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Killer Questions and Stepping Outside

Once you have assigned your Killer Questions, briefed your group, and set the date for the innovation session, it’s time for everyone involved to do observational homework. This is exactly what it sounds like. You need your team to get out of the office, into the real world, and make as many observa

Killer Questions and Stepping Outside

Innovation Mentoring vs. Innovation Coaching: Which Do You Need?

Mentoring is certainly not a new concept. In fact, the name comes from a character named “Mentor” in Homer’s Odyssey. He was a trusted advisor to Odysseus’ son. Even though its roots run back thousands of years, however, the recent growth of social learning has given rise to a boom in mentoring and

Innovation Mentoring vs. Innovation Coaching: Which Do You Need?

Individual Ideas in Workshop Groups

At the end of the ideation part of the workshop, have the team members briefly talk through their individual ideas. Have them take their Post-it notes and place them on a flip chart or other surface that everyone can see. Get through this process quickly. You don’t need master’s dissertations. Start

Individual Ideas in Workshop Groups

How Competition and Gamification Can Spur Innovation

The concept of gamification is increasingly popular as a means of motivating employees, increasing productivity, and moving ideas forward. This trend is one driving force behind the proliferation of innovation competitions around the world, but it’s also true that these kinds of competitions aren’t

using gamification to create breakthrough innovations

Area of Focus for Workshop Groups

The ideas you generate in your workshop are only ever going to be as good as the people in the group. I want people of different ages, races, education levels, economic statuses, and beliefs to come up with an area of focus. Theoretically, I want twenty-three-year-old inner-city scholarship kids sit

Area of Focus

Ideation Workshop Game Plan

So what do you need to know as the leader of an ideation workshop? A workshop has multiple elements—participants, Killer Questions, and so on—but at the end of the day, the quality of the ideas directly relates to your ability to create a highly functional, highly effective group. In the following s

Ideation Workshop

Exceptionally Normal

It is normal that no two people are exactly alike. Not even twins. So the word normal should not be confused with the word average. If you leave your fingerprints on something, you might as well leave your name and address since no two people have the same prints.  You hear music and see a […] http

normal

TNI - Exceptionally Normal

It is normal that no two people are exactly alike. Not even twins. So the word normal should not be confused with the word average. If you leave your fingerprints on something, you might as well leave your name and address since no two people have the same prints. You

TNI - Exceptionally Normal

Great Leaders Keep Cool Under Fire

My grandfather had an old saying when I was growing up, “Never burn a bridge.” At the time, I thought it was a strange saying. It was only later that I realized what he was saying. No matter how someone treats you, don’t get angry and never retaliate as it will destroy the relationship. Great […] h

Keep Cool

Great Leaders Keep Cool Under Fire

My grandfather had an old saying when I was growing up, “Never burn a bridge." At the time, I thought it was a strange saying. It was only later that I realized what he was saying. No matter how someone treats you, don't get angry and never

Great Leaders Keep Cool Under Fire