August 23rd, 2010 by Admin
US-bestselling author Dr. Spezzano, a visionary in business, interviewed by Stefan Götz / Fresh Ideas TV, passionately describes how we open up inspiration in our business and why competing doesn’t get you better results and what instead will. Watch the entire film on www.fresh-ideas-world.com
July 13th, 2010 by Admin
Employees who use company-sponsored programs to give support to others feel a stronger commitment to their companies. These employees see themselves as more caring people and see the company as a more caring organization. Receiving support from a firm in cases such as illness or family emergencies is appreciated but does not make employees feel as proud and supportive of their employer as does the opportunity to give help. Adam Grant presented at the “Small Steps, Big Leaps: The Science of Getting People to Do the Right Thing” research briefing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, co-sponsored by the Center for Social Innovation.
February 27th, 2010 by James A Gardner
Once you’ve taken the decision to start an innovation programme, the next thing you’ll need to deal with is finding the people you need to make new things happen.
Regrettably, many innovation leaders don’t always get this right. The reason is that it is tempting to hire people who seem like great innovators, but who are actually poor at converting ideas into products and services that can actually drive a business forward.
Studies examining this topic have found there are a few signs you can watch out for when hiring. Here is a list of people you should try to spot early:
The Gadgeteer. We all know one: the person who has a shiny new toy all the time. For a Gadgeteer, it seems the new thing will be a fantastic addition to any innovation portfolio. But there is usually no way the gadget can be tied back to any business problem needing a solution. This is the key thing to watch out for with Gadgeteers: they want to innovate new toys that have no relationship at all to what the organisation needs to do.
The Cowboy. Such individuals are very, very committed to their innovations, so much so that no blockage can stand in their way. They go after what is needed to make the new thing happen, and they do so with gusto. Unfortunately, they also do it without much thought as to what will happen after they’ve rammed the innovation down everyone’s throats. If the cowboys are lucky,they’ll at least get their current innovation out the door and into the hands of customers. But in doing so they will have locked themselves out of being able to do the next round of innovation. Cowboys are aware that they are burning influence to make things happen, but their focus is so much on the now that they don’t permit themselves to consider how they will deliver the next innovation, or the one after that.
The Defeatist. The danger of the Defeatist is relatively small: they sit around progressing nothing, so if you had to make a hiring mistake at all, this is the one you’d want. Defeatists accomplish nothing because they look at all new things through eyes overwhelmed by the challenges of making new things happen. Their response to anything unique or unusual is “that’s too innovative for us”. The underlying issue here is defeatists don’t have enough influence to get anything much accepted, but don’t want to admit it.
The Consultant. At the other end of the scale (from the Gadgeteer), you have Consultant-Innovators. They don’t focus on the answer to the business situation (an answer that will, hopefully, be something innovative), and instead concentrate of defining the problem to be solved. Now, of course it is necessary to have a pretty good definition of a problem before it can addressed in any reasonable way, but the consultant-innovator will write reports and requirements documents till the cows come home.
The Talker. The talker is a superlative communicator, and when you put one on a stage in front of an audience, you get inspirational words that create excitement for the innovation experience.The Talker is also great at networking, and is able to get to practically anyone in an organisation. Usually only once, mind you, because the great failing of the Talker is they never do anything.
The Lone Ranger. Lone Rangers are innovators who prefer to work alone. They like to have everything under their personal control, cannot bear to delegate any work to anyone, and need to be personally involved in every single, little detail of their innovations.They imagine they, and they alone, are all it will take to get an innovation out the door. They engage in individual heroics to make try to move things along, but usually fail to deliver much because almost all innovations require a team of people to actually get things to happen.
If you have one of these terrible innovators, you should fire them quickly. If you can’t fire them, you need to sideline them somehow. But, of course, the best strategy would be to avoid hiring them altogether.
In the end, the challenge of starting an innovation programme is big enough by itself. You don’t need Terrible Innovators around to make it harder.
If you’re starting a new innovation programme visit www.futureproofbank.com to get the details you need, including free online excerpts describing the Terrible Innovators.
February 22nd, 2010 by Admin
B Vo The Business Voice – world leaders at your desk brought to you by www.bvo.com FREE business inspiration from the worlds greatest leaders Anthony Gell interviews Edward De Bono on highly successful people.
February 8th, 2010 by Admin
Inspirational and Motivational Speaker Andy Cohen knows the secret to success in life and business: identify your strengths and incorporate them into actionable, motivational, and inspirational actions. See Andy Cohen’s business motivation seminar audience discuss Andy Cohen’s innovative approach to motivation, inspiration and innovation, and how Andy Cohen helped them unlock their hidden potential!
January 13th, 2010 by Admin
CARLA RIEGER is an expert on the artistry of change. She uses proven secrets from the world of performing arts to help your organization becoming a leader of innovation. She has been a professional speaker, trainer, facilitator, comedy improvisor, and performance storyteller since the mid-80s. She is the director of YES Education Systems, a creative communications and innovation consulting firm since 1991. She has written three critically acclaimed manuals, The Power of Laughter, Speaking on …
September 28th, 2009 by Admin
Andy Cohen live at the World Innovation Forum discussing his unique approach to unlocking your business innovation and creativity to boost sales and profits. Andy Cohen is a professional business speaker specializing in motivational and inspirational keynote addresses, and can help inspire your employees to unlock their hidden potential by using innovative and creative magic tricks to inspire, motivate, and unleash everyone’s creativity.
