Posts Tagged ‘innovation’

11 Ways to Think Outside the Box

Thinking outside the box is more than just a business cliché. It means approaching problems in new, innovative ways; conceptualizing problems differently; and understanding your position in relation to any particular situation in a way you’d never thought of before. Ironically, its a cliché that means to think of clichéd situations in ways that aren’t clichéd.We’re told to “think outside the box” all the time, but how exactly do we… Continue reading

November 6 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: creativity, innovation, problem-solving, solution | 19 comments»

Break the Rules

Many of the rules that apply in businesses were set years ago and have endured by force of habit. A good example is the QWERTY keyboard, which is in use on all desktop computers. The original QWERTY layout of keys on the typewriter keyboard was designed in the 1870s to slow down the speed of typing because fast operators were causing typewriter keys to jam together. By… Continue reading

September 22 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: assumption, branson, innovation, roddick, rules, swatch, virgin | 17 comments»

10 Things in Life That Aren’t Fair — and What to Do About Them (Part 2 of 2)

“If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead.”– Johnny Carson In Part 1 of this series, I discussed some of the ways that life deals us a bum hand, and some of the ways we can deal with that. In this post, I continue the list, starting with some oddnesses about factors that seem to play as big a role, if not even… Continue reading

September 2 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: consumption, decision-making, fairness, height, idea, innovation, mind, thinking | 12 comments»

Ten Great Ways to Crush Creativity

Leaders have more power than they realize. They can patiently create a climate of creativity or they can crush it in a series of subtle comments and gestures. Their actions send powerful signals. Their responses to suggestions and ideas are deciphered by staff as encouragement or rejection. If you want to crush creativity in your organization and eliminate all the unnecessary bother of innovation then here… Continue reading

August 28 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: creativity, culture, idea, innovation, leader, leadership | 21 comments»

How to Be Lucky

Let me give you what might seem a strange piece of advice – be lucky. Sometimes you have good luck and sometimes you have bad luck. But do you have a choice? Can you make your own luck? Dr. Richard Wiseman has studied why some people are lucky and others are not. He advises that there are four main traits that lucky people have that help them to be ‘lucky’.

They

August 12 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: attitude, creativity, innovation, invention, luck | 20 comments»

How to Move Out of Your Comfort Zone

Most people and most organisations operate in a comfortable rut that limits their possibilities, their thinking and their achievements. If you want a more interesting life then you have to take some risks. If you want to be more adventurous in your thinking then you should be more adventurous in your activities. Deliberately push yourself out of your routine. Try things that you do not normally try. Do things… Continue reading

July 23 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: adventure, comfort, innovation, rut | 13 comments»

Ten Top Tips for the Innovative Leader

1. Have a Vision for Change You cannot expect your team to be innovative if they do not know the direction in which they are headed. Innovation has to have a purpose. It is up to the leader to set the course and give a bearing for the future. You need one overarching statement which defines the direction for the business and which people will readily understand and remember… Continue reading

April 15 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: change, collaboration, idea, innovation, leader, leadership, suggestion, vision | 10 comments»

4 Pocket-Sized Tools to Help You Generate Killer Ideas Any Time, Anywhere

The ability to generate creative, profitable, problem-solving ideas is growing in importance, especially with the global economy stuck in the doldrums. But how can you be creative on demand? Here are four pocket-sized card decks that you can take anywhere – to your next team meeting or to a quiet park where you can brainstorm free from distractions – to help you generate your next breakthrough idea. Continue reading

March 6 2009 | By Chuck | Tagged: brainstorming, creativity, idea, ideation, innovation, mind | 22 comments»

How to Think What Nobody Else Thinks

How can you think of things that no-one else thinks of? The answer is by deliberately taking a different approach to the issue from everyone else. There are dominant ideas in every field. The brilliant thinker purposefully challenges those dominant ideas in order to think innovatively.

Albert Szent-Gyorgy, who discovered Vitamin C, said, ‘Genius is seeing what everyone else sees and thinking what no-one else has thought.’ If… Continue reading

March 3 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: creativity, genius, idea, innovation, lateral thinking, originality, think | 25 comments»

How to Lead Change in Your Organization

Change is the biggest constant in today’s business world. Even charities and educational organizations are finding that they need to constantly innovate not only to compete for donation dollars, clients, and members, but to remain relevant to the changing social landscape around them as well.But people hate change. Right? The management literature is loaded with tales of corporate innovation gone awry – product launches flubbed, reorganizations that caused productivity to… Continue reading

July 14 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: change, corporation, innovation, leadership, organization | 17 comments»

Confront Assumptions

Every time that we approach a problem, in any walk of life, we bring to bear assumptions that limit our ability to conceive fresh solutions. Innovators are always aware of assumptions and are always happy to confront them.There is a story told about a northern pike, a large carnivorous freshwater fish. A pike was put into an aquarium, which had a glass partition dividing it. In the other half from… Continue reading

July 9 2008 | By Paul | Tagged: assumption, business, challenge, creativity, innovation, innovator, lateral, leader, thinking | 7 comments»

Innovate in the Downturn – 7 Things You Must Do

Bill Gates recently said, "We are in an economic downturn but an innovation upturn." Most people are focusing on the downturn and the dangers it poses rather than on the opportunity for innovation. Most businesses are restructuring and streamlining their operations. How can you maximize your chances in the change maelstrom? One way is to take a positive approach to change and to be seen as an innovative go-getter who… Continue reading

June 12 2008 | By Paul | Tagged: agent, attitude, change, downturn, idea, innovation, recession, survive | 3 comments»

Lifehack Live for April 14, 2008: Game Inventor Nick Kellet

Sorry this is late; there were unforeseen technical problems getting thelthee uploaded. Thanks for your patience.

This weeks's guest is Nick Kellet, creator of the award-winning party game GiftTRAP, talking about innovation, marketing, and the elements that go into a successful game.

If you have any questions, comments, or complaints, please let me know.

Subscribe to the Lifehack Podcast Feed via RSS or… Continue reading

April 15 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: creativity, innovation, marketing, Podcast | no comments»

Join Me Today for Lifehack Live at 10am PST: GiftTRAP Creator Nick Kellet

Come join me this morning (4/10) at 10am Pacific time for the live recording of Lifehack Live. This weeks's guest is Nick Kellet, creator of the award-winning party game GiftTRAP. WE'll be talking about innovation, marketing, and the elements that go into a successful game.

As always, I’ll be taking your calls during the show, so call in with your questions and comments. The number is (347)… Continue reading

April 10 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: creativity, innovation, marketing, Podcast | 2 comments»

Lifehack Live for February 18: Tatsuya Nakagawa and Peter Paul Roosen of Atomica Creative

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This week on the show, I talked with Tatsuya Nakagawa and Peter Paul Roosen of Atomica Creative about their new book, Overcoming Inventoritis: The Silent Killer of Innovation.Also, I am going to try to put together a "question and answer" episode to air in April, most likely. Drop your questions in the comments here or email me from my contact page.You have three days left to… Continue reading

February 18 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: innovation, invention, Podcast | 3 comments»

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