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

Read More..

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

Read More..

Had a fun evening at the London Writers Club last night. It got me thinking about thinking. Writers are always thinking about their projects, which inspired this cartoon, and this thought: to be a fluid idea generator one must allow for a lot of free association. That means allowing your mind to go its own way without you trying to control it. Writers tend to be pretty good at this, not only in their writing, but in their thinking between writing sessions. Everything in front of them is stimulus for characters, stories, structure, and generally, ideas. Do you allow your thoughts to roam and roam free? At least now and then? Then do you try to pull some meaning out

Read More..

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

Read More..

I’ve been following some interesting posts lately by Paul Hobcraft regarding management engagement in Innovation. Paul’s posts have a lot to do with the concept of engagement. It inspired the attached cartoon. I think many high level executives simply don’t know what they have. Until it’s too late. There are a lot of smart people out there, with great ideas. Talent is something you need if you really want to innovate. And yet, really, most organizations already have that talent. No, not every employee is Jony Ives and is an impact player at that level, but nearly every company has some people that, under the right circumstances, can hit home runs (score goals, set records, win gold, etc.). Ives himself

Read More..

At the heart of it, much of my professional work revolves around facilitation. Mostly I facilitate innovation projects. I do other things of course (speaking, writing, coaching) but I am often to be found, on my feet, creating innovation magic — facilitating idea generation sessions, aka ideation, aka brainstorming. And Yes, It Works. They work! Because it’s so much a part of my daily work life I sometimes forget what a challenge facilitation can be for others. It also occurs to me that if you’ve never had a good facilitator you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s interesting that I often hear, after my sessions, that they’ve never had such an “active” or productive session. Apologies for a bit of

Read More..

Can we just Get the Innovation Party Started already? One of the most frustrating things about being an Innovation consultant is watching organizations get stuck in a mud pit of inaction around innovation. Call it procrastination, lack of corporate will, a culture of bureaucracy — they all amount to the same thing: no productive innovation work done. I see it over and over, it’s as common as a head cold and just as unpleasant. I’ve written about this before — today’s post has a bit of a new wrinkle. Here’s the message: Have a party and get started. I mean it literally. Make innovation an ongoing company party. The common suggestions around how to circumvent this…innovation infarction…are many. They include:

Read More..

Is there a value to goofy, no purpose, experimenting? Does it make you more creative? I think yes. Madge here wanted to be goofy — and see if anybody noticed. Nobody noticed. She didn’t care. She felt better and got off the train with a giggle in her heart. Creative tip: giggles in your heart are a good thing. Have them. Make them happen. Toodles.  

Read More..

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

Read More..

The classic American vacation might be that drive out west to see Mt. Rushmore. I’ve always yearned to see the famous mountain sculpture. This past week I got out to South Dakota, determined not to write or even think about creativity or innovation. I was there to enjoy the Black Hills, the Badlands, take in Mt. Rushmore, have a couple of strenuous hikes, and share it all with my lovely partner. Then I saw the Crazy Horse Memorial — and I had to kiss goodbye the idea of a creativity and innovation thought-free vacation. I’ve never seen such an ambitious creative project. It took me by surprise. I was only vaguely aware of the project and we stopped to see

Read More..