March 01, 2010
Go Beyond Your Inhibitors to Creation

For the past 25 years I've been fascinated by the phenomenon of why SOME people succeed with their creative ventures and OTHERS don't. There is no simple answer, of course, but there are definitely indicators.

If you are interested in increasing the odds of succeeding with YOUR latest venture, respond to this online poll. It will only take five minutes and MAY surface some big insights.

I will post the results in the next two weeks. Feel free to forward it to friends and co-workers, as inspired. Thanks!

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:25 AM | Comments (0)

July 22, 2009
The Top 18 High Tech Excuses

A few months ago we asked our readers to tell us what they thought the most common high tech excuses were -- the modern day, techno-centric equivalents to "The dog ate my homework." We primed the pump with seven of our own. Here are the results:

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."
8. "I couldn't open the attachment."
9. "I didn't get a calendar reminder from Outlook."
10. "I don't remember which password opens that application."

11. "I had a power surge and I'm using a dial up connection."
12. "The magnetic strip on the ID card is damaged. I couldn't get in."
13. "I couldn't find your fax number."
14. "The main fuse in the building burned out."
15. "My dog ate my mouse."
16. "I don't have an Orkut account anymore."
17. "I had trouble getting online."
18. "My cat urinated on my laptop."

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:53 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)

February 27, 2009
QUICKIE POLL on Your Company's Innovation Climate

Got 5 minutes? Willing to respond to a brief poll on changes in your company's innovation climate since the so-called recession (i.e downturn, meltdown, end-of-the-economy-as-we-know-it) hit?

This poll comes to you courtesy of the founder of the web's best innovation portal, Chuck Frey of www.innovationtools.com). Good food for thought. Results of the poll will be available soon.

Click here to download Chuck's and Renee Hopkins Callahan's excellent report on Innovation Strategies for the Global Recession.

Photo from www.readcurrents.com

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)

October 19, 2008
Second Chance to Enter the First Annual Word of Mouth Praise Poll

All human beings -- even the most cynical ones amongst us -- have had the experience of praising something at one time or another. For some of us, it may have been a restaurant, movie, or vacation spot. For others, a rock band, teacher, or TV show. Different strokes for different folks.

The purpose of this poll is to identify precisely what these "praise-worthy" catalysts are; in other words, what moves a person to spontaneously speak glowingly of something to another person. True word of mouth, you might say.

Interested? If so, go ahead and take the poll. The whole thing will take you less than seven minutes.

Poll closes on 11/15. (Results will be posted here by 11/30).

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:08 PM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2008
More On Where and When You Get Your Best Ideas

A big thanks to Chuck Frey of Innovation Tools for his June 26th posting on our just-released poll results re: "Where and When People Get Their Best Ideas?"

Chuck notes the top ten catalysts:

1. When you're inspired
2. Brainstorming with others
3. When you're immersed in a project
4. When you're happy
5. Collaborating with a partner
6. Daydreaming
7. Analyzing a problem
8. Driving
9. Commuting to and from work
10. Reading books in your field

And here are the bottom ten:

70. Swimming
71. Brushing your teeth
72. Drinking anything with alcohol
73. Playing a sport
74. When you're sad
75. Mowing the lawn
76. Shaving
77. Procrastinating
78. In a bar
79. Having sex
80. Smoking tobacco

(If you're looking for a fun way to spark some great ideas, click here.)

Or here.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:14 AM | Comments (1)

June 25, 2008
POLL RESULTS: Where and When Do You Get Your Best Ideas?

Einstein used to get his best ideas while shaving. Mozart used to exercise before composing. The Scientific Method came to Rene Descartes in a dream.

One of our clients gets her best ideas when blow drying her hair.

Fascinated by the question of what catalyzes people's best ideas, Idea Champions polled 163 people and are sharing the results with you here (i.e. "Where and When Do You Get Your Best Ideas?")

Why bother reading it?

1. It will help you be more creative.
2. It will increase your ability to capture your best ideas.
3. It will give you insights about how to create a culture of innovation.
4. It's fascinating (i.e Out of 80 choices, the "workplace" ranked #35. "Daydreaming" was #6.)

If, after reading the poll, you think of other "best idea" catalysts, let us know. When we get 20 or more, we'll share them with Heart of Innovation readers here.

And if you're looking for help establishing a sustainable culture of innovation, click here... or here...or here. (Clicking your shoes three times ain't gonna cut it.)

Or, if you want to spring for $13.95, you can read Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world).

(Much thanks to Tim Moore (scroll down to the 8th bio) for his deep thinking, coordination, analysis, and report writing on this project!)

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)