Innovation is a process of discovery according to Leading Your Team into the Unknown, HBR.org. The accomplished innovation leader: Works more by example than by dictate Asks questions rather than make decisions Clears a path to the unknown for the innovation team rather than identifying the end goal Gives people the right kind of time, … Read more
“We know from our history that while promotions may win quarters, innovation wins decades.” – Bob McDonald, Chairman, President, and CEO, Proctor & Gamble The company spends billions annually on R&D – roughly 50% more than its closest competitor and more than most other competitors combined according to How P&G Tripled Its Innovation Success Rate. Each … Read more
“Train yourself to let go of what you fear to loose” – Yoda, Star Wars III As an artist, or just someone who is excited about an idea, compassionate detachment allows one to explore ideas with an open mind and the see the whole over the parts. Oftentimes we get caught up in an aspect of … Read more
The December issue of Harvard Business Review, Build an Innovation Engine in 90 Days, shares the important distinction of core and new-growth innovation. Core innovations enhance existing offerings or improves current operations. They enhance the current strategy and organization structure with the objective of offering rapid and substantial returns in the near future and funded … Read more
The Connection Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found ways to increases productivity by as much as 17% by improving flaws in the way new ideas flow through organizations. In a presentation for the 4As’ CreateTech, David Shrier, Managing Director of CSE, shares a handful of MIT-proven methods to boost the … Read more
The Sensory Ethnography Lab (SEL) is an experimental laboratory at Harvard University that promotes innovative combinations of aesthetics and ethnography. Aesthetics is a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art and a branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of beauty and artistic taste. Ethnography is the … Read more
If there is such a thing as a Design Thinking geek – I’m it. My new favorite Design Thinking technique is Empathy Maps. Empathy Maps are a tool to help synthesize your observations to discover insights about your target audience. Empathy Maps are to Design Thinking what SWOT Analysis is to business. They are simple … Read more
“We know that consumer purchase decisions are often made quickly and subconsciously, but there are opportunities where it’s possible to influence a consumer’s perception of a brand. People often make buying decisions by using all five of their senses and once product designers discover what each of these sensory influencers are, they can develop packaging … Read more
Information Technology (IT) refers to anything related to computing technology, such as your computer network, hardware and software that connect you to the Internet, and the people that work with these technologies. Many organizations have an IT person or department depending on their needs. As we are at the intersection of the Information Age and … Read more
We are in the Experience Economy that Pine and Gilmore predicted – a customer-centric marketplace that Forrester calls the Age of the Customer where: “A customer obsessed company focuses its strategy, its energy, and its budget on processes that enhance knowledge of an engagement with customers, and prioritizes these over maintaining traditional competitive barriers.” We … Read more
Jeofrey and I shared our aggregate views of what makes the best customer experience companies better, different, more profitable and sustainable at the SDL Innovate 2014 in San Francisco. We shared that these “Experience Makers” dominate their industries and change customers’ lives. We shared insights about leadership, best practices and decision making, based on the interviews … Read more
It has been an exciting year for Jeof and I and The Customer Experience Revolution this month. We had a great time as Closing Keynotes at SDL Innovate 2014 in San Francisco, the book went into a third printing, and Brigantine Media just released this trailer.