Get Online Innovation Training
This week, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) released an online training version of my 24/7 Innovation book. The course includes all of the materials from the book plus a series of questions after each chapter to test your retention. The cost is $100 and can be ordered online from the ASME website.
Oscar Wilde Was Right
A recent blog entry of mine focused on how price impacts perception. Today’s topic is on how perception drives price. Many times, the cost of something is driven by what we paid in the past – even when the rules have changed. Seth Godin recently wrote about how Apple will be charging $3 for online […]
Innovative Minds Don’t Think Alike
I’ve always said, “Expertise is the enemy of creativity.” The New York Times recently had an article on this exact topic. Although the article is pretty basic, it is a good reminder that sometimes the most creative ideas come from those who are not experts on the problem being solved. This poses a dilemma for […]
Innovation and the Performance Paradox
Today, my article on “The Performance Paradox: When Less is More” was published by the American Management Association. You may recall that I introduced this concept in a blog entry last month. What is the Performance Paradox? The more fixated on your goal you become, the greater your chance of success, right? Yes, but only […]
Innovation and Leadership
Back in my Accenture days, I had the pleasure of working with many brilliant individuals. One person in particular stood out amongst the crowd: Brad Kolar. Although he worked in the “professional development” department (which typically implies taking other people’s intellectual property and converting it into training), he was one of the firm’s greatest thinkers. […]
Innovation Lesson from The Apprentice
I’ll admit it. I, unlike most people in the United States, did not watch Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” the other night. But in a conversation with some people who did tune in, it sounds like the winners applied an important innovation concept. As I understand it, the task for the week was to see which […]
Innovation Mindset, Not Innovation Tools
Tools are great. But giving people tools, without first changing their mindset is useless. People buy more weight loss books/diets (tools) than all other books, yet people are fatter than ever. Why? Most diets do not address the psychological reasons (mindset) for eating. The same holds true for innovation. Do not train your employees on […]
7 Success Traits I Learned from the New England Patriots
Yesterday I watched my American football team, The New England Patriots, reach 14 wins with no losses in the season. They are only the second team in history to do so. Whether or not you like the Patriots, you have to admit that they are a special team. I have been listening to interviews with […]
2007 Innovation Lesson
Every year at this time, Chuck Frey at innovationtools.com asks experts/readers for the most important lesson learned during 2007 regarding innovation, creativity or brainstorming. Here is my response: Over the past couple of years, I have observed something I call “The Performance Paradox.” This paradox looks at the relationship between motivation (goals, targets, and management) […]
How Everyone Can Be Best…NOT
Today I received a research study on business trends. Trend #2 was “Innovation.” They said… “Only 50 percent of the executives surveyed believe their organizations are ‘top in class’ in innovation. This number shows that there is room for organizations to grow in their approach and position on innovation.” Huh? That’s like saying, “Because only […]