Wake Up the Passion to Innovate
Innovation is a big fat generic concept in most corporations -- like life on other planets or ending the war in Iraq.
Unless the individuals within an organization have a genuine sense of urgency, personal ownership, and an authentic passion for innovation, nothing much will happen.
innovation from the inside out within the mind of each person. Corporate initiatives that fail to awaken the human instinct to innovate are doomed, no matter how many pep talks, tote bags, or t-shirts proliferate.
For me, as an innovation consultant, it is clear that the short amount of time I have with my clients needs to be devoted to awakening the passion to innovate.
Tools, techniques, theory, data, models, bibliographies, business cases, best practices, and the fabulous muffins served on breaks are all fine, but it is the passion to innovate that is the real driver of success.
No passion, no innovation. Plain and simple.
Unfortunately, most organizations squash passion. This is why start-ups have a much easier time innovating than Fortune 500 companies. And that's why savvy Fortune 500 companies recreate the feeling of start-uppiness whenever they can.
The best thing any consultant can do when working with an organization is to hold up a mirror and ask their clients what they see.
Are they modeling what it means to be innovative? Or are they asking other people to do what they themselves have not done?
Idea Champions
My kick asss
Applied Innovation
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:17 AM | Comments (0)
November 28, 2010Immerse Yourself!
You are trying
to boil water,
but keep taking
the lid off
to see
if it's boiling.
Not a good idea.
If you really
want a breakthrough,
immerse yourself!
Unplug
from the distractions
and focus
on what you really want
to create.
It's possible -
if even only for a day.
Free the Genie
kick ass
Innovation Coaching
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:24 AM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2010Virtual Innovation Coaching
Aspiring innovators have a lot going for them -- big ideas, inspiration, and the willingness to work hard. What they usually don't have is time, meaningful feedback, and the knack for discovering elegant solutions on the fly.
Why? Because they tend to work alone.
Faced with the challenge of balancing right-brain thinking with the left-brain demands of monetizing the fruits of their labor, they are frequently stranded between two worlds -- the world of infinite possibility and the world of "getting the product out the door."
The result? Confusion, doubt, and brick walls...
Historically, aspiring innovators have had few options: 1) Struggle in obscurity; 2) Scramble for a collaborator; 3) Seek the council of (only occasionally available) friends, family, and colleagues.
With the extraordinary rise of the internet, however, a fourth option is now available -- a way for entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and anyone with an inspired idea to get the support they need to increase their odds of success.
Think of this fourth option as a kind of "innovation insurance" -- a virtual network of skilled allies, advisors, and brainstorm partners with the time and expertise to help aspiring innovators get over the hump.
And so... I am happy to announce that Idea Champions has decided to launch this much-needed service by January 15th.
At this stage of the game, we're still tuning into the need. Which is why we're asking for three minutes of your time, now, to respond to our online poll . We want to know what you find compelling about our new venture.
If you want to be notified when The Power of Two launches in January, click here.
Until then, do your best to keep the flame alive. Honor your ideas. Make effort every day. And if you need a reminder, click here or here or here.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)
November 23, 2010The Wisdom of Steve Jobs
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma -- which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." -- Steve Jobs
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:16 PM | Comments (0)
November 14, 2010Innovation as a Happy Accident
A little known fact about innovation is that many breakthroughs have not been the result of genius, but "happy accidents" -- those surprise moments when an answer revealed itself for no particular reason.
The discovery of penicillin, for example, was the result of Alexander Fleming noting the formation of mold on the side of petri dish left uncleaned overnight.
Vulcanized Rubber was discovered in 1839 when Charles Goodyear accidentally dropped a lump of the polymer substance he was experimenting with onto his wife's cook stove.
More recently, 3M's post-it was also the result of an accident in the lab.
Breakthroughs aren't always about invention, but the intervention required, by the aspiring innovator, to notice something new, unexpected, and intriguing.
WHAT TO DO:
1. Think about a recent project, pilot, or business of yours that did not turn out the way you expected.
2. Ask yourself if any of the unexpected results offer you a clue or insight about how you might proceed differently.
3. Instead of interpreting your results as "failure," consider the fact that the results are simply nature's way of getting you to see something new -- something that merits further exploration.
Excerpted from Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an Uphill World
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:59 PM | Comments (1)
November 12, 2010Friends, Roamers, and Countrymen!
A few days ago, I was nominated by a leading speaker's bureau as one of the top speakers in the field of innovation and creativity.
Now the fun begins, or should I say "the voting."
I can't promise I will lower taxes, but I can promise I will raise awareness of what it really takes to innovate.
Casting your ballot takes less than a minute. (Thank you!!!)
1. Click this link
2. Scroll to the 7th category
3. Click the box next to Mitchell Ditkoff
4. Scroll to the end of the page and fill out a few fields
5. Click "submit"
For more info about my kick ass speaking service, click here. For a quick tutorial on what it takes to be good public speaker, click here.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:27 AM | Comments (0)
November 11, 2010Minimize Distractions
Creativity is free.
It doesn't cost a thing.
You don't need
to pay a penny for it,
but you do need
to pay something --
and that is your
attention.
How can you expect
to create something awesome
if you keep getting
distracted all the time?
Face it.
If you want to
open your mind,
sometimes
you need to
close your door.
Free the Genie
Awake at the Wheel
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:21 PM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2010Build a Business Case!
Attention, right brainers!
You obviously
have a great idea.
I know you
are pumped, excited,
fascinated, juiced,
and convinced
your idea
is the next Facebook
or yoyo or whatever.
But it's not enough
for YOU to be convinced.
If you want your idea
to manifest,
you'll need to
convince others,
and that will require
some left brain
business case building.
You can do this!
Start today!
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2010Fast Forward to 2100
While no one
really knows
what the future holds,
it's always useful
to do a bit of projecting.
Imagine it's
90 years from now.
and the project you are
most committed to
is in full swing,
being enjoyed by
the children of your
children's children.
What clues do you get
from this scenario
that can help you
shape your product, service,
or marketing approach, now?
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:00 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2010Innovation kick asss for 2011
OK. I realize blog postings are not supposed to be marketing riffs. For the blog-elite among us, that's a big no no.
Which is why 98% of the postings on this blog are not marketing riffs.
Today, however, I'm making an exception because it's become increasingly clear to me that only a few of you know what the heck we do for a living.
And so, as a public service at no extra charge, here ya go: one slice of the Idea Champions pie -- brief descriptions of our highly acclaimed innovation-sparking kick asss. Call us. We're good.
1. CREATING A CULTURE OF INNOVATION
When, Where, Who, Why and How
All business leaders want the same thing -- and that is an organizational culture that is agile, adaptive, and conducive to sustainable innovation.
Easier said than done, however.
When you think of how difficult it is for just one person to lose five pounds or stop smoking, imagine how difficult it is to engage an entire workforce in the effort to innovate.
But just because it's difficult, doesn't mean it's impossible. You've got to start somewhere. And Creating a Culture of Innovation is the best way to start -- a highly engaging wake up call that demystifies innovation, sparks original thinking, and provides an easy-to-adapt model that each participant can immediately apply on the job.
Includes:
- Best innovation practices of leading organizations
- A robust business case for why innovation matters
- Three culture building tools and techniques
- Small group brainstorming sessions
- A free, 1-month license of Free the Genie
2. THE SEED OF INNOVATION
It's Not About the Process. It's About the People.
Let's cut to the chase: Innovation doesn't begin with processes, structures, and protocols. It begins with people -- inspired, committed, and collaborative people.
When people are in the right mindset, your company has thousands of daily, spontaneously occurring opportunities for innovation to take root.
All too often, however, these opportunities are missed.
Why? Because they are usually invisible to people. Like the rarely seen white arrow in the FedEx logo, people have a hard time seeing what's right in front of them -- the opportunity to identify, spark, and co-develop promising new ideas.
The Seed of Innovation teaches people how to create the conditions that radically increase the odds of bold, new ideas being identified and developed on the fly.
It does so not by requiring people to add another initiative to their already maxed out schedule, but by leveraging the countless interactions they are already having on the job -- in hallways, elevators, parking lots, lunchrooms, bathrooms, conference rooms, and cubicles.
Includes:
- The art of listening
- Best innovation practices from leading organizations
- Teaching and practice of LCS (idea feedback tool)
- Seven ways to maximize the seed of innovation moment
- Free annual license of Free the Genie (online brainstorming tool)
3. FREE THE GENIE
Unleashing the Creativity of Your Workforce, 24/7
In today's financially challenged marketplace, most organizations can no longer afford to throw money at problems or hire more "head count." Those days are over.
What's needed now is a far more intelligent, collective response -- a way to access the existing brainpower of your workforce. You've got the horses. You've got the horsepower. What you don't have is a simple, cost-effective way to unleash it.
That's what Free the Genie is all about -- a highly engaging ideation event that makes it profoundly easy for participants to generate compelling new ideas for growing the business
What's unique about a Free the Genie session is that the newly unleashed creativity of your workforce doesn't end when the meeting is over. Our service includes an annual license of our Free the Genie brainstorming tool -- providing everyone with a simple, time-efficient way to continue developing new ideas, post-session.
Includes:
- Pre-session, online "Qualities of an Innovator" poll
- Tutorial on the art and science of creative thinking
- Best innovation practices from leading organizations
- Teaching and practice of LCS (idea feedback tool)
- Free annual license of Free the Genie
4. BLUE SKY THINKING
When Incremental Improvements are Not Enough
Some organizations are afraid of disruptive innovation. It spooks them. And understandably so.
Disruptive innovation can be extremely challenging -- replete with the unknown, the unknowable, and a seemingly endless series of meetings no one has the time to attend.
Innovation, in these organizations, takes place on the incremental side of the equation -- tweaks, cost cutting, and process improvements.
That's all well and good.
But there are other organizations who know their future depends on a purposeful effort to challenge the status quo and generate breakthrough ideas -- ideas for new products, new services, and new ways of doing business.
If this describes your organization, then Blue Sky Thinking is for you.
This highly energizing, two-hour kick ass not only gets the creative juices flowing, but provides senior leadership with an extraordinary variety of newly generated business-growth ideas they can evaluate, post-session.
Includes:
- Pre-session "innovation opportunities" poll
- Teaching and practice of the Blue Sky Thinking technique
- Small group brainstorming
- 16-page Blue Sky Thinking guidebook
- Sorting of newly generated ideas into TBD categories
5. ASSUMPTION BUSTING 101
It's Not About the Bottom Line. It's About the Line You've Drawn in the Sand
Of all the obstacles to innovation, the most destructive is the tendency individuals and organizations have to be ruled by limiting assumptions.
Better known as "blind spots" or "lines in the sand," limiting assumptions prevent people from trying anything new. Stopped before they've had a chance to start, people bound by limiting assumptions bail out at the status quo.
Ask them to explore new possibilities and they will give you countless reasons why nothing new can happen. They have "proof," based on past experience.
Probe a bit, however, and you'll discover their inabilty to consider the new, isn't because they don't want to innovate, but because their limiting assumptions prevent them from seeing opportunities to innovate.
Assumption Busting 101 is a way to turn this phenomenon around, helping even the most curmudgeonly "no can do" person to open their mind to extraordinary possibilities.
The takeaway from this interactive kick ass is not just the generation of new ideas, but a palpable change in mindset. From "no" to "possible." From "can't do" to "will do," From the "cup's half empty" to "who said we have to drink out of that ridiculously small cup, anyway?"
Includes:
- Pre-session, online limiting assumptions poll
- Review and discussion of famous innovation-averse assumptions
- Action learning (hands on experiential challenge and debrief)
- Small group brainstorming
- 16-page Lead Into Gold assumption busting guidebook
6. AWAKE AT THE WHEEL
What You Can Learn About Innovation from a Neanderthal
These days you've probably had your fill of stories about Google, Apple, Southwest Airlines, and Dell -- the so-called golden boys of innovation. Stories about them are everywhere. Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Inc, Fast Company, Forbes, and every blogger looking for more fans are waxing poetic about the wisdom of these innovation-savvy organizations.
I'd like to put a stop to this madness.
Not because the stories are untrue. And not because the stories are uninspiring. But because the stories don't always translate to your business, your industry, and your workforce.
It's time for a new story that everyone can relate to -- and that new story is the story told by Mitch Ditkoff in Awake at the Wheel, his award winning business parable about the invention of the wheel by the world's first innovator, Og the Neanderthal.
What Og had to go through to get his idea out of his head and into the world is the same journey all of us have to go through -- the journey from idea to execution.
Includes:
- A copy of Awake at the Wheel for each participant
- Best innovation practices
- Teaching and practice of three creative thinking techniques
- Launching of your company's "Best New Idea" campaign
- Free annual license of Free the Genie (online brainstorming tool)
Illustration
illustration
Photo
Illustration
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:32 PM | Comments (0)
