Selective Neglect – What Do You Not Do?
It can be tough to know which tasks to focus on, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done. We want it all. But by using the Eisenhower Matrix, we can focus on the right tasks and apply selective neglect to those we should delegate or ignore […]
Continue Innovating During An Economic Downturn?
The current economic downturn may have you feeling like you need to hunker down and wait it out. Especially in innovating during an economic downturn. This is understandable—no one wants to risk their hard-earned money in uncertain times. But this is actually the optimal time to take innovation lead
Are Innovations Invented or Discovered?
Are innovations invented or discovered? We have debated this question for many years. Some people believe innovations are inventions, while others believe they are discoveries. With people’s growing curiosity to understand how to be more creative, more innovative, there is a strong desire to learn t
Innovation Arms Race: The Invisible Risk
The innovation arms race is the race to be the most innovative company in the world. It’s a competition where the prize is market share, customers, and profits. And the cost of entry is high. This is a competition where there is no finish line. To compete, companies must invest heavily in R&D. But n
The Thinking Skills Needed For Success
How often do we step back and think about how we think? Probably not often enough. However, understanding how we think is important if we want to improve the quality of our ideas and, as a result, our innovations. Periodically throughout my career, I have benefited from reflecting on how I think. It
How To Use First Principles Thinking To Innovate
Thinking is one of the essential skills a person must learn. It allows us to decide, solve problems, and come up with new ideas. And yet, many people never learn how to do it properly. The history of thinking goes back centuries. The ancient Greeks were some of the first people to think about thinki
Hindsight Is 20/20 – The Hindsight Fallacy
The hindsight fallacy is a cognitive bias that relies heavily on past knowledge or experience when making predictions about the future. This belief that "hindsight is 20/20" can lead to inaccurate predictions because it causes people to forget that their past understanding might not be accurate.
If People Would Behave Decently, The World Would Be Decent!
Charles Dickens is quoted as saying: “If men would behave decently, the world would be decent.” This is so true! If we want to see a change in the world, it starts with each one of us behaving decently. When we are kind, compassionate, and respectful to others, we set the tone for how we […]
(Preparing For) A Failure of Imagination
With organizational failures, the imagination is often at fault. We can’t imagine things going wrong, so we don’t plan for them. Organizations can’t imagine that their employees would do something unethical, so they don’t have policies in place to prevent it. Owners can’t imagine that a natural disa
The Innovation Skills and Attributes I Look For When Hiring Innovators
Do you think of life as a game? It’s more than just an analogy. Life really is a game, and there are rules. Rules that can help us survive and thrive. This article will show you how to win this one-in-a-million chance at life by knowing how to make others aware of your innovation skills […]
