The New Economy
I firmly believe that we are in the early stages of a new economy, one where the most valuable talent you can bring to the table is being an “idea person.” Knowledge is quickly becoming a commodity (think of the thousands of highly capable educational institutions springing up in India, China, and o
Who am I not selling to because I think they can’t or won’t pay for my product?
Who am I not selling to because I think they can’t or won’t pay for my product? Price is king, right? “Build ’em cheap and stack ’em high” is practically the motto of most segments of the tech industry Naturally, there are some notable exceptions for companies producing
The History Of The Killer Questions
I started writing the Killer Questions when I was in my short-lived “retirement” early in 2001. As I relaxed in the Virginian countryside, my mind started to flash back to various experiences I’d had during my working life. Over the course of the preceding twenty years I’d seen dozens of highly inno
What are your unshakable beliefs about what your customers want
One thing is to know what your customers want to do, another is to understand how they intend to get it done. It’s easy to look at their goals and tell yourself that your product will match their needs. However, if you don’t understand their internal philosophy about
What are the criteria to select research and development projects
What are your criteria for deciding that an idea is worth pursuing? We all have our own set of selection criteria, the first of which is usually looking for profits. However, selecting a course of action based solely on ROI can be limiting. If you are doing something really innovative,
What Are The Corporate Antibodies And Are They Dangerous To Your Ideas?
The antagonist of the innovator is the corporate antibody. Much like antibodies in our immune system attack and destroy foreign objects that might harm the body, “antibodies” in your organization identify and neutralize forces that threaten to destabilize a company. And in much the same way as antib
What are we throwing away because we assume it has no value
My wife is famous for being a little frugal. She once routed me and our son Logan from Las Vegas to Phoenix to Los Angeles and finally to San Jose because she could save twenty bucks each over the nonstop fare. Kind of nuts, right? But if I’m honest
To See Your Assumptions Act Like An Outsider
The problem with trying to be the “outsider” is that most of us aren’t outsiders. We are inside—inside our company, our industry, or our organization. There’s a delicate balancing act between being the person who can speak the confrontational, difficult truths, and the person who can speak these sam
Could I create a standardized offering of a custom product
One of the first products I created as a software developer was a touch-typing program called Typing Instructor . This was back in 1985, and at that time there was no such thing as a standard PC. Instead you owned a specific brand and had access to the programs that had
To Innovate You Need To Question Your Assumptions
Every year I travel around the world giving workshops and motivational talks on innovation. I enjoy doing this; I’m a naturally curious person, and there’s always something interesting to observe and learn from these speaking dates. Often I’ll walk into an auditorium full of people wondering if they
