What It Means to Really Listen

…and guess what, you don’t really listen.  In fact, while reading this article, you are not really reading what I intended it to mean…   Last month, I was on a flight from Orlando to Boston that had a bit of a problem. An hour before our scheduled landing in Boston, the pilot announced the […]

Different Questions = Different Solutions

I recently had a conversation with a colleague who is a professional speaker.  She and her husband are debating if they want to have a child in the near future. She said, “Right now my life is easy and I know if I have a child, it will be a lot more difficult.” The implied […]

Two Recent Interviews

If you want to hear my voice talk about innovation, here are two recent interviews for podcasts: I had a blast with Karen Keller when we addressed how women (and men) can be more innovative.  This was a no holds barred conversation where I said what was really on my mind: Power Influencer Series (interview not […]

eCornell and TrainingIndustry.com Webinar

I recently gave an hour-long webinar for eCornell and TrainingIndustry.com.  Over 3,000 people registered for only 1,000 slots, maxing out the system.  Thousands of people were unable to attend, so they made the recording available to everyone. I discussed some of the key concepts from my book, “Best Practices Are Stupid.” Watch this wildly popular […]

Why the Pyramids Are One of the Seven Wonders

Normally we don’t do this. We have not yet posted an entire tip to this blog.  Yet, at the request of one of my clients, the publisher has agreed to let us do it…just this one time. USAA is one of the coolest and most interesting financial services companies out there.  Every year they appear […]

Full Length NASA Speech

I recently spoke in Houston at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.  This is 81 minutes of talk on innovation and crowdsourcing.  

Reframe the Framework to Generate More Cash

This article originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum The way we frame our business world can significantly impact our success. Frameworks are useful, but they can also be limiting. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the way things have been done in the past. One useful framework is often called the product funnel or […]

The Three-Step Formula for Innovation Success

A lot of theories circulate on how organizations make innovation a reality. Over the past 20 years, I have found a very simple formula that helps a company transform the way it innovates. Here’s the key: Ask the right question, the right way, of the right people. Let’s break that down into the three core components. […]

Innovative Advertising

Today I received an email from the owner of a furniture store who read my “Best Practices Are Stupid” book. He asked (paraphrased)… In all my years of furniture advertising, I have been showing pictures of nice living room, bedroom, mattress, and dinette furniture on sale. In your book you suggest advertising pain. Should I change the […]

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 […]