Innovation Insights
by Stephen Shapiro
My new guilty pleasure is watching the Discovery Channel show “Pitchmen.” On it are two pitchmen, Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan, who create and star in direct response ads. These are TV commercials that sell you a product and entice
What do jazz and innovation have in common? Quite a bit. Many years ago, in 24/7 Innovation, I wrote.. “Most businesses are run like classical symphonies – long, with elaborate compositions (detailed workflows) that leave little room for interpretation. Employees
My friend April Callis just published a nice spiral-bound book entitled “Gossip Stoppers: 101 Insights to Stop Gossip.” Although I don’t think it is available yet for purchase, I wanted to share two of the quotes. Half the world is
Last night I attended a book launch party to honor Elizabeth Alexander, the poet who spoke at Obama’s inauguration. After some opening remarks, she read her inaugural poem, “Praise Song for the Day.” After her reading, she took questions from
According to a recent study by Chuck Frey at innovationtools.com, 47% of companies say that the climate for innovation has “improved slightly or significantly” since the onset of the global recession. In fact, only a quarter of the respondents felt
Measuring innovation is very different than measuring innovationS (“s” capitalized for emphasis). Let me explain. In our goal-obsessed society, we want to measure everything that moves. In doing so, we feel as though it gives us a grasp of the
In a previous blog entry on the innovation bell curve, I presented a bimodal distribution curve rather than a bell curve. I did this because I wanted to clearly show the contrast between the existing model and the emerging model.
The President of a $1 billion company once asked me to describe his organization in one word. My response? “Anorexic.” The Vice Presidents who sat around the table nodded in agreement. They assumed that I meant there was no fat
Today, while driving to New York, I sat in traffic for 30 minutes. Why? Because of the freakiest accident I have EVER seen in my life. The pictures below have to be seen to be believed. Click on the smaller
Here is something courtesy of Barry Kibrick, host of the PBS TV show, “Between the Lines.” I was on his show a few years ago with my Goal-Free Living book. Barry is one of the best interviewers on television. 200
In my previous blog entry, I discussed the struggles of Starbucks and how the innovation bell curve predicted this. Their early response to increased pressure from McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts was to reduce prices by bundling. Not a good move.
In my previous article on the “innovation bell curve,” I introduced the new bi-modal innovation curve. Yesterday I gave a speech for Babson College MBA students. One of the attendees asked how this bell curve worked for the B2B environment
My good friend, Chuck Frey, at innovationtools.com is conducting a quick survey to determine the state of innovation. It is only 5 questions long. Please contribute 5 minutes of your time to help us better understand how innovators are coping
I recently sent a copy of my Goal-Free Living book to someone I worked with 20 years ago. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since the late 80’s. The wonders of social networks reconnected us after all of this
The old model of innovation is dead…and a new model has emerged. For months now, I have been writing about the Innovation Bell Curve. If you read between the lines, you quickly realize that it is no longer a bell
I spend most of my days thinking about the “innovation bell curve.” The concept is simple, yet profound. Budget brands will continue to prosper as mid-market consumers move left to save money. Although premium brands may suffer slightly, there will
My book, “Goal-Free Living,” provides counter-cultural perspectives on goal-setting. I suggest that we are a nation of goalaholics, and that this is reducing creativity, productivity, and happiness. Harvard Business School recently published an interesting paper, “Goals Gone Wild,” that supports
It was just announced that Starbucks is now selling a coffee and breakfast for under $4. It’s true. According to CNN You can get a 12-ounce coffee with a breakfast sandwich or roll or a 12-ounce latte with either oatmeal
This summer, I will be giving speeches around Europe. Some will be private events and others will be open to the public. Regardless, I will be taking time to meet up with people during my travels. On May 26th, I
In a previous blog entry, I discussed why the middle of the innovation bell curve is a dangerous place. I even quoted The Karate Kid’s Mr. Miyagi who said, “Walk on road. Walk right side, safe. Walk left side, safe.
Just for fun, I put my “Little Book of BIG Innovation Ideas” into Wordle to create a word cloud. It’s interesting to see the word density – as indicated by word size. Fortunately, “innovation” was clearly the most used word.
This may seem like an odd blog entry, but it has been the topic of conversation over many dinners recently. Although we are taught from a young age that being self-centered is a bad thing, I think that more people
While at Accenture, one of our analytical tools was Shareholder Value Analysis (SVA) – a tool based on Economic Value Added. The premise is that by looking at a company’s financials, we can determine where to best target our innovation
Fortune Magazine released their list of the top companies to work for. #1 on the list is the 7,000 person data storage company, NetApp. They have some great business philosophies that show they treat employees like owners of the company
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