Innovation: Let's give you a helping hand. . .

Guest blogger, Leslie Phillips

First and foremost, it ain't about you.

Look around. Yeah, right now. Most likely you're at your workplace.  We already know that you're seated at your computer. Who stands out, if at all?  Who's the smartest person in the room?  If it's not you . . . you're off to a good start.

Rule No. 1, for innovators standing on the point where business and culture converge, is that you are not the smartest person in the room.  That means there is someone at your job, someone on your team, and at least one of your friends who is smarter than you . . . and if it's more than one . . . that's even better.

If you're reading this blog we're already aware that you have a certain personal and professional awareness of economics and innovation.  But, there is only one Superman and one Wonder Woman, neither of which are you.  You need someone, some people to challenge you, to fill in the gaps of potential opportunities that you may miss.  

Rule No. 2, for innovators standing on the precipice between corporate and for-benefit endeavors, is to leave immediate gratification at the door and bring wide-spectrum planning with you.  That means you have to think as much about the possible financial, personal, professional, community, environmental, social, industrial, etc. consequences of your endeavors as you do the benefits.

We live in a world where people are watching and nothing is ever forgotten.  We have yet to see the best and worst of the long-term ramifications derived from the internet, digital recordings and online communities.  Your mistakes and your successes are being noted for the risks you take, investments you make, the statements you communicate, and the comments other people/companies say about you.   Ask your self how you and your innovations are branded to every single one of the above mentioned communities; for better or for worse your business will never be just about you ever again.

Rule No. 3,  for innovators sitting on an idea - Get Your Butt Up.  It is not enough just to have a great idea (possibly written as a few scribbles, jots or notes on some napkins).  It's not enough to have the credentials or the experience to see it come to fruition.  It doesn't matter that we are in President Bush's words, "in an economic slow down."  All of the NDA's in the world will not protect you from a lack of action.  

It is ideas like the one you're thinking about right now that will put our economy right back on the fast track.  In case you haven't noticed, we used to be a product economy.  We are a service economy and we need to become an intellectual property economy.  (For all the reasons that a lot of you know and that we'll have to discuss in greater detail at a later date)  Take action, do the practical ground work and proceed.  All of the research, all the preparation, all the golden boy and golden girl management and mentor teams in the world do not take the place of decisive and directed action.

It suffices to say that if you call your self an innovator you need to be prepared for more than different, for more change.  You actually have to do it.

Is there a cup of coffee or tea on your desk?  Now, if you look like you shop at the same department stores as everyone else in the office - you're probably not innovative. (Least of all because you shop at department stores, but we can talk about that faux pas another time)

Scribbles, Jots, Notes and Napkins (part 3)

 

 

• What's your Escape Velocity?  The rate of speed at which you move from old useless ideas and processes to valuable and innovative thinking.

• Its not who you know that counts.  Its how you know them and how they know you that will determine how valuable and useful that relationship is and how to  translate that into an opportunity. 

• It is imperative that you are perpetually shifting your orbits.  If you only hang out at the dollar store that's all you'll ever know.  You should multiply your orbits and begin circling, not only the dollar store but, boutiques, multinational corporations, the local jazz spot, your neighborhood park, or the cafe down the street, and you will begin to see how different people are in their environments which will give you unique insights into how the world works.  This in turn creates a value that you can bring to the table that can be used and/or seen as a huge asset.

• How do you use the worlds of science, anthropology, physics, sociology, and design, to develop business ideas?  Well with new language comes new concepts.  Creativity comes in being able to use the language of these areas in conjunction with business communications to invent, conceptualize and create novel ideas and approaches to  problems and challenges you  are trying to address.

• John Kao, a Stanford University professor of management and a jazz pianist , made the connection in his book, Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity, which takes jazz and jamming as a metaphor for the process for creativity. - The Creative Economy, How People Make Money From Ideas

• Transcreation- - The translating of words and ideas across social cultures.

•  A new brand of small and highly specialized businesses is now capable of operating globally and even disrupting existing business models. - quote from an IBM research initiative.

• Good design illustrates its ability to grasp momentous revolutions that demand huge adjustments in human behavior and convert them into objects people can understand and use.

• Cultures change and adapt their concepts of time, just as they can revise and change their notion of of work.  Every society has its own social time.  Social time determines a general path of life - when you do what.  It tells you when to eat, when you should got to school, when you are old enough to drink, drive, get married of retire.  - Joanne Ciulla

Scribbles, Jots, Notes and Napkins (part 2)

 

 

•  How do you get your product, services, or content be to become a part of your customers reality - Think Design - when you design clothes, for instance, the finished product is worn by a 'person'.  The design serves a purpose; to be functional, enjoyed and made to make you feel good.  Your job as a business person is to make your customer want to put you on again and again (like piece of their favorite clothing).  Enjoy what your company has to offer and be comfortable with what you are about.  The importance of this is to begin to understand the concept of design as it relates to business strategies.

• There are 7 archetypes of business persons -

1.  The Traditional - Motivated by money.
2. The Mountain Climber - Motivated by the next challenge. 
3. The Playful Child - Integrates personal and professional life.
4. The Idealist- Business is mission driven.
5. The Globalist - Business is global focused and seeks to take advantage of emerging markets worldwide. 
6. The Inheritor - Got business from an older family member.
7. The Survivor - Had to start business to get bread and water on the table.   

Which one are you and what does that mean?

• When it comes to marketing an idea or a business people are tempted to tell you everything with perfect accuracy, right up front, when they should be giving you just enough information to be useful and then give them a little more later and then a little more later after that -  Made to Stick                                                             

• Good companies and good consultants are astute observers, of people, teams, organizations, technologies - and trends.  They see quirks and patterns. Lots of folks try to do this.  What makes IDEO different is that we put a lot steam and spark behind our observations. - The Art of Innovation

• Creative people may instinctively understand scientist and Nobel Prize winner Ilya Prigogine when he says that complexity and chaos are the natural order of matter; that, given enough complexity and chaos a new life and a  new  order will emerge; but only to tip into more complexity and chaos. The  Creative Economy

• If you want to be on the bleeding edge of creativity and innovation you must begin to re-code the DNA of your thinking process.  Imagine, believe, and envision in unpredictable ways. 

• We are living in an economy of ideas where the real values lies in understanding how to juxtapose these concepts with strategies that work in this multi-dimensional and new complex marketplace.  The questions is how much currency do you have?

Scribbles, Jots, Notes and Napkins

By Rasul Sha'ir, 19, May, 2008

One of the hardest things in the world to do is to write down an idea. It seems simplistic but on numerous occasions an idea pops into our heads and that's where it stays - IN OUR HEADS. Why wouldn't it? How many of us have pen and paper handy when we are walking around or driving in our cars or at some random moment when an idea just hits us?  Writing down your ideas is something that you have to make a habit of doing.  Again not as easy as it sounds. Also once you write it down what are you going to do with that piece of paper anyway? 

Often times when you write something down it is usually for a a purpose. A step two needs to take place.  Its like when your write down a to do list.  Action is the next step.  Once you write an idea, phrase, or thought down it now has life. You gave birth to it. It isn't only in your head, it is now written down staring back at you saying "now what?" You took the time to jot down on a piece of paper or a napkin, this notion that just popped into your head, so do you just allow it to sit and collect dust or do you begin to breathe life into?

It is often said that the first step in making something happen is to write it down. Now will something happen after you jot your napkin note down? That's the next big question. Regardless the simple fact that you took the idea from your head to paper is an accomplishment in itself.

I wrote back in December a remixed version of Hugh MacCleod's 'How To Be Creative' and one of my favorite ideas of his mentioned is that "real talent only needs a rough idea, a bic pen and the back of a napkin." As I talk to numerous friends, mentors and colleagues this statement makes sense on so many levels. True talent isn't fancy gadgets, expensive equipment, or state-of-the-art 'anything'. Its a simple idea, passion, and a will to get it done.

Over the years I've compiled my own set of napkin notes that have taken me to some very interesting places, helped me meet some very cool people, start my own business and even helped to create this blog. Below are some of my favorite napkin notes that I've jotted down and kept. Some are my own ideas others are notes from conversations or from great books I've read.  This will be a three part series and during the course of the next week or so feel to drop a comment or two (or three) about some of your own 'napkin notes'.  Would love to hear them!

• The intersection is the ideal place for optimum decision making and new idea creating.

• The three most valuable commodities in the world are ideas, information and strategy.

• The first rule of of business is the same as the first rule of life: Adapt or die. -- Fast Company's the Rules of Business
  

• You want to get a music fan's attention . . . tell them you like vintage-futuristic warrior rock soul music.
  

• Curiology - the art and science of effective question asking

• The key to good decision making is not knowledge, it is understanding. -- Malcolm Gladwell

• Not just function but also DESIGN. It's no longer sufficient to create a product, a service, an experience or a lifestyle that's merely functional.  Today it's economically crucial and personally rewarding to create something that is also beautiful, whimsical, or emotionally engaging. -- Daniel Pink

• Prototyping is problem solving. It's a culture and a language.  You can prototype just about anything - a new product or service,or a special promotion. -- Tom Kelley of IDEO

to be continued. . . .

Whooaa . . . sounds like the Hulk having sex?!

There are numerous ways to grab people’s attention and get them to listen to what you have to say. The question is though, why should they pay you any mind?  Well...because you have a new earth shattering idea, a revolutionary epiphany, or a moment of clarity which has shown you the way to change the world as we know it - and you want to announce it to everyone in the universe! 

Unfortunately what may happen is that the way you communicate it may not come off as exciting as it was in your head and people’s reactions are maybe less than enthusiastic.  There is a good chance that your ‘presentation’ just didn’t pack enough punch.  In spite of the fact that the notion in your head will revolutionize the way we live, people just might not  pay you any attention.  It doesn’t stir their emotions and it doesn't appeal to their interests. 

Ladies and gentlemen creative and effective communication is the antidote to the malady of blank stares, yawns, and short attention spans.  Having the right communications arsenal to explain your ideas and thoughts effectively is  invaluable to have in your 'marketing' cache.

Do you want your resume to get that second glance?  Do you want your boss or co-workers to really listen to your ideas and seriously consider them?  Do you want that client to hire you for your services?  I would imagine that yes is the answer to any of these questions.  Your ability to communicate in a crafty way, either written or verbally, the ideas and concepts you want people to buy into could mean the difference between landing that dream job or another handful of weeks sending off cover letters and resumes. 

The eternal question now is how do you do that?  Well as one of the statements I used in   my ‘New Adventures of Old You’ series; there is no ‘silver bullet’ solution.   But what you can do is begin to understand what ‘creative communication’ is.  For us at Vosica its part of our jobs to know how to understand the mechanics of suggestions and thoughts and how that relates to people’s understanding of ideas.  In plain English; how to know what people like to hear and why.
 
An example.  People love to rubberneck on the road when an accident has just happened. This has captured people’s attention. Why?  Because you're curious about this crash. It's something you just don't come acrosss everyday.  Now how often do you hear someone say, “man, I just heard this band and their music sounds like the Incredible Hulk having sex!”  Rarely.  The first step in getting people to pay attention to you – say something you don’t regularly hear.
 
The Hulk example I used was borrowed from the Youtube clip below of Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby.  He talks about the power of words and their ability to make people pay attention to you.  He is specifically talking about how to market yourself as an indie rock artist, though.  Not exactly who you would want to have a conversation with about how to land a client or help spruce up your resume.  Or maybe you do.  In the clip he parallels a business man and what he does to his whole premise of selling yourself as an indie artist.  Makes total sense.  In many ways whether you are a rock god trying to market your next multi-platinum album or an IT specialist looking for the next hot gig in Silicon Valley - you’re looking at the same bottom line.  Getting people to interested in who you are and what you do.