Growing by Design
Silver Bullets vs. Toolbelts
Everyone wants a silver bullet. An easy way to find the answer, to win, to outmaneuver the competition. I have to admit, a silver bullet would make life easier in business, but a lot less interesting. I find I am more interested in well worn and outfitted tool belts,...
Preparation!
As I sit watching Princeton's Elite Basketball Camp and my son play, I am reminded of Duke's Coach K saying that "most people fail because they fail to prepare." Preparation is a simple concept but so difficult for athletes and business people, because inherent in...
The Job of Design Thinking
Have you heard of Jobs Theory? It is a growing approach to innovation that is capturing business people's imagination. At the heart of a product or service is the progress desired by the person, the job. Jobs differ by circumstance and can be driven by functional,...
Reflection and Renewal
Its a brand new year and with that comes a fresh start, a new chance, a new mountain to climb. I always look forward to January as a time to reflect on the prior year and imagine the future year I want to craft. In my reflections on the past year, I reviewed my blog...
Designing for Delight
In business, we are all chasing delighting our customers. Delighted customers are loyal and tell others about your brand. They can be very profitable. The challenge is that the pressure in business is to be as big as possible so believe you should please...
What are you asking
Which is more powerful: focusing on the solution or the question? Early in my career I was mesmerized with the solution. Not any longer. It's the questions that fascinate me today. I believe focusing on the questions is a powerful approach to business and...
A clear signal in a sea of noise–insight driven ideas
As I tried to have a conversation with the buzz of a conference crowd around me, it was really difficult to hear what was being shared. I think this is an analogy for so much of what innovators and marketers face. There is a lot of noise out there and people with...
The Discipline of Discovery
Discovery, Creativity, Innovation. When you think of these words I bet you don't think of associating words like discipline and process to them. Yet, I would say it is appropriate to do just that, but in ways that may not be what you might typically imagine. Two...
Simple Things to Set the Conditions for Co-Creation
In my last blog, I suggested that the Strategist and Tactician needed to co-create/collaborate (or, as you might have hummed it, 'should be friends'). In fact, we are often faced with collaborating with people different from ourselves in many ways--how...
Oh! The Strategist and the Tactician Should Be Friends!
(Sung to the tune of "Oh! The Farmer and the Cow-man Should Be Friends" from the musical Oklahoma!) Oh! The Strategist and the Tactician should be friends! Oh! The Strategist and the Tactician should be friends! One likes to imagine the f'ture now, The other likes to...