Stop Being an Order Taker
Imagine that I am holding a glass of water. Here’s a question for you (you know this one)… What is the difference between a pessimist, and optimistic, an efficiency expert, and an innovator? The pessimist sees the glass half empty. The optimist sees the glass half full. The efficiency experts says, “There’s too much glass […]
Look for Purposeful Tangents
According to a recent Huffington Post/YouGov poll 28% of Americans did not read a book last year. As an author, I find this both disappointing and yet not surprising. Fortunately most people read. But is what you are reading enhancing your creativity, or just furthering your intellect? Most people who read for business purposes focus […]
Don’t Confuse Popularity with Value
A technology expert friend of mine just started blogging. We discussed which topics should be the focus of his articles. He told me that he recently read about another technology blogger whose most popular blog entries (as measured by tweets, comments, and Facebook likes) were in fact the least technical topics. My friend wondered if […]
Diversity Doesn't Work
Imagine two groups of problems solvers. Group #1 is homogeneous. That is, everyone has similar personalities and areas of expertise. Group #2 is diverse and comprises a blend of different styles and experiences. Which group will perform better? In times of crisis and on simpler tasks, Group #1 will always perform better. They “speak the […]
When You Hire on Price You Pay For It
Red Adair, the oil well firefighter, once said, “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” Over the years, I’ve learned this the hard way. When I’ve hired freelancers based primarily on price, the quality suffered. I paid dearly in terms of iterations and […]
What to Ditch to Improve Your Life and Business
You’ve heard it before: To get more done, work smarter, not harder. One business innovator reveals what 3 things you can eliminate to help you do just that… For the past year, I’ve been experimenting with the concept of working less by telling myself that I only have one hour a day to get things […]
My interview on Virgin.com
I was recently interviewed by Pedro De Abreu for an article on Virgin.com. Here’s a little taste… Every web site we visit, every book we read, every conference we attend, we are admonished to innovate, to be innovative and to disrupt the market with innovation. Stephen Shapiro, author of the international best-selling business book ‘Best […]
Bring Me Better Problems
In life and in business, we are often told, “don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions.” From my perspective, this is bad advice. I want people to bring me bigger and better problems. Or, as the fortune cookie I got last night (above) implied, if you don’t focus on the right question, the answers/solutions may […]
Why Did Apple Stock Tank?
Last week Apple announced their new lineup of iPhones: the 5S and the 5C. In the subsequent days, their stock dropped like the apple that fell from a tree and hit Newton on the head. Why? Most analysts were expecting a lower priced 5C so that it could be competitive in China. At the price it […]
Website Changes
This week we launched some changes to the website. A revised home page with links to two new pages, one for meeting planners and one for innovation leaders. We also streamlined the look and feel slightly. We revised the look of the blog “listing” page to only provide summaries We removed the Facebook comments from […]