Comments on: Innovation and the Right People (Part 1)

By: The Black Coat » Social Media vs. Traditional Advertising

The Black Coat » Social Media vs. Traditional Advertising — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:04:49 +0000

[...] but they are few and far between. So what do you do in the meantime? Jump in, try to find the right people who get it, and learn it on your own. After all, it’s free, cheap and available to the [...]

By: The Black Coat » Entrepreneur = CEO?

The Black Coat » Entrepreneur = CEO? — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:42:38 +0000

[...] Getting back to teaching people to Entrepreneurs for moment, I have not heard any business schools offering courses on persuasion, gumption, “working around the system,” being creative and a little insane. What? Well, isn’t that what Entrepreneurs are? These are born traits that are further developed through life circumstances. Trying to get people to take on these common Entrepreneurial ways of being is a waste of time in my opinion. It’s like teaching an artist how to master QuickBooks or accountants how to sculpt. Unless they already have a sense or urge to do these things, they will most likely “hate” the experience and not do it well. Sure business schools and companies a like can teach Entrepreneurial people how to be better Entrepreneurs through management and financial training, but they can not teach them to suddenly have chuztpah and do something with it (take extraordinary risk for extraordinary gain). They would be better off identifying the “right people,” asking them what they think, and giving them 1/4 the resources to try something new. Please – no more studies. [...]

By: The Black Coat » HOW TO GENERATE INNOVATION

The Black Coat » HOW TO GENERATE INNOVATION — Sat, 12 May 2007 13:11:25 +0000

[...] Lightning in a Bottle is a “proven system to create new ideas and products that work.” So far it has great reviews on Amazon and looks to be a read. Innovating, particularly in larger organizations, is never easy as bureaucracy and day to day fires always seem to take precedent. David Minter and Michael Reid provide anecdotal approaches to overcoming corporate obstacles by focusing on less ideas, decreasing bureaucracy by decreasing the number of people on the team, and keeping ideas simple in theory and communication (”Less words is more”). Duh? In reality, keeping things simple , especially in corporate organisms, is easier said than done unless there is a strong leader to make the calls and knows when to break the rules. Everyone wants to have their say, people have agendas (career) and “simple “takes time, effort and focus. I look forward to reading this one and hope there is a focus not only on process, but selecting the right people for innovation. [...]

By: The Black Coat » Innovation not longer just a buzz word.

The Black Coat » Innovation not longer just a buzz word. — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 02:56:33 +0000

[...] However, opening the flood gates for (new) status quo busters to enter the company is going to be more than I think they are barganing for; people hate losing power and politics flare in the face of change. Perhaps the people they hired to be good corporate citizens will just become natural born innovators and break the rules because the board thinks it’s important. Hmm? [...]

By: The Black Coat » Creativity and Innovation: Larry Keeley

The Black Coat » Creativity and Innovation: Larry Keeley — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:23:44 +0000

[...] I take Larry’s advice with a grain of salt as he is mainly focused on large corporations (most of which are not suited for true innovators who adhore hierarchy, bureaucracy and politics). I think he has some good insights (e.g. customer experience), but like most people collapses innovation with evolution/optimization and focuses much more on process as opposed to who are the right people to innovate and the power of adhocracies. He even blasts “brainstorming” as a carcinogen that “the Sergeon General has not gotten around to regulating.” (LOL) Enjoy the video. Bookmark to: [...]