A Medical Innovation Factory in the Middle of the Desert
Do surgeons have a God complex? Are doctors stubborn, control freaks? Sometimes, yes. But it’s not necessarily a bad thing. A surgeon, making life or death decisions during a heart transplant, for example, can see things go terribly wrong in the matter of a millisecond. Inevitably, the patient wants a supremely confident and competent doctor who is in total control. It makes sense and it saves…
Is Innovation manageable?
In the years leading up to 2018, I have spent my time bringing innovation to the financial services space. Fintech, as this sector is colloquially referred, focuses for the most part on disrupting the state of affairs induced by the use of technology. As such it is all about innovation. And now, from a distance, my optimism regarding the sector’s ability to innovate and capture opportunities has…
Making the Turn: 10 Warning Signs You aren’t Shifting from Founder to Leader
You came up with an awesome idea. Your singular focus has been to make it real. You started the company. You got funding. Maybe you’re looking for Series B or C funding now. Maybe you’re prepping for the IPO. Congratulations! You’re ready to scale or go public. You’ve gotten this far. What could go wrong? Here are 10 warning signs you aren’t shifting from founder to leader. Every founder reaches…
This Word Unleashes Change & Innovation
Have you ever worked for a boss who always said no? If you have, my first guess is it was a frustrating experience. My second guess is you don't hold said boss in high regard as a leader. I've always been amazed at the number of well-known axioms espousing the benefits of learning to use the word "no" with greater frequency. In fact, there are some very bright people who believe you simply cannot…
A Chief What Officer? The Truth About Titles
I have been a Digital Marketer, a Genius, a Business Representative, and a Shift Manager. I have guided through the titles that life has graciously provided me, without a true understanding of what it meant. Now, I find myself in this position again as a Chief Innovation Officer. When people ask me, “what do you do?” I tell them my respective title. When they look at me with a puzzled 'yeah…
Big Data – Not All Metrics Are Created Equal
When it works, Big Data can be a beautiful thing - what organization wouldn't want more actionable information with which to feed better data driven decisions in the quest for a competitive advantage? But in the race to acquire Big Data, leaders can easily wander off course with devastating results. According to EMC (disclosure: client), only about 1/3 of companies are able to effectively use Big…
Change: Three Essentials For Every Leader
The sustainability of any organization hinges on leadership's ability to understand, embrace, and implement change. Whenever leaders are surveyed about what keeps them awake at night, “change” is usually at or near the top of the list. When change initiatives fail, so do leaders. When brands fall into decline, and organizations implode, it's often due to a company's inability to change. In…
Strategy, Capability & Really Bad Advice
Today’s post is a rather short rant, but one I felt compelled to put forth. I just finished reading an article where the author (a self-professed innovation guru) recommended strategy be aligned with capability, and that to allow ambition to exceed capability is nothing short of a recipe for disaster. If this sounds like rational thinking to you, I’d encourage you to read the text that follows…
Extreme Makeover – Leadership Edition
The fastest transition from inept to adept occurs when leaders turn the topic of change on themselves. When was the last time you changed something about you? Not someone or something else, but your thinking, your philosophy, your vision, your approach, your attitude, or your development. Most leaders are quite skilled at embracing change – except when the focus of the change initiative happens…
Innovation’s Best Kept Secret
Those of you who frequent this blog know that I'm not a huge fan of either/or propositions. In most, if not all cases, decisions that are made on this basis simply constitute a lack of depth and understanding. This particularly holds true as it applies to the topic of innovation methodology. Most innovators view innovation from one of two perspectives: those who believe disruptive innovation is…
When to Restructure
To restructure or not to restructure? When to restructure is the question many a business is forced to ask at some point during their life cycle. The mere discussion of corporate reengineering can cause fear, anxiety, and in some cases even panic. This is so much the case that some CEOs will avoid restructuring initiatives at all costs. There are even some business theorists that warn against…
Ideas Don’t Equal Innovation
I had a long conversation yesterday with a friend discussing creativity, ideas, innovation, branding, and the like. As a result of our conversation, I decided to dust off an old post, give it a few updates, and pass along my thoughts, which can be best summarized as "Ideas Don't Equal Innovation." It is my hope to help dispel the myth that ideas are inherently good things. Let me state right from…
Leadership & Change
First the bad news: If you’re not willing to embrace change you’re not ready to lead. Put simply, leadership is not a static endeavor. In fact, leadership demands fluidity, which requires the willingness to recognize the need for change, and finally the ability to lead change. Now the good news: As much as some people want to create complexity around the topic of leading change for personal gain,…
The Innovation Song
The Innovation Song you ask? That's right...The above video contains a song performed by a Stanford student which was submitted for his final project for a class entitled: "Innovation and Implementation in Complex Organizations." The song was intended as a tribute to Gordon MacKenzie's "Orbiting the Giant Hairball," a book that puts forth some thoughts on how organizations can better address the…
Measuring Innovation
Measuring innovation is where the rubber meets the road. While it's very easy to wax eloquent about innovation, I've found that for most companies, measuring innovation is quite a tall order. Moreover, even for those organizations that do measure innovation, are they measuring the right metrics, for the right reasons? I've authored many posts on the topic of innovation, and have lectured often on…
Innovation Management
Much has been written about the importance of innovation but there is very little information in circulation about how to actually stimulate innovation. While most executives and entrepreneurs have come to accept the concept of innovation management as a legitimate business practice, in theory, I have found very few organizations that have effectively integrated innovation as a core discipline…
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