As the saying goes – innovate or die. But what impact does innovation have in real life? Sure, it is fine to be creative but does that really make a difference? Research says that our average standard of living has increased substantially since we chose to innovate. An average household owns 1.88 cars, 90% of […]
Innovation
Don’t Innovate From Want–Do It From Need
Most innovations come from responding to a customer’s needs, or finding a niche where products need improvement or extension. It is rare to innovate using a blank sheet of paper in a room with bare walls and no other contributors. A thought exercise Imagine the room in which several graduate business school student groups have […]
Ready, Fire, Aim. Really?
You’ve surely heard the variations on this theme. “Ready, fire aim” was popular in the 1990’s, accredited to any of several authors. I used the term to describe my efforts in the artificial intelligence field, experimenting with new devices, the lisp programming language, and our first trial installations. It seemed an ideal way to describe […]
Businesses Face Anti-Plastic Sentiment: How to Adapt
We’re beginning to see plastic differently. Thanks to campaigns about environmental issues including marine pollution and climate change, public opinion of single-use plastics is shifting. Over half of consumers now believe plastic to be “harmful”. Every business needs to take note of this, SMEs included. Consumers want to know that what they’re buying is sustainable […]
Embracing the New Normal: How Disruptions Can Lead to Innovation
COVID-19 has changed the way we live, possibly forever. It’s up to us to decide what to do moving forward. When is the least ideal time to buy a car? During a pandemic, when uncertainties abound and social distancing is the norm? I would’ve said yes…before I had to do it myself. Yet when my […]
What’s Your Covid-19 Pivot? We Want to Hear Your Story
As Covid-19 continues its unpredictable roller coaster ride, businesses find they have to re-invent themselves on a regular basis. Each locality, state, or region makes their own quarantine shut-down or reopen schedule and small businesses must adapt, slow down…or fail. So, we’d really like to know how you’re coping. Send your own business tale to […]
Necessity is the Mother Of Invention for Epidemic Innovation
Despite the catastrophic effects of epidemics that have occurred throughout history, they lead to the creation of some of the most ground-breaking and revolutionary discoveries, inventions, and famous poems and scientific theories. In the mid-1300s when the Black Death hit Europe, it was estimated to have killed from 30% all the way up to 60% […]
7 Tips To Keep Your Team Ahead Of “Business As Usual”
Many small businesses are now realizing that “business as usual” might be gone forever. With social media and smart phone apps, real product information spreads at astounding speeds. Entrepreneurs who are not listening, not engaging, and not changing are destined to be left behind even in the best of times. Business agility is defined as […]
How To Change Your Perspective And Create Innovation
In today’s fast moving world of business startups, learning trumps knowing every time. What established businesses know through experience keeps them from looking for the new and innovative ways to do what they do better, cheaper, and faster. I’m convinced that’s why most mature companies are slowing down or buying their innovation through acquisition, rather than building […]
Process is the Foundation for Agility/Nimbleness
We want to be flexible, nimble, able to adapt to the circumstances, leap on an opportunity, respond quickly. We abhor process since that constrains our creativity and ability to innovate. Too often, when I talk to leaders and sales people about process, they cite some of the things outlined above as the reason they don’t […]
