The First Annual Multiple Uses of a Ping Pong Ball Contest
TA DA! It's time to win free stuff!
All you need to do is read the following list of "multiple uses of a ping pong ball" and submit your own ideas. Idea Champions (that's us) will award prizes in the following categories: 1) Most creative; 2) Funniest; 3) Biggest positive impact on the world; 4) Most off-the-wall; 5) The one we wish we'd thought of; 6) Least likely to become a major motion picture; 7) Best way to save the U.S. economy; 8) Best party game; 9) Best use in a category we haven't yet thought of.
1. Table Tennis
2. Beer Pong
3. Lottery selection
4. Cat toy
5. Child's room mobile
6. Door stop (crushed and stuck under door)
7. Model of the universe (with balls as planets)
8. Tool to keep people awake during meetings (toss it at sleepyheads)
9. Raft (by tying many balls together)
10. A fishing bob
Continue reading "The First Annual Multiple Uses of a Ping Pong Ball Contest"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:19 PM | Comments (0)
September 30, 2008When Financial Advisors Bail Out
Wall Street bail out got you down? Frying over how quickly the value of your home is depreciating? Anxious about the worth of your shrinking stock portfolio? No need to freak out. Keep your chin up. And remember to laugh. All bubbles pop. What goes up must come down. It's a law of nature. Eventually, everything seeks its own level. Like Alec Baldwin, in this funny Saturday Night Live spoof of what's going on with the economy.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
September 26, 2008The Rise of the Innovation Ninjas
Every once in a while I come across a quote or excerpt from an article that I want to immediately post on the windshield of every client of mine. It cuts to the chase and lucidly states what I've been trying to say, in various Neanderthalic ways, all these many years.
Take Einstein for example: "Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted counts." Bingo! Bullseye! What a perfect way of explaining to a left-brained addicted world that metrics and analysis is not the only game in town.
And then there's Gary Hamel. He takes a bit more time than Albert to make his point, but hey, it's all relative isn't it? Check this out from the man behind one of my favorite business books of all time:
"Today, innovation is the buzzword du jour in virtually every company, but how many CEOs have put every employee through an intensive training program aimed at boosting the innovation skills of the rank and file? Sure companies have electronic suggestion boxes, slush funds for new ideas, elaborate pipeline management tools, and innovation awards -- but in the absence of a cadre of extensively trained and highly skilled innovators, much of the investment in these innovation enablers will simply be wasted."
Continue reading "The Rise of the Innovation Ninjas"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:57 AM | Comments (0)
September 24, 2008STICKY IDEA: The Post-It Note As Pure Entertainment
If you can spell "innovation," you've probably heard the story about the origins of the post-it note -- how it was an accident in one of 3M's labs and how Art Frye and others saw a market for something that didn't quite stick all that well.
Relax. I'm not going to tell that story again.
What I AM going to do is call your attention to the next creative use of the omnipresent post-it -- a use you are unlikely to have considered yet: the post-it as pure entertainment.
When you're done viewing the 3:19 video, take a few minutes to conjure up some non-traditional uses of your company's best (or worst) selling product. If you don't work for a company, think of some new uses for whatever product or service you are offering the world these days.
As one wise pundit put it, "Discovery is seeing what everybody else has seen, and thinking what nobody else has thought."
(Thanks to my very creative, 14-year old son, Jesse, for turning me on to this video).
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2008Create an Innovation Portfolio
One of the biggest obstacles to innovation in most organizations is the addiction to short-term results.
Hustling, speed, and fire fighting all too often rule the day -- resulting in the kind of over-caffeinated efforts that make everyone cranky and don't necessarily ensure that next quarter's output will satisfy your Board, stockholders, or key stakeholders.
Focusing on your next quarter, of course, is a necessary part of business. But not to the exclusion of the long-term.
Someone's got to be focused on developing projects that won't see the light of day for 3 years... 5 years.... or even 10 years out. That is, IF you want your organization to be more than just reactive.
If you are serious about innovation, you will need to develop an Innovation Portfolio, one that includes short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals.
Continue reading "Create an Innovation Portfolio"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:37 AM | Comments (1)
September 16, 2008INNOVATION is an INSIDE JOB
These days, almost all of my clients are talking about the need to establish a sustainable culture of innovation.
Some, I am happy to report, are actually doing something about it. Hallelujah! They are taking bold steps forward to turn theory into action. My hat is off to all of them -- and sometimes, my head. Nevertheless, the challenge remains the same for them as it does thousands of other forward-thinking companies and that is, to find a simple, authentic way to address the challenge from the inside out -- to water the root of the tree, not just the branches.
In other words, to get down to the essential DNA of what drives innovation.
In today's process-driven, OD-centric, Six-Sigma savvy organization, the tendency is to focus on systems as opposed to people -- as if systems were sufficient to guarantee change. Guess what? Systems are not sufficient to guarantee change. In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Systems die. Instinct remains."
Continue reading "INNOVATION is an INSIDE JOB"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:58 AM | Comments (6)
September 15, 2008A Wonderfully Refreshing Review of Awake at the Wheel
As you probably know by now, my book about the creative process -- Awake at the Wheel -- was published in May.
Like most new authors, it's appearance on the scene was a big deal for me. I checked my Amazon ranking five times a day. I did a bunch of interviews. I forwarded the good reviews to all my friends and family.
But after four months, a new book is no longer new.
Which is why yesterday was such a nice surprise. That's when I stumbled across the September 12th review of my book by someone I'd never heard of before, never sent a review copy to, never played the "you scratch my blog, I'll scratch yours" game.
There was something about the review that really touched me. Made me feel that all my howling at the moon was worth it.
So, thank you, Cristina Favreau, for your heartfelt, authentic, and very positive review of Awake at the Wheel.
I thank you. My publisher thanks you. And my fabulous publicist thanks you.
Like Og, you rock.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2008The Paradox of Innovation
My big insight about innovation these days would make Nobel Prize winner, Niels Bohr, proud. "Now that we have met with paradox," explained Dr. Bohr, "we have some hope of making progress."
Innovation is full of it -- paradox, that is.
On one hand, organizations want structures, maps, models, guidelines, and systems. On the other hand, that's all too often the stuff that squelches innovation, driving it underground or out the door. The noble search for a so-called "innovation process" can easily become a seduction, addiction, or distraction whereby innovation is marginalized, deferred, over-engineered, and worn like a badge.
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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:24 AM | Comments (0)
September 08, 2008The Top Seven High Tech Excuses
One way to measure just how omnipresent technology has become in our lives these days is to notice the number of times our EXCUSES include a techno-bent.
In days gone by, breaking a commitment had far more of a human aspect to it, as in "The babysitter was late" or... "I got caught in traffic" or... "The dog ate my homework."
No more. These days, high tech excuses rule -- simple, and often untrue, ways of saving face (and maybe your job.) Here's some of the most common ones:
1. "The server's down."
2. "You're breaking up."
3. "Your email ended up in my spam folder."
4. "I'm out of range."
5. "My laptop crashed."
6. "I can't find my Blackberry."
7. "I forgot to recharge my battery."
I know I'm forgetting some. What? The first three people who send me a reasonable excuse get a free copy of my new book (unless I can think of a really good high tech excuse not to mail it.)
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:36 PM | Comments (9)
September 06, 2008Doing the Seeming Impossible
OK. Here's a wake up call for all of us who think our life or work challenges are impossible. Click below to see what this chap accomplished, then ask yourself whether or not what YOU'RE trying to accomplish (i.e. invent a new product, grow your business, make a new transition, establish a culture of innovation, forgive someone etc.) is really so difficult to pull off.
For more inspiration, click on the link below the YouTube video.
Continue reading "Doing the Seeming Impossible"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:35 AM | Comments (0)
September 02, 2008How to Increase Your Odds of Getting a Big AHA!
What is it that allows some people to get creative breakthroughs while others get only creative breakdowns -- alternately blaming themselves, society, their company, and their increasingly suspect astrological configurations?
Is it true that people who experience breakthroughs are "gifted"? Or are there other factors at work -- factors that we (the people) have more control over than we might think?
While nobody can deny that some people seem to be blessed with "creative leanings" (i.e. Mozart at 4), research has shown that anyone can increase their chances of coming up with new and original ideas -- even have the much sought after AHA! experience -- that is, IF they immerse themselves in the little understood process of creation.
Continue reading "How to Increase Your Odds of Getting a Big AHA!"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:08 PM | Comments (1)
August 30, 2008Innovation Slush Funds
Nortel, the fiber optics giant, allocates pools of money (or "innovation slush funds") at different organizational levels for any idea a manager thinks has great potential, but doesn't want to be accountable for the bottom-line result. Very cool.
A client of mine, at Michelin, does a similar thing. He is authorized to distribute as much as $10,000 to aspiring innovators who have done their homework and are able to convince him that their high potential projects need a bit funding to get untracked. Also very cool.
What I like about this approach is that it sidesteps the bureaucratic hokey pokey, run-it-up-the-flagpole, command and control, funky chicken shuffle that all too often scuttles powerful new ideas in need of a timely infusion of capital to get them rolling.
Continue reading "Innovation Slush Funds"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:30 PM | Comments (1)
August 28, 2008Managers Need to Become Innovation Coaches
The root of the word "manager" comes from the same root as the words "manipulate" and "maneuver", meaning to "adapt or change something to suit one's purpose".
Although these words may carry a pejorative meaning for some of us, there is nothing inherently wrong with them. Indeed, into each life a little manipulation and maneuvering must fall. For example, if the door to your office gets stuck, a handyman might need to manipulate it to get it working again. If there is a log jam at the elevator, you might decide to maneuver around the crowd and take the stairs. No problem there.
However, there is another kind of manipulation and maneuvering that is a problem -- when managers use their position to bend subordinates to their will. While short-term gains may result, in the end the heart is taken out of people. Your staff may become good soldiers, but they will lose something far more important in the process -- their ability to think for themselves. General George Patton said it best, "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."
Continue reading "Managers Need to Become Innovation Coaches"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:14 AM | Comments (0)
August 24, 2008Getting Down to the Business of Creativity
Here's a terrific article on creativity, based on the work of three Harvard researchers/professors.
One of the things I especially love about the article is that it confirms the approach Idea Champions has taken since 1986.
According to Teresa Amabile's research, "inner work life" is one of the biggest determinants of creative output. In other words, a positive mood is a pre-condition for creativity in the workplace. If you are attempting to establish a sustainable culture of innovation in your organization, you (and everyone else) would be well-served to do everything humanly possible to positively impact the mood (i.e. tone, feeling, atmosphere, vibe, spirit) of the environment in which you work.
And that begins, of course, with the individual.
When you treat people with respect, acknowledgment, and genuine positive reinforcement, you significantly increase the odds of creativity -- and by extension, innovation -- flourishing in your organization.
Common sense? For sure. But common sense, it seems, is all too uncommon in most organizations. In our rush to produce, get an edge, and accomplish, we forget the most important thing...
And that is the quality of our interactions with others.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:35 AM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2008Brainstorm or Braindrizzle?
Allow me to make a wild guess here and postulate that you have participated in more than a few brainstorm sessions in your life. Yes?
And allow me to make yet another wild guess and state that many of these sessions left you feeling underwhelmed, over-caffeinated, disappointed, disengaged, and doubtful that much of ANYTHING was ever going to happen as a result of your participation. Yes, again? I thought so.
There's a ton of reasons why most brainstorming sessions under-deliver, but the main reason -- the Mount Olympus of reasons (drum roll, please....) is the brainstorm facilitator.
Continue reading "Brainstorm or Braindrizzle?"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:11 AM | Comments (0)
August 17, 2008Charlie Mingus on Creativity
"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, is creativity."
-Charlie Mingus
PS: My 11-year old daughter, Mimi, sent me this picture today and told me to post it on my blog because it reminded her of my book about a cool caveman who was the first person to get the idea for the wheel.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:16 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2008Are You an Idea Addict?
There are lots of things in this world that people get addicted to: alcohol, nicotine, heroin, sex, and Blackberries just to name a few. But perhaps the biggest addiction, one that often flies in under the radar, is the addiction to OUR OWN IDEAS.
Here's how it works: We think something up. We feel a buzz. We embrace the idea. We think about it some more. We tweak it, we name it, we pitch it, and POOF, the addiction begins.
At first, like most habits, it's subtle, harmless, a seemingly casual pursuit with a thousand positive side effects: increased energy, renewed focus, a feeling of well-being, a heightened sense of awareness.
Like wow, man.
First we have the idea. But then the idea has us.
We think about it in the shower. We think about it in the car. We think about it when we don't want to think about it. We even dream about it. Soon we want EVERYONE to know about our idea. We want them to feel the buzz. We want them to nod in agreement. We want them to recognize just how pure our fixation is.
If this is where it ended, it wouldn't be that big a deal. If this is where it ended, I wouldn't be calling it an addiction. Maybe I'd be calling it an "inspiration," or a "commitment" or a "visitation from the Muse." But it doesn't end here. It goes on and on and on and on -- and often, to our own detriment.
If you have a business, of course, you WANT to conjure up cool ideas that turn you on. That's a good thing. But if you cling to ideas just because they're YOURS, or just because they are FAMILIAR, or just because you've invested major amounts of TIME in them, then it's definitely time to rethink where you're coming from.
It may even be time to get help.
The story behind the creation of the iPhone is a good example of what I'm talking about. Steve Jobs and his Apple team had to face the music and back off their own addiction to what they had created in order to create something even greater. Here's what Steve had to say about the matter...
Continue reading "Are You an Idea Addict?"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:20 PM | Comments (1)
August 14, 2008The Top 100 Lamest Excuses for Not Innovating
NOTE: The following has been our most popular blog entry since we started Heart of Innovation 13 months ago. We feature it here for those of you who may have missed it. MD
Since 1986, I've been working with a wide variety of organizations who have acknowledged their need to innovate -- enough, at least, to invite Idea Champions in to help them on their way.
It's been a fascinating ride.
Along the way, I've noticed that a lot of people who work in corporations are ruled by a host of "reasons" why innovation can't happen.
Many of these reasons, I realize, are based on years of in-the-trenches experience. My clients are not hallucinating, merely reporting how difficult it's been for them along the way.
I guess you could call these people realists.
I understand their point of view, but it is precisely this point of view that's the problem.
Innovation, as I've said before, is an inside job. It begins with the individual. Organizations don't innovate. People do. And if people are ruled by past experiences, old assumptions, and limiting concepts of what's possible, nothing much will ever change.
And so, as a public service, it is my pleasure to present to you the Top 100 Lamest Excuses for Not Innovating -- excuses I continue hearing again and again out there on the front lines of corporate America.
Please remember, dear reader, that there may be a kernel of truth in each of these reasons. Indeed, what sometimes may seem like an excuse may simply be a clear assessment of current reality.
Current reality, however, is only one form of reality. And just because it's current doesn't mean it's the way it will always be. Or should be.
Continue reading "The Top 100 Lamest Excuses for Not Innovating"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:53 AM | Comments (4)
August 13, 2008The Jar
A college professor stood before his philosophy class at the start of a new semester. Silently, he picked up a very large jar and filled it with golf balls. Then he asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly, pebbles settling into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students again responded with a resounding "yes."
The professor then produced two beers from under the table and poured them into the jar, filling the empty spaces between the sand. The students laughed.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2008Big Problem or Right Problem? The Egg Freckles Saga.
Have you ever spent hours trying to solve a problem only to find you've been working on the wrong problem? Try doing it for five years. That's what Apple Computer engineers did with the Newton handheld computer over a decade ago.
From 1993-1998, Apple made a valiant effort to break open a market for portable handheld pen computers. Unfortunately, they spent most of that time working on a problem that didn't really exist for consumers. And as they labored at it, their intended market was stolen by Palm Computing's PalmPilot.
What follows is a tale about a fatal assumption -- an obsession with a Big Problem that led to one of Silicon Valley's great product misfires.
Consider the moral first.
Solving a Big problem doesn't mean you're solving the Right problem.
Apple's team chose to tackle the biggest challenge in pen computing: high-level handwriting recognition. Newton would be the first portable computer people could write on directly using their natural hand. From anyone's scrawl, the computer would extract the standard ASCII characters computers need to work with. This posed a massive challenge in pattern recognition. Since every user's handwriting is different, the Newton would need to learn the particular way its user wrote each letter and number. IF it got all the letters in, say, the word "thing" right, Newton would compare that string of letters to words in its 10,000 word native memory. IF the word "thing" was stored there, Newton would find a match and "know" the word.
The Newton team was determined to build the world's most sophisticated pattern learning pen computer. But why were they doing it? And for who? Here they made one fatal assumption about their potential buyer, an assumption that would seal the Newton's fate.
Continue reading "Big Problem or Right Problem? The Egg Freckles Saga."
Posted by Tim Moore at 02:03 PM | Comments (2)
August 07, 200814 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas
Ta da! My new creative thinking manifesto -- 14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas -- has just been published on ChangeThis.com. How do you say "I'm pumped" in Swahili?
And how do you say, in Croatian, "I'm psyched to be published on the same day as David Meerman Scott and his crew who also just released a changethis!"
If you're interested in sparking innovation -- in yourself or your organization -- my ChangeThis manifesto (available as a beautifully designed downloadable pdf) will help.
If you've never heard of ChangeThis.com, read on to find out where they're coming from and what they do. Good people. Really good.
Continue reading "14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:53 PM | Comments (1)
August 06, 2008CREATIVE THINKING TECHNIQUE: The Daily Muse
In the 21st century, it is no longer considered radical to believe that thought shapes the future. This is something that has been proven again and again in experiment after experiment. And it is precisely for this reason that the media has become such a powerful force in today's world. The media shapes thought.
When we read something in the newspaper, we believe it is true -- and our lives take shape around it.
Well, here is your chance to take back the power of the press. And even more than that, here's your chance to impress your thoughts on the future -- your future -- and by extension, the rest of our futures (so please be coming from the the right place before continuing with the following exercise).
Continue reading "CREATIVE THINKING TECHNIQUE: The Daily Muse"
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:17 AM | Comments (0)
August 05, 2008"Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted, counts." (Einstein)
Some things we can measure. Some things we can't. And just because we can measure something doesn't make it more real or significant. Einstein knew this. There was always the "X factor" for him -- mystery, the unknown, the divine, and the impossible to quantify.
That's why he used to conduct "thought experiments" in his lab -- times when he turned away from the blackboard with all those exotic formulas and simply daydreamed -- letting the intuitive side of him take over for a change.
Hmmm... what might YOU be attempting to quantify or measure that would best be left alone? What might you be needing to TRUST that abides outside the boundaries of the rational, logical, analytical, scientific mind?
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:41 PM | Comments (0)
August 03, 2008A Truly Stand Up Guy (Kawasaki) Acknowledges This Blog on ALLTOP
This just in!
Heart of Innovation has just been noted on Guy Kawasaki's ALLTOP website as one of the top innovation blogs.
ALLTOP (which we just discovered about seven minutes ago) is a very cool resource for anyone wanting to maximize their blogospheric reading experience. Here's how ALLTOP describes itself:
"We help you explore your passions by collecting stories from 'all the top' sites on the web. We've grouped these collections -- 'aggregations'-- into individual Alltop sites based on topics such as environment, photography, science, Muslim, celebrity gossip, military, fashion, gaming, sports, politics, automobiles, and Macintosh.
At each Alltop site, we display the headlines of the latest stories from dozens of sites and blogs.
You can think of an Alltop site as a 'digital magazine rack' of the Internet. To be clear, Alltop sites are starting points -- they are not destinations per se.
The bottom line is that we are trying to enhance your online reading by both displaying stories from the sites that you're already visiting and helping you discover sites that you didn't know existed. In other words, our goal is the 'cessation of Internet stagnation' by providing 'aggregation without aggravation.'"
Thanks, Guy, for putting this together and for acknowledging Heart of Innovation. Blog on, bro!
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:08 PM | Comments (1)
INNOVATION SCHMINNOVATION: Give Peace a Chance!Yes, we're all interested in innovation and that's a good thing, but if innovation doesn't lead to something more than increased marketshare, profits, and stuff to consume, we're in big trouble. Here's a very cool, new video by Stuart Hoffman that will lift your spirits and, hopefully, inspire you to think about new ways in which you can focus your innovation efforts on bringing peace to the world. Got any ideas?
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:56 AM | Comments (2)
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