Killer Questions
Building and Testing The Killer Questions
I started collecting 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 i
Inspiring Innovation: A 5 Minute Challenge
Inspiring innovation seems more like an art than any kind of skill or science. The sudden spark that results in an exciting new idea seems random – like it came out of the blue. Studies have shown what seems random was actually inspired by something your did, read or saw in the past. Inspiring Innov
Group dynamics and ranking
Before we start ranking I want you to think about group dynamics for a second. Ideally you will have somewhere between five and ten people participating in your ideation group. These people will be drawn from all divisions of your company, including, but not limited to, engineering, marketing, and e
Beyond the Killer Idea
I’ve been able to succeed because I’ve generated a system that guides me past the obvious ideas and straight toward the killer idea. I also have the confidence to push for my ideas and make sure they get a chance to prove themselves. So, if you find yourself with a killer idea, but are lacking […]
Creating Innovations in Education
My objective for the workshop was to test the Killer Questions before handing them off to the Department of Education. Remember, the focus for the attendees of the workshop was how to create innovations in education to better prepare our students for the competitive workforce. I gave them the modifi
Innovating Education to Prepare Students
The first thing I did after the phone call to participate in the meeting about innovating education was post to my blog, Facebook, and Twitter. These posts generated the most feedback I’ve ever received on any topic. I got tons of suggestions, ranging from the provocative: To the amusing: I quickly
Scanning Tunnel: Creating one that works
Can a scanning tunnel change the nature of a business? For example, as I’ve mentioned a few times now, I’m not a huge fan of putting too much emphasis on ROI in the innovation process. However, there are businesses and industries where trying to downplay ROI in the ranking process would create resis
The Killer Question Mentality
One of the most interesting aspects of how Kroger uses the Killer Questions is that they’ve worked to implement a Killer Question mentality. The employees understand that a Killer Question is about learning/seeing/considering something you wouldn’t have learned/seen/considered otherwise. They incorp
Customizing Beyond The Obvious
I don’t know what your needs are. I don’t know what drove you to pick up Beyond The Obvious, read it, and (hopefully) work through the exercises. It’s possible you weren’t completely sure of your needs at the beginning of the book either. However, you should now have a sense of how you can use […]
Finding Bubbles and Predicting the Burst
Many innovators and entrepreneurs have dozens of ideas every day for the perfect new business. They’re sure that this is the next big thing, that this idea will outlast the competition. Unfortunately, some of those ideas may fall prey to the “bubble” problem: they begin quickly, expand rapidly, and
