Leadership
Does being like Steve Jobs and being harsh with your staff get you better performance?
The late Steve Jobs was the visionary who took Apple from the office desktop to the user’s back pocket. His reputation on stage was as a hard-charging, success-driven leader, and his audience responded with cheers and fist pumps as customers flocked to buy his latest brainchild. What was his secret
Small Business Ideas That Went Big
Everyone has to start somewhere and this is often true with a small business. Starting off with small business ideas doesn’t have to stay small, however. There are many that can grow into giants. In today’s world of small business, we can take inspiration from those who took a little idea and turned
Rogue Rage: Four Questions to Transform Anger into Innovation Opportunity
Every person and organization says they want to change, to innovate, to grow. In a fast-paced business environment, standing still might as well be moving backward. But what happens when every idea, every innovation, is met with apathy, defensiveness, or outright hostility from the corporate antibod
Beyond The Obvious Translations Available in English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese
When I signed my book deal with Hyperion to publish my book, Beyond The Obvious, it also included global rights. What this meant was that Hyperion purchased the right to have Beyond The Obvious translations in any language they choose. As an update, Beyond The Obvious has now been translated and rel
Having Engaged Employees is an Essential Part of Innovation
It is hard to imagine that a company can be truly successful if its employees are not adequately motivated and engaged. When you have engaged employees, they take a personal interest in the success of their company. Otherwise, they are likely to do what is expected but lack the motivation to go much
5 Steps to Avoid Burnout and Complete Your Project
As much as we may eagerly anticipate the completion of a project, we would probably be lying if we did not admit to some burnout or fatigue along the way. Even in the event of a killer thesis, a dynamite business proposal, or a practical play-by-play game plan, there still remains the actual work re
Post-It Notes: 4 Lessons for Innovators
I love the behind-the-scenes story of Post-it notes. How many of these little, yellow sorta-stickies are flagged around your house or your office? Did you know they were originally a mistake? A very fortunate mistake. As the story goes, Spencer Silver was a skilled chemist and a very smart man. In 1
Innovation Coach: 4 Questions You Should Ask Before Selecting One
The emergence of the innovation coach is the newest hot topic in the innovation community. While executive coaching is a well-accepted tool to improve overall organizational and personal performance, can the same be said about innovation coaches? The impact of executive coaching is proven to have an
4 Reasons Why You Should Break The Rules And Go Stealth For Your Next Innovation
You’ve got a great idea but you know from experience that the C-Suite isn’t tolerant of radical innovations without reams of back-up data. The Catch-22 is that to fund the proof of concept, you need C-Suite approval to work on improving the idea. What to do? Break the rules. The answer might lie i
Innovation Leadership Is Not For The Faint Of Heart
When considering innovation in your business or creative life, it’s easy to get so caught up in the fuzzy, catch-phrase-laden mentality that you forget the nuts and bolts of bringing true change to your work. But innovation leadership is more than just feel-good slogans and extra meetings with focus
