Gregg Fraley

Guerilla Innovation Chapter 10 In the previous post/chapter of Guerilla Innovation we talked about “amping ideas.” I reviewed two tools for doing so. They’re good tools. And…there’s more to it than those techniques. Idea amping is a way of life for an entrepreneur — and especially so for a small business one. Nobody will do the hard work of making something special for you. Something in our culture encourages you to quit when things become unreasonable. Yet, entrepreneurship is in many ways being unreasonable with yourself — and accepting the lemons people give you and making lemonade. Being an entrepreneur is a contrarian state. Unreasonable, in the sense that you go beyond what reason or logic would dictate to you is

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Guerilla Innovation Chapter Nine You have to amp those ideas before you start marketing and selling. If you are in before-start-up mode, even more reason to AMP like mad. The refined or amped up idea might just get you to that elusive Point of Difference we talked about. It’s not enough to have a great idea. I’m not making light of the effort one must make to get to a breakthrough idea, but if you’re an entrepreneur, really, a great idea is only what you need to get to the starting line. The early going in the business race is about “insanely great” ideas (thank you Steve Jobs). Good ideas are  normally “out of the medals” at the end of

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I’ve been involved* these past two years with a creativity conference in Oklahoma, now called the State of Creativity Forum. This conference has energy to spare, it feels like an accelerating fire of innovative energy. Last year’s event (for a summary look at this post) exploded with dynamic speakers, cultural, and artist happenings. Even the governor, Mary Fallin, was there to support the notion that creativity and innovation is how Oklahoma moves forward. This year features Sir Ken Robinson and Peter Diamandis of X Prize fame — and that’s just the start. It’s all taking place November 13th in Oklahoma City. By all means, if you want a great taster, or even a major feast of creative stimulation, this is

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There is a new breeze blowing in the once troubled land of Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It’s a wind bringing a refreshing sense of posibility, energy, good ideas, youth, art, music and entrepreneurial spirit. It might otherwise be called Hope. Walk the new pedestrian Peace Bridge over the River Foyle into the walled city and you’ll find a vibrant core of creative talent. I don’t know enough to comment about the Troubles that existed here, but I think it’s fair to say that Derry has turned a corner and is moving forward into a new era. To a great extent the economic playing field has been levelled — and the result is an emerging regional center of excellence in the digital arts

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When In Doubt, Do The Mash Not so many people remember his name anymore — Philo Farnsworth. The very short bio of Philo Farnsworth is that he created the first working all-electronic television. He conceived the basic idea at the age of 14. Understand, this was leading edge electronics of the time. He made his idea real in his early 20’s. He went on to have 165 patents. The coolest part of the Philo Farnsworth story, to me, is how his thinking evolved and worked in creating the television display tube. First of all he had an “intense preoccupation” with the idea of pictures over the air. Philo was a farm boy, raised in Utah and Idaho and you’ll see

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Guerrilla Innovation Chapter Seven Scaffolding — Thinking Monkey Bars for Small Business Small business people, aka, Guerrilla Innovators, you’re now looking for a unique business idea. This ain’t brainstorming, it’s Scaffolding. Just for fun maybe we call it Idea Generation Monkey Bars for Small Business. It’s a method to get to great ideas one thinking notch up at a time. I’ve been told that the term “Scaffolding” is used in the psychology and education fields. I first heard the term used by my partner with regard to idea generation — and it immediately struck me as a helpful way to look at things. Let me explain how Scaffolding works. Innovators, get out your Notebooks and start Notebooking. Breakthrough ideas are

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Guerilla Innovation Chapter Six Ideas Aren’t Innovation Ideas are not Innovation — and it’s interesting how often “idea people” think that having a good idea is enough. Ideas need development and implementation — get that done and you’ve still got to run the business. If you’re a start-up you’ll need to hire a team of people, raise funds, market your idea, sell it, and somehow profit from it. Team building, fund raising, operations — these are all essential and they all contribute to the innovation puzzle. I’ll touch on them later in Guerilla Innovation (this online book) but, this book is primarily about innovation — that component of a business where value is created. And creation is an awful lot

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Guerilla Innovation Chapter Five Notebooking is Innovation Viagra What do Leonardo DaVinci, Thomas Edison, Jack Kerouac, Beatrix Potter, Madame Curie, and Twyla Tharp all have in common? They all do Idea Notebooks. Call the behavior Notebooking. It’s not just ideas, it’s also questions, facts, observations — products of your curiosity. The big company version of Notebooking is an Idea Management System (IMS). Notebooks are the IMS for small business innovators. You have a Jungle Business Plan in your purse or man bag. It’s a short document that forms the outline of what you are doing in your quest for innovation. It’s a guide and you’re actively working it, evolving as the landscape in front of you changes. You use creative

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Guerilla Innovation Chapter Four Innovate on COQ Doing “COQ ” (rhymes with Poke) will get you somewhere. If you want to be an innovator you have to create something new — and how do you do that? COQ. COQ stands for Curiosity, Observation and Questions. This COQ is not illegal, but it is rare and precious. Innovator’s should live in a constant state of COQ. Not a COQ “high” a COQ aware. How do you discover that niche, that point of difference, that special value that customers will pay for? COQ that’s how. An innovator has to be Curious beyond measure. Yes, an innovator has to know something at the start, that’s why reading everything you can get your hands

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Guerilla Innovation Chapter Two Business Plans That Work –One You Can Take to the Jungle I’ve got nothing against business plans except when they become an excuse for not doing business. I have a problem with innovators and entrepreneurs spending weeks and even months developing an elegant document which ages like bad smelling cheese. The purposes of a business plan is to PLAN and EXECUTE, not impress, and not waste a lot of time. A Guerrilla innovation business plan is one you can take into the jungle. It’s light weight, it’s simple, and it’s water proof. The Jungle Plan is for your own use. Do Not show it to investors, but only close-in friendly eyes if necessary. It should be less

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