March 25, 2009
Generation "F" vs. the Fortune 500

This just in from Gary Hamel.

"The experience of growing up online will profoundly shape the workplace expectations of "Generation F" -- the Facebook Generation. At a minimum, they'll expect the social environment of work to reflect the social context of the Web, rather than as is currently the case, a mid-20th-century Weberian bureaucracy."

Hamel's 12 key concepts:

1. All ideas compete on an equal footing
2. Contribution counts for more than credentials
3. Hierarchies are natural, not prescribed
4. Leaders serve rather than preside
5. Tasks are chosen, not assigned
6. Groups are self-defining and self-organizing
7. Resources get attracted, not allocated
8. Power comes from sharing information, not hoarding it
9. Opinions compound and decisions are peer-reviewed
10. Users can veto most policy decisions
11. Intrinsic rewards matter most
12. Hackers are heroes

Full story here.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)

March 18, 2009
Got Innovation Process?

If you want to create a river, you will need two things: flowing water and two river banks. If you want to create a culture of innovation, you will also need two things: new ideas and the organizational structures to keep those ideas flowing forward.

Most organizations miss the mark completely. They either have an abundance of ideas OR overly engineered processes to move those ideas downstream -- but not both.

What's needed is a balance of the two: liquid creativity and meaningful boundaries. Or as the spiritually minded among us might say, "formlessness and form."

If you are interested in helping your organization find the right balance, begin by taking our 4-minute poll. We'll be posting the results here in a few weeks.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)

March 15, 2009
GOOGLE UPDATE: Hire smart people and ask them for your objectives


Just found this interesting update, at Bill's Blog, on innovation at Google (via Google Alerts, of course). If you're looking for some best practices to adapt (and are willing to go beyond business as usual), this one's for you. Here's what I mean:

"Seems like many things at Google, are voted on, or managed by peer reviews. An example are their quarterly objectives and key results. They are done bottoms up with very little top down input. Google's approach is to hire the smartest people they can and then ask them what they should be doing."

Photo

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2009
USA! USA! We're # 8!

America may the world's biggest consumer of Frappucinos, but we're #8 in innovation, according to a joint study of 110 countries by the Boston Consulting Group, National Association of Manufacturers, and the Manufacturing Institute.

But hey, if you don't really care about joint studies (and who can blame you?), click here for an inspiring music video by my good friend, Stuart Hoffman, the Hindi-Hasidic founder of the LA-based Hoffmaniacs.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:33 AM | Comments (0)

March 03, 2009
14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas

Is there a secret to coming up with a breakthrough idea? No, there isn't. But there are things you can do to increase the likelihood. Here are 14, excerpted from my ChangeThis Manifesto, available here for downloading.

1. Follow your fascination
2. Immerse
3. Tolerate ambiguity
4. Make new connections
5. Fantasize
6. Define the right challenge
7. Listen to your subconscious
8. Take a break
9. Notice and challenge existing patterns and trends
10. Hang out with diverse groups of people
11. Brainstorm
12. Look for happy accidents
13. Use creative thinking techniques
14. Suspend logic

Photo by Pela

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:24 AM | Comments (0)

Who Are We?

Idea Champions is a consulting and training company dedicated to awakening and nurturing the spirit of innovation. We help individuals, teams and entire organizations tap into their innate ability to create, develop and implement ideas that make a difference.

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