OVO | Innovation Software and Services EtherPad: Realtime Collaborative Text Editing Crowdfunding Trampoline MindQuilt | Ask Tag Send Answer Innovation, creativity and brainstorming resources from Innovati BIF-3: Dan Heath - Think Inside the Box Take a sheet of paper and write down everything you can think of that's white. You have 15 seconds, go. Done? Good, now take 15 seconds and write down everything that is or could be in your refrigerator that's white. Finished? Raise your hand if had better luck with the second list. Dan Heath, who co-authored the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die with his brother Chip, started his talk at BIF-3 this afternoon by asking the audience to complete the exercise I described above. We've all heard the term "thinking outside of the box," Heath told the audience. Improv actors, said Heath, have long utilized the benefits of inside the box thinking. Inside the box thinking is found all around business in the form of what Heath called a "high concept pitch." The box can inform many decisions taking place throughout an organization. "The idea that we need to think out of the box is wrong," concluded Heath, "instead we should go box shopping.
How to Make a Great Executive Blog - Messaging and Collaboration Most senior executives know success does not hinge on having an excellent grasp of technology or even knowledge of top-notch strategy. Success relies on clear, consistent and frequent communication. Blogs are among the fastest growing forms of both mass and targeted messaging. For teenagers, news reporters, authors, and Internet-addicted surfers with time to burn, blogs have become a cornerstone for staying in touch. While some executives have fully committed themselves to blogging, such as Sun Microsystems’ CEO Jonathan Schwartz, only a handful of executives at large corporations have publicly dipped their toes into the blogosphere. Blogs are not a “build it and they will come” messaging vehicle. The Burton Group’s review of executive blogs exhibits a body of offerings in various stages of repair. Who are the most successful executive bloggers? The most impressive executive blogger we reviewed is Mark Cuban, owner and CEO of the Dallas Mavericks and former dot-com revolutionary.
Traindom Immelt's Four Rules For Fostering Innovation -- Innovation Companies must engender an environment where innovation can take place in order to succeed, says the GE chairman and CEO. Smart technology is imperative to the growth of businesses. But how do companies foster an environment where innovation can take place? First, said Immelt, "good leaders prepare the organization to innovate." Good leaders also "pick the right places to innovate." But once innovation is in place, you've got to find a way to please your bosses, and that's why "good leaders know how to make innovation pay for innovation." That's also part and parcel of the final way good leaders promote innovation--"by knowing how to use size as an advantage." These abilities are crucial in order to drive growth in a business. More Insights
You Can’t Multitask I can only think about one thing at a time. Any girl reading this just going to roll her eyes and think, “Of course. You’re a guy!”. But it’s not just true for me, it’s true for everyone. And not in that way. At first, this claim can sound fantastic. In both cases the extreme situation frustrates your habits and forces you to actively think about what you are doing at the expense of your other task. Still not convinced? Want another experiment? Software often requires us to actively think about two things at once: like needing to know if the current content of the clipboard is important (when you should be thinking about the edit you want to make), or whether the “predictive” text entry on cell phones has incorrectly guessed the word you want (when you really just want to be writing your message). Not being able to think about two things at once means that we can’t truly “multitask” things that we need to think about. Time for another experiment. What’s the lesson to be learned?