question?
For many years, I was a loyal BlackBerry fan. More accurately I was a CrackBerry addict. A year ago a got a MacBook Pro and six month layer I acquired an iPad. It felt like I should switch to the iPhone. But I was not ready for two reasons: I wanted a Verizon phone that could […]