Without imagination, innovation stalls in the present. Futuristic thinking is a critical skill for everyone—business owners, leaders, veteran team members, and new hires alike. Without it, teams can’t imagine what the organization will look like in five, 10, or 20 years. They can’t imagine their future customers, sources of revenue, competitors, or even what it…
Problem-solving is an essential skill as an innovator. If problems stump your employees, how can your organization ever innovate for customers? Luckily, problem-solving skills can be learned, and as a leader you can create a team of master problem solvers and innovators. Most employees already apply some problem-solving skills every day. They just do so…
What happens after a productive brainstorming session depends on how you organize, develop, and prioritize all those ideas. This innovation strategist has a 7-point action plan. There is nothing quite as energizing as a well-run brainstorming session. When I work with clients on innovation projects, the ideation stage is one of my favorites. There is…
Steve Jobs once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” He was certainly referring to leading in terms of industry: if your company is innovating, it will generally lead the pack. But I think he was also referencing positional titles in the workplace. If you are a leader, you are expected to innovate….
While most leaders champion innovation in their companies, very few employees actively engage in innovation activities. There is a problem to solve, then—if employees aren’t involved and passionate about innovation, the result will be higher failure rates of innovation initiatives. Why don’t employees get excited about innovation? One factor could be that the term “innovation”…
If there was ever a time to contemplate a reinvention, it’s now. The last year and a half has been challenging for a variety of reasons, and we’ve all collectively experienced it—although in different ways. If you want your future to be different, reinvention is the answer. If you want to find solutions to many…
Creativity is the cornerstone of innovation. As a leader, you want to foster imaginative thinking in your employees. The good news is that everybody has imagination. It follows that everybody is capable of coming up with ideas. Whether bad, good, or great, employees bring ideas with them to work every day. So, what’s the correlation…
When you think about your job, how do you feel? Truly think about it—write something down even. Are you fulfilled? Frustrated? Overwhelmed, engaged, proud, bored, thankful, unchallenged? If you’re feeling unchallenged and frustrated in your work, then something needs to change—and soon. Because it’s likely you will realize, or already have realized, that your position…
As innovators, we are always striving for betterment. But how do we achieve it? You cannot be a successful innovator alone, nor can you if you do not know the challenges you face. Some of the most important aspects of being a successful innovator are knowing yourself and knowing who can help you—and when it’s…
Being an inventor is a great achievement. After all, you are the one who comes up with the ideas, or a new discovery. From incandescent light bulbs to the internet of things (IoT), inventors have made untold numbers of improvements to our lives. We have been privileged to work with many people who are truly world-class…
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