Innovation Insights
by Stephen Shapiro
I put together a simple test that takes less than 2 minutes to complete. It tests your ability to perform a seemingly straightforward activity. Want to give it a try? Click here to launch the video (WMV format – 7Meg)
Most readers (hopefully) know that there is a huge difference between being goal-less and being goal-free. Goal-less implies a complete lack of direction, motivation, and action. Goal-free means having a sense of direction, not a specific destination, and then meandering
No guy wants a beer belly. Right? Most would rather have a “six-pack.” Of course. But what if you could have a six-pack AND a beer belly at the same time? Well, now you can. The Beerbelly is a “removable
I learned an interesting lesson many years back: Charging too LITTLE for your goods or services can price you out of a sale. Let me explain. I was with the management consulting firm Accenture for 15 years. Back in 2001,
I’ll play it first and tell you what it is afterwards. – Miles Davis, jazz trumpeter extraordinaire
Here’s another tip from my Little Book of BIG Innovation Ideas (this book was replaced by Best Practices are Stupid)… Because a few individuals at the top cannot possibly plan all of a company’s activities, give employees a set of
In a previous blog entry, I commented on Michael Wiederman’s article in Scientific American Mind entitled, “Why It’s So Hard to Be Happy.” Dr. Wiederman is a Professor of Psychology at Columbia College and a proponent of the “goal-free” philosophy.
In the early 1900s, Robert Yerkes and J. D. Dodson developed the aptly named Yerkes-Dodson Law. The premise is that performance increases relative to motivation (they call it “arousal”) only to a point, after which performance drops. It is typically
What big companies do instead of implementing features is plan them. At Viaweb we sometimes ran into trouble on this account. Investors and analysts would ask us what we had planned for the future. The truthful answer would have been,
We are constantly bombarded by information from advertisements, books, magazines, TV and the internet. But how much of this information is true? From my experience, little of it is accurate. People (often unknowingly) make claims that are exaggerated or blatant
For innovation to be repeatable, it needs to be treated like any other business capability (e.g., finance, HR, or sales). All capabilities are comprised of five key components: Strategy A strategy is needed to decide when, where, and how innovation
In Goal-Free Living I discuss how to create luck by being less goal-focused. I was recently copied on an email sent to a sales team at a client of mine. Here is how this one sales director interpreted these concepts
One of the most simple, yet most powerful approaches for increasing your creativity potential is to phrase concerns as opportunities. When brainstorming, inevitably someone will say, “We don’t have enough time to implement this idea,” or “We don’t have enough
Yesterday, I was at a conference in a posh New York City hotel. While we were inside, the rain was relentless outside. As the day progressed, it started to rain inside too. The ceiling sprouted several leaks. At first the
A couple of nights ago, I gave a presentation to a group of eager individuals who are either launching or advancing their speaking careers. During our 90 minute discussion, I gave dozens of tips and techniques for growing their business.
Here is an excerpt from an article written by Jim Bright that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) February 24, 2007. Jim has written many interesting articles that support the Goal-Free Living concept (in fact he mentions Goal-Free Living
Right now I am sitting in the Las Vegas airport. With an hour to kill, I decided to write this blog entry with the harmonious sound of slot machines ringing in my ears. I know so many road warriors who
Here is another tip from my new “innovation tips” book. There are two extremes of innovation culture. One is “the right of infinite appeal.” This is a culture where anyone, anytime, has the right to veto any suggestions, bring the
In particular, he sought to restore to his life several qualities he had shunned as a businessman — spontaneity, patient acceptance of the uncontrollable, and an uncluttered awareness of each moment. To his surprise, this new mindset seemed to slow
Have you noticed more and more literature supporting the goal-free concept? I have. And nearly every day, someone writes to tell me about an article they read that touts the benefits of “not focusing on your goals.” One such article
In Goal-Free Living, the first secret is “Use a Compass, Not a Map.” Today, someone sent me an interesting article by Donald Berwick (President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement) that recounts a story told by Karl Weick
It stands to reason that if we direct all our efforts towards reaching a goal, we stand in grave danger of losing everything on which we have based our daily activities. For when a goal is superimposed on an activity
Today’s blog entry is from my new “innovation tips book.” But this is also an extremely useful concept in every day life. In fact, anyone who knows me eventually hears me say: “ethos, pathos, logos.” Selling is fundamental to your
I am writing a new book on innovation that contains over 100 tips for turning creativity into profitability. Every tip is bite sized (typically one page in length) in order to be easily digestible. Each week I will post at
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