Lion Lights: A Young Innovator Creates A Creative Solution to the Lions
At this years TED conference in Longbeach, I heard an amazing story of a young innovator creating a creative solution. Richard Turere was nine-years-old when he was put in charge of his father’s cattle in Kitengela, just south of the Nairobi National Park in Kenya. This was no small chore, consideri
Can The Right Questions Unlock Your Creative Process?
All of us could use a little creativity in our life. Regardless of what you do for a living, at some point in your work you will have to develop a creative process to move your business forward. Of course, unless you specifically identify as a creative person, you may feel intimidated by the whole
You can’t keep having success if you don’t risk success. Being conservative has no place in successful organizations.
Avoiding risk is the quickest way to end up failing. Getting comfortable to risk success is a key first step to innovation success.
5 Innovation Failures That Changed the World
On some level, we are all afraid of failure. It’s a natural instinct to want to succeed, to be proud of your work, and to brag about your accomplishments at class reunions rather than being reminded of our failures. Each life must come to a little failure. Your project may tank in the 11th hour. […]
What Innovation Will Have The Biggest Impact On Society Over The Next 10 Years?
Note: The audio file for this podcast is not available as the podcast, The Science Layer Podcast, is no longer around. I was recently interviewed by Adam Colliers on the The Science Layer Podcast. This is a new podcast that hosts interviews with scientists, technologists and innovators. The audio quality
Looking for New Business Ideas? Maybe You Should Ask a Kid
Back in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s there was a daytime television show hosted by a man named Art Linkletter. A very popular segment on that show was entitled; “Kids Say the Darndest Things“. This concept was re-invented in the 1990s as a stand-alone show hosted by comedian Bill Cosby. Both demonstrated
Innovation Coach: 4 Questions You Should Ask Before Selecting One
The emergence of the innovation coach is the newest hot topic in the innovation community. While executive coaching is a well-accepted tool to improve overall organizational and personal performance, can the same be said about innovation coaches? The impact of executive coaching is proven to have an
How to Find Your Free Range Muse: A Cruelty-Free Guide to Cultivating Inspiration
For millennia, a muse – those mythic goddesses of inspiration – existed only in the wild. High-strung, fragile, and more than a little skittish around humans, the wild muse resisted domestication with a fierce and unbreakable spirit. Though no one has succeeded yet in taming the wild muse, over th
How to Avoid The Mistake of Juggling Too Many New Ideas
There seems to be a misguided belief that you can never have too many new ideas. We’re not just referring to creative, innovative ideas that lead to the next big trend or change the face of an industry. It could be something simple that enhances customer service. The difficulty isn’t necessarily com
4 Reasons Why You Should Break The Rules And Go Stealth For Your Next Innovation
You’ve got a great idea but you know from experience that the C-Suite isn’t tolerant of radical innovations without reams of back-up data. The Catch-22 is that to fund the proof of concept, you need C-Suite approval to work on improving the idea. What to do? Break the rules. The answer might lie i
