Squished Like Grape
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. Walk middle, sooner or later [makes squish gesture] get the squish, just like grape.” This […]
Little Book Wordle
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. Fun.
EVA, SVA, and the Economy
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 efforts. The analysis can show us, for example, if reducing SG&A will have a greater […]
Do Your Innovation Efforts Work?
Sometimes the question you ask is more important than the actions you take. During President Obama’s inauguration speech, he said… “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works – whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, […]
A Business Idea Every Day
Could you develop a new business idea every single day for an entire month? That’s what my friend Susanne Goldstein has been doing since the start of the year. She is a “business accelerator and experience architect,” and she wants to find a source of passive income; money that comes in without her having to […]
Johnny Cupcakes
What do T-shirts and cupcakes have in common? A guy by the name of Johnny. Today I spoke at an event for the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). They are an amazing organization that teaches entrepreneurship to high school kids, many of whom are in the inner city. I did a breakout session for […]
Personality Poker ®
It’s official. Personality Poker® is now a registered trademark. In 2009 we will be announcing some exciting developments with this brand.
Why Aren't You More Successful?
A friend of mine is a fantastic freelance writer. After telling her how great she is, she asked, “So if I’m that good, how come I’m not working now? Tough market out there.” Yes, it is a tough market. But I suspect that is not the reason she can’t find work. She has fallen into […]
Wii and the Bell Curve
Many of my recent posts discuss “Innovation and the Bell Curve.” One quick comment on this idea. I often say that the left-hand side of the bell curve is about affordability and accessibility. But sometimes it is just about accessibility – for a premium price. Two quick examples come to mind. The Nintendo Wii is […]
The Wisdom of Miyagi
In the Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi once told his student Daniel, “Walk on road. Walk right side, safe. Walk left side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later [makes squish gesture] get the squish, just like grape.” This fits nicely with my perspectives on innovating in tough times. In my previous blog entries on how to […]