College Students Innovate for Corporations
Want your organization to be more creative? Maybe you should “hire” college students. Or at least that is what some companies are doing. Yesterday’s Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) described a cabinet maker who is partnering with a local university to bring on students with 3-D design expertise. The students work for the company in exchange for real-life experience […]
HP to Consolidate Innovation Efforts
HP recently announced that they are consolidating their innovation efforts and will focus on fewer projects. According to an Associate Press article, HP is “reassigning its worldwide research team of about 600 employees to focus on a total of 20 to 30 major projects, down from roughly 150 different ventures the labs typically have in the […]
How Energy Management Can Improve Innovation Success Rates
Yesterday I had lunch with Scott Westover, a pilot, a business executive and an aspiring speaker. He shared with me some thoughts on how what he learned from aerobatic flying could be applied to business success. I asked him to write a blog entry on this topic. His philosophy is called “Energy Management.” I […]
A Fun Innovation Diagnostic
Innovation can be, and should be, fun. Here is a 16 question “diagnostic tool” I published back in 2001 in my first book, 24/7 Innovation. It may help you assess just how innovative your organization is. It is, admittedly, quite tongue in cheek and not a serious diagnostic. But who knows, you might just learn […]
Innovative Pricing Models
I was having a conversation the other day with the CEO of a small and growing company. We were talking about innovative pricing models that could help attract – and then lock in customers. Although there are many models out there, here are three I find particularly interesting. The Consumable Model With this model you […]
Innovation at the Four Seasons Hotel
Last week I attended a presentation at the Four Seasons hotel in Boston given by Barbara Talbott, the EVP of Marketing for the Four Seasons. She discussed “The Power of Personal Service.” Here are my notes from that speech. Admittedly, not much was radically new, but it was a good reminder of how personal service […]
Innovation Can Help You Stand Out in a Crowd
Innovation can help your organization improve its products, processes, or business model. But maybe, innovation’s greatest strength is helping you stand out from the crowd. Let me give you a personal example where I learned this by accident. A few years back, when I lived in London, I was a member of a hip and […]
Creative Valentine’s Day Gifts
Valentine’s Day is coming soon. Do you know what to get your loved one? If not, definitely read this article written by my good friend – and creative genius – Ed Bernacki. He provides 3 simple yet powerful creativity tools for finding the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. Enjoy. —- If you’ve ever purchased a Valentine’s […]
Do We Get Less Creative As We Age?
In an earlier blog post, I included a quote from Voltaire. He once said, “Man can only have a certain number of teeth, hairs, and ideas. There comes a time when he necessarily loses his teeth, his hair, and his ideas.” This quote sparked a small debate between 2 blog readers. Dr.YKK chimed in with, […]
Slowness + Purpose = Creativity
Christopher Richards, the author of an interesting article, suggests that the secret to creativity is slowing down. He implies that our best ideas emerge when we are in a relaxed state. In the article, Richards said that “Ex-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote most of his latest book while soaking in the bathtub.” Could be. […]