Collaborative Innovation!

"If there's a way to do it better, either find it or find someone that can help you find it - Patrick Egbunonu

In a previous blog, I explained that Innovation is different from Invention. Innovation is several steps ahead of invention as it entails bringing something new to the market place. Different types of innovation have been highlighted in academic and industry articles. One of the most popular topic in the field of Innovation is "Disruptive" Innovation, first introduced by the management guru Clayton Christensen.

More recently, I've been thinking about, and studying, the concept of "Collaborative Innovation"- the process whereby one party works with another party to develop unique products, processes, ideas that are eventually made available in the market place. Open Innovation, though a little bit different, is a similar term used to define this type of Innovation. With today's fast paced rate of change, it's becoming more and more important to tap into resources within and outside one's organization in order to deliver innovative products and/or processes. Today's social media platform gives organizations powerful tools to engage customers, suppliers and other parties in collaborative innovation. The good news is that given how closely connected the world is today, companies can tap into talents, customers, suppliers across the globe to come up innovative solutions to pressing customer problems.

"One can chase a thousand and two can chase ten thousand - Deut 32:30

A few things to consider before embarking on any type of collaborative innovation includes:

1) What problem do you want to solve - What's in it for customer?
2) What does your company benefit by solving the problem - What's in it for you?
3) Why can't your company solve this problem in-house?
4) What does your collaborator gain by solving this problem - What's in it for the other party?
5) How do you sustain the relationship with your collaborators?
6) What can you offer your collaborators that your competitors can't?
7) Have you identified your co-innovation risks and, defined ways to mitigate them?

"When innovation depends on collaboration, pursuing strategies that play to your strengths but undermine your partners is a recipe for failure." - Ron Adner

The Law of Intentionality

There are many who wait for things to happen. There are some who watch things happen. There are very few who make things happen.

A key difference between those that achieve their dreams and a lot of individuals who don't is that the achievers intentionally pursue their dreams and, do things that would help them get closer to their expected end. It is great to have a big dream and talk about it but many dreamers have not taken time to understand what it would take to achieve the dream, decide if they are willing to pay the price and just do it.

"But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! They would say, 'There's the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!' "Or what king would ever dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors and discussing whether his army of ten thousand is strong enough to defeat the twenty thousand soldiers who are marching against him? If he is not able, then while the enemy is still far away, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace. - Luke 14:28-32

The fist step in applying the law of intentionality is understanding what it would cost to succeed in business, overcome an obstacle, raise great children and have a wonderful family, advance in career, succeed in service to the community, achieve my dreams. This cost can be financial, time, skills, personnel, knowledge, family time, relationships, focus. We waste time, resources when we run on passion or emotions without taking time to apply this first step in the law of intentionality.

Counting the cost may include writing a business plan, interviewing individuals who may be doing what you plan to do (to a certain degree), giving deep thought to the benefits and impact on your life of pursuing that dream, and praying.

Have you counted the cost?

You Are Unique

Patrick

To Encourage Innovation, Eradicate Blame

BY KEN BLANCHARD AND SCOTT BLANCHARD

Leaders who take a more constructive approach to failure can begin eliminating the fear, reticence, and inertia that plagues many organizations.

There is a big difference between identifying the cause of a negative outcome and looking for someone to blame it on. Identifying the cause of a negative outcome is productive. You can use that information to avoid the situation in the future and also help people take responsibility for fixing it and moving on.

Finding fault and assigning blame, on the other hand, creates a situation where people become stuck and paralyzed. It’s a negative approach that assumes neglect or malfeasance that requires punishment. This type of attitude produces a risk-averse organization where people play it safe instead of stepping out and trying new ideas.
Now your organization takes on a culture similar to the classic arcade game, Whac-A-Mole, where most employees keep their head down except for the unsuspecting novice who pops his head up only to have the oversized mallet pound him or her back down if their initiative fails. Once an organization develops that type of culture, it is very difficult for innovation to take hold.

We know that the most innovative environments are those where people are allowed to learn from past mistakes, grow, develop, and improve. That's what evolution and innovation look like. That's how Thomas Edison was able to learn from the thousands of times he failed due to using the wrong material for his light bulb filament. Each time, he recognized that he was one step closer to finding the right material.

It’s also the approach used by WD-40 Company--manufacturers of the ubiquitous “water displacement” product of the same name--whose closely guarded formula was discovered on the 40th try back in 1953.

As CEO Garry Ridge has describes it, part of WD-40’s ongoing success with innovation can be traced back to a culture where employees share the positive and negative outcomes of any situation. As Ridge explains, “At WD-40 Company, we don’t make mistakes. We have learning moments. We give people permission to have a conversation about things that go wrong.”

Three steps for moving forward

When people’s fear of making a mistake becomes a problem, you are cutting yourself off from the necessary ingredients for learning and innovation. For leaders interested in creating a culture that sees mistakes as learning opportunities instead of fault-finding exercises, here are three ways to get started.

Examine your current attitude toward mistakes. As a company, what’s your typical reaction to mistakes and failures? Are they seen as an opportunity to learn or to assign blame? Look at this from an individual aspect also. How are you wired internally? Are you overly critical, or do you learn from your mistakes and move on? It’s important to learn from your mistakes, but don't live in the past. If you tend to dwell on negative thoughts about yourself, consider how this negativity might be spilling out into your perceptions of others. Negativity is a habit. Consider the impact.

Consider your impact as a leader. What you are doing to encourage people to take risks and try something truly innovative? Are you celebrating the vigor of their pursuit even though the outcome is uncertain? Keeping new ideas alive is hard work. It always takes longer than you think it will, you run into problems, and it very rarely goes as originally planned. Are you recognizing the efforts of people who take risks in spite of the threat of failure?

Find ways to engage in positive practices as a discipline. It's so easy for things to turn negative. That’s what keeps a lid on so many organizations. As a leader, it’s important to move from fault and blame to cause and responsibility. Typically, when something goes wrong, the immediate response is find out who was at fault, punish them, and then bring in someone new to be responsible for moving the organization forward. Why not give your current people the same benefit of the doubt that you would a new person? Instead of assigning blame, look to assign responsibility for moving the organization forward given what was just learned.

Leaders who take this more constructive approach can begin eliminating the fear, reticence, and inertia that plagues many organizations. Develop practices that accentuate the positive and help people feel secure in knowing the organization wants them to step forward and try new things confidently. With practice, you’ll see the difference you can make in the generation, pursuit, and adoption of new ideas.

Culled from Fast Company publication

Don't Take Your Relationships for Granted

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.

She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.

She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.

She requested that every day for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.I told Jane about my wife's divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outsidethe door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead.

My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push thru with the divorce.-- At least, in the eyes of our son--- I'm a loving husband....

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you.If you do, you just might save a marriage.Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

- Adejumoke Ehizojie

Test it!

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure...Bill Cosby

The first litmus test for your dreams is Desire. The online Free Dictionary defines desire as a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. Desire is not necessary the same as interest. Desire speaks to a strong commitment to a cause, a goal, a vision, a dream. The strength of our desires fuels our drive to persist through the seasons of adversity every dreamer goes through. Desire is what gets you out of bed with a shout, and takes you to bed with a smile.

Glenn Cunningham was born in Atlanta, Kan., and had high hopes of becoming an athlete. When he was 7 he had an accident and was rushed to the hospital. The doctor suggested that his leg should be amputated but Glenn, though young refused. At that tender age the doctor told him that he would never walk again. Here was Young Glenn’s reply: “Sir, I won’t just walk again, I will also run”. Not wanting to discourage him, the doctor did not reply as he saw this statement as a mere rambling from a lame kid.

With intensive therapy and application, he overcame the odds and by high school was running competitively. He was the fastest miler in the Amateur Athletic Union in 1933 and 1935-38, and in 1934 he set a world record (4:06.7). He became one of the greatest U.S. middle-distance runner. He not only walked, he ran; he not only ran, he broke records.

If Glenn did not hide his gift because of an accident that occurred in the past, I am now more than ever determined that no matter the accident(s) that have happened or that will happen in my life, I will keep pressing on until I make my mark in my generation using my God giving gift(s).

“…a ship is safest when in harbour but it was not made for the harbour, it was made for the sea”…Anonymous

Some questions to help you check your dreams using this "desire" litmus test includes:

* Do I have a strong desire to pursue this dream or are my only interested?
* Is this something I will be willing to pursue if money was not a problem?
* Is this something I go to bed thinking about and wake up thinking about?
* Do I always need someone's encouragement to continue pursuing this dream?
* Would I be willing to keep pursuing this dream even if I don't become famous or get noticed?
* Do I feel a sense of joy anytime I'm engaged in activities in line with this dream?
* Do I get excited when I talk about this dream and/or when I'm in the company of individuals pursuing similar dreams?
* Are my willing to do what it takes to pursue this dream?
* How bad do I want this dream?
* Do I feel a sense of peace on the inside whenever I think about this dream?

His first animation company went bankrupt and he was fired by a news editor because he lacked imagination. Legend has it that he was turned down 302 times before he got financing for creating Disney World. Walt Disney's desire to realize his dreams was so strong that the failures he had encountered did not stop him. He moved to Hollywood after the bankruptcy and, with his brother, set up cartoon studio.Within a short time they received an order from New York for the The Alice Comedies. Walt Disney would go on to create several cartoon characters including the very famous Mickey Mouse character. Walt Disney holds the record for both the most Academy Award nominations (59) and the number of Oscars awarded (22). He also earned four honorary Oscars. His last competitive Academy Award was posthumous.

Without a strong desire to act on and persistently pursue our dreams, they will never become realities.

All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you...Walt Disney

Why Dreams Fail!

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true...John Maxwell

Born in Spain, Arnaldus de Villa Nova was educated by Dominicans and studied medicine at Naples. His medical skills brought him great reputation as he treated kings, popes, and other famous people. This gave him reason to travel widely in Spain, France, Italy, and North Africa (Paragraph Source). One of the discoveries ascribed to Arnaldus is the litmus test which is used to test the acidity of materials. As I thought about dreams, I couldn’t help but think about the several dreams I’ve had and attempted which had failed. The businesses built, ideas implemented, relationships started, decisions taken that have come back to haunt me. I couldn’t help but wonder if, like the litmus test for acidity, there are some basic tests that one could run their dreams through before they begin.

I love big thinking but I also love realistic thinking. Can you imagine a 50 year old dreaming of becoming a soccer star? That's a big dream but, I don't think it is realistic. Perhaps he could modify his dream to focus on becoming a great soccer coach.

From an early age, football was a major part of Jose Mourinho's life. As a teenager, Mourinho travelled to attend his father's weekend matches and when his father had became a coach, Mourinho began observing training sessions and scouting opposing teams. Mourinho wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father by becoming a footballer and so he joined the Belenenses youth team. Graduating to the senior level, he played at Rio Ave (where his father was coach), Belenenses, and Sesimbra. He lacked the requisite pace and power to become a professional and chose to focus on becoming a football coach instead. After his mother enrolled him in a business school, Mourinho dropped out on his first day, deciding he would rather focus on sport, and chose to attend the Instituto Superior de Educação Física (ISEF), Technical University of Lisbon, to study sports science. He taught physical education at various schools and after five years, he had earned his diploma, receiving consistently good marks throughout the course.After attending coaching courses held by the English and Scottish Football Associations, former Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh took note of the young Portuguese's drive and attention to detail.Mourinho sought to redefine the role of coach in football by mixing coaching theory with motivational and psychological techniques.

Today, Jose Mourinho is regarded as one of the best coaches in the world. He is the first coach to win the professional leagues in Spain, Italy, Portugal and England. Mourinho's Inter team is the only Italian club to have won the treble. He is also one of three coaches that have won the champions league with two different clubs. In eight seasons of club management, including an eight month sabbatical in 2007–08, Mourinho has led his clubs to win their domestic league seven times, the UEFA Champions League twice and the UEFA Cup once. Since 2002, Mourinho has not gone a full calendar year without winning at least one trophy (Source)

When dreams are not realistic, nightmares are inevitable

I think many dreams fail because we haven’t stepped back to test them in our minds, our hearts before starting off. I believe that dreams fail because we haven’t shared them with the right individuals or validated if this is the reason for our design. In this book, I try to capture five litmus tests we could run our dreams through before we begin. I’m sure there are several but these are the ones that I’ve started using for my dreams - based on experiences from my failures.

Pursue Your Dreams!

Everyone is following someone's dream; whose are you following?

One of the things I've discovered about great leaders is that they are dreamers and visionaries. In addition to dreaming, they also have the courage to faithfully and patiently pursue their dreams. I personally believe John Maxwell's philosophy that "Leadership is Influence". I also believe that influence can be achieved when we solve problems that add value to people's lives.

John Spreitzer was a graduate of J. Reuben Clark Law School and practised at Dykema. Although he had become a very successful lawyer, John knew that his real dream was to become a teacher. According to his wife, "He was a fabulous lawyer but that was not his calling." In 2004 and at the age of 51, John left the legal profession and became a school teacher. According to Brian Dickerson, "John began teaching at Chippewa Valley in September 2004 and quickly established a reputation as a teacher who would do whatever it took to help his students succeed.". Seven years later, John collapsed at an athletic club and died shortly. Below are some of his former students' comments (taken from ratemyteachers.com):

***Mr Spreitzer was the best teacher I had in freshmen year. I'm a senior now and I wouldn't be the writer I am today without him. He cared more about his students more than any other teacher I know. He made me take honors English in 10th grade, which led me to go on in high school and take AP classes. He was a true inspiration to me. Thank you Mr Spreitzer. RIP***

***My favorite teacher I've ever had the pleasure of being taught by. He knew and loved what he taught, and his passion for it will not be forgotten by those who had him as their teacher. Like he always told us, he'd **** before he quit doing what he loved. Rest in peace, sir.***

***Rest in peace Mr Spreitzer. I'll never forget your class; you were incredible. You taught me more than just English.***

***You were such a great teacher and I will surely miss him and his passion for teaching. To his family give my deepest condolences and they are in my prayers R.I.P Mr Spreitzer you where truly a great person.***

I'm happy that John was able to follow his dream of becoming a teacher even though it occurred in the last 7 years of his life. I wonder what's stopping you from following yours

Every individual is born as a solution to a problem in the world. I believe that God sent each human being into the world as an answer to a specific cry. The passion to solve that problem is sown - at birth - as a dream in that individual. For most individuals, this dream -to solve a specific problem- is replaced by someone else's dream (or fear) and they end up living lives and building careers that have nothing to do with what they were originally made for. Whether it is the dream of our parents, family, friends, we must come to the point in life where we decide to step out of the dreams of others and follow our dreams. There are several reasons why many individuals never follow their dreams:

- It doesn’t make sense (of course it never made sense when the Wright brothers said that man could fly)

- I have the passion but not the knowledge (Graham Bell felt the same way about the telephone and his mentor told him to Get It!)

- It doesn’t look lucrative (at the start! Money follows value and not the other way)

- My mama told me that I would never make it (did she make it? According to Zig Ziglar, "The most important opinion is the opinion we have about ourselves.")

- I made a huge mess of myself the last time I tried using my gifts (that was yesterday, which ended yesterday)

- I’m afraid of what may happen, what others may think, of failing (False Evidence Appearing Real)

- I don’t look popular doing that (Rosa Parks did something unpopular that history stills remembers)

- No one’s ever done this before (Roger Bannister was told the same thing)

What is your reason!

“When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson


You Are Unique!

Innovate or Die!

“The vast majority of human beings dislike and even actually dread all notions with which they are not familiar... Hence it comes about that at their first appearance innovators have generally been persecuted, and always derided as fools and madmen.”― Aldous Huxley

In 1876 a young inventor in his late twenties approached one of the leading communications company in that era -Western Union- and offered them the opportunity to purchase the patents to his invention for $100,000 (equivalence of about $2 million today). Alexandra Graham Bell had just invented the telephone and was offering the invention to Western Union at a ridiculously cheap price. Western Union declined to purchase the innovation and the President (of Western Union), William Orton, famously said (regarding Graham Bell's invention)- "What use could this company make of an electrical toy".

Alexandra Bell and his partners launched the first telephone in 1878 and all it could do was provide communication for individuals within a couple of miles of each other. It was perfectly suited to short distance communication, a service that did not compete with Western Union -whose niche market was long distance communication via the telegram. Over a period of time the Bell company would improve on their technology and by 1910 purchased a controlling interest in Western Union - the same company whose president called Graham Bell's invention an electrical toy.

“In a world of change, the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned shall find themselves perfectly suited for a world that no longer exists.” ― Eric Hoffer

As mentioned in an earlier blog, innovation is different from invention. Invention is the creation of a novel product, idea, service or process. Innovation does not stop at the creation of a better product, service or process but, includes the availability of the improved product, service or process to the community, market place, government.

With all the changes and complexities in today's world, there are five things (or more) we can learn from the Western Union story:

- never underestimate the power of little innovations; they are the seeds for tomorrow's big breakthroughs;
- don't be afraid to consider new ways of doing something even if the old way seems to be working and relevant today;
- it is dangerous to be guided (only) by short term results without thinking about the sustainability of the current business model in light of current and future customer needs and tastes;
- be wary of disruptive innovations that focus on customers who are currently not being served (or underserved) by your product or services;
- it's either we continuously innovate -as businesses, organizations, community, country, individuals- or be ready to die!

“If humans can live for 100 years, why do companies die so young.”― Sukant Ratnakar, Open the Windows

You Are Unique!

How to kill your business

"Companies must solve a cultural and accounting dilemma that serves as a barrier to innovation" - Globe and Mail

In 1889 and at the age of thirty-five, George Eastman - a high school drop-out and bank clerk- founded a company that would go on to hold a dominant position in the photography industry: Kodak. Eastman was one of the great philanthropists of his time, donating over $100 million to charitable causes, establishing schools for music, medicine, dentistry, and clinics for low-income families. Kodak was so successful that by the late 70's the company had a 90% market share of photographic film sales in America.

In 1975, Kodak would go on to pioneer the digital film technology - an innovation that would later transform the world of photography. Unable to focus on this new innovative product, because of perceived lower returns, Kodak dumped it for their more profitable analog business. Fast forward 30 years and the digital industry has completely overshadowedthe analog business. It is estimated that around 2.5 billion people in the world have a digital camera. It wasn't until the 90's that Kodak began to plan a decade-long journey to move to digital technology. They were casual in their approach to innovation and became a casualty at the end of the day. Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 19th, 2012.

"If all you do is play it safe, the cost just to stay in the game will whittle you down until you’ve got nothing left."- Peter Pachal

One way to kill your business is to stop innovating. Some key lessons from Kodak's story are:

1. Continuous creative innovation must become a culture and not a buzz word or the flavor of the month.
2. Innovation must be practiced, recognized and rewarded throughout the organization
3. Short term gains must be balanced with a long term approach to planning and strategy
4. CEO compensation should have an element of innovation in it. Perhaps the present value of the future value creation of innovative products, services and processes can be embedded in the compensation formula
5. It's no more enough to keep up with the changing market; we must lead or drive the change in the market.
6. The key to sustained success is continuous innovation
7. We must not be afraid to let go of the old ways of doing things for a new and innovative way
8. We must constantly measure the relevance of our business models with current and future trends.
9. We must be passionate about innovation and be willing to take the necessary risks to promote innovative products, services and processes
10. Ideas are the seeds of innovation. We must create two things: an environment to nurture and encourage innovative ideas and, an innovation process for these seeds of ideas

"Innovation— any new idea—by definition will not be accepted at first. It takes repeated attempts, endless demonstrations, monotonous rehearsals before innovation can be accepted and internalized by an organization. This requires courageous patience."— Warren Bennis

You are Unique!

Innovation Matters

"Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship... the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth."- Peter drucker

According to Wikipedia, "Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are readily available to markets, governments, and society. Innovation differs from invention in that innovation refers to the use of better and, as a result, novel idea or method, whereas invention refers more directly to the creation of the idea or method itself. Innovation differs from improvement in that innovation refers to the notion of doing something different (Lat. innovare: "to change") rather than doing the same thing better."

If I was to ask you to name the top five companies in the world, I would not be surprised to hear you mention Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc. What do these companies have in common? "Innovation"! With business complexities, monopoly of knowledge quickly disappearing, increasing and customers demand for better and cheaper products not diminishing, it is becoming apparent that businesses that will thrive in today's world have to be innovative on a daily basis. Innovation is no longer a buzz word, but has become necessary in order to survive fierce competition and continue to add value to customers. According to Gary Hamel "What limits innovation in established companies isnèt a lack of resources or a shortage of human creativity, but a dearth of innovation processes".

"Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have... It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it." -Steve Jobs

According to the authors of the Innovators DNA, the five skills of disruptive innovators are questioning, observing, networking, experimenting and associational thinking (drawing connections among unrelated fields). The late Steve Jobs is a prime example of a disruptive innovator. His innovative move with the Ipod led not only to Apple becoming a major player in the music industry, but began a chain of events that would lead to the downward spiral of the Blackberry.

As companies downsize and jobs become harder to come by, the innovative responsibility has now become a shared one. Employees can no longer afford to put all the blame on the companies they work in for lack of innovation. Employees must now begin to take the initiative to innovate- looking for opportunities to improve their processes and, themselves. Some companies do encourage innovation while it is not impossible to come across organizations that discourage innovation.

"We ought not be over anxious to encourage innovation, in case of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over a new one; it is established and it is understood."- C.C. Colton

Can Innovation be learnt? What is the innovation process? How can I build a culture of innovation in my company? These are some of the questions I hope to answer over the next few days.

You Are Unique!

Follow Your Dreams!

Everyone is following someone's dream; whose are you following?

One of the things I've discovered about great leaders is that they are dreamers and visionaries. In addition to dreaming, they also have the courage to faithfully and patiently pursue their dreams. I personally believe John Maxwell's philosophy that "Leadership is Influence". I also believe that influence can be achieved when we solve problems that add value to people's lives.

Every individual is born as a solution to a problem in the world. The passion to solve that problem is sown - at birth - as a dream in that individual. For most individuals, this dream -to solve a specific problem- is replaced by someone else's dream and they end up living lives and building careers that have nothing to do with what they were originally made for.

John Spreitzer was a graduate of J. Reuben Clark Law School and practised at Dykema. Although he had become a very successful lawyer, John knew that his real dream was to become a teacher. According to his wife, "He was a fabulous lawyer but that was not his calling." In 2004 and at the age of 51, John left the legal profession and became a school teacher. According to Brian Dickerson, "John began teaching at Chippewa Valley in September 2004 and quickly established a reputation as a teacher who would do whatever it took to help his students succeed.". Seven years later, John collapsed at an athletic club and died shortly. Below are some of his former students' comments (taken from ratemyteachers.com):

***Mr Spreitzer was the best teacher I had in freshmen year. I'm a senior now and I wouldn't be the writer I am today without him. He cared more about his students more than any other teacher I know. He made me take honors English in 10th grade, which led me to go on in high school and take AP classes. He was a true inspiration to me. Thank you Mr Spreitzer. RIP***

***My favorite teacher I've ever had the pleasure of being taught by. He knew and loved what he taught, and his passion for it will not be forgotten by those who had him as their teacher. Like he always told us, he'd **** before he quit doing what he loved. Rest in peace, sir.***

***Rest in peace Mr Spreitzer. I'll never forget your class; you were incredible. You taught me more than just English.***

***You were such a great teacher and I will surely miss him and his passion for teaching. To his family give my deepest condolences and they are in my prayers R.I.P Mr Spreitzer you where truly a great person.***

I'm happy that John was able to follow his dream of becoming a teacher even though it occurred in the last 7 years of his life. I wonder what's stopping you from following yours

Today's dreams can become the seedlings of tomorrow's reality

You are Unique!

Waiting for the Green Light

I’ve been in Canada for more than eight years and always amazed with the way so many things are ordered and structured. One of these amazements is the traffic lights. It’s so cool to come to a red light and stop without anyone telling you to. I’ve been in another country where you had to look very well and possibly wait for 20 seconds before moving, even on a green light. This is because a crazy driver on the other side would most likely ignore the red light as everyone is in a hurry to get to theri destination.

Observing the lights and moving only when they are green is a great practice; nevertheless, I’ve seen so many people in life who never leave home, never get married, never write a book, never sing a song, never start a business, never go on a date, never preach a sermon, never go back to school, never embark on their dream adventure because they are waiting until all the lights are green

If you wait until all the lights are “GREEN” before you leave home, you’ll never get started on your trip to the top… Zig Ziglar

There are several reasons why people want all the lights to be green before the move, but the most common reason is because the last time they ran a red light, they were involved in an accident. Isn’t it funny how someone knows about someone who ran a red light and also had an accident?

Failure is an event, not a person… Zig Ziglar

What green lights are you waiting on/for? It’s fun to see the green lights all come on automatically and signal that it is time to move on. It's interesting to note that not all green lights will come on automatically. There are some green lights that will come on, when you turn them on. The truth is that most times we are wait on life to turn the green lights on but in reality, life is waiting on us to get started on our dreams and start moving

Leaders and Dreams

Over the next couple of weeks I will be blogging (weekly) on leadership and dreams. Every great leadership begins with a dream (or vision). Many a times these dreams look crazy and/or in-achievable hence the reason why many people never actualize their dreams.

There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say, "Yes, I've got dreams, of course, I've got dreams." Then they put the box away and bring it out once in awhile to look at it, and yep, they're still there. These are great dreams, but they never get out of the box. It takes an uncommon amount of guts to put your dreams on the line, to hold them up and say, "How good or bad am I?" That's where courage comes in...Erma Bombeck

Glenn Cunningham was born in Atlanta and had high hopes of becoming an athlete. When he was 7 he had an accident and was rushed to the hospital. The doctor suggested that his leg should be amputated but Glenn, though young, refused. At that tender age the doctor told him that he would never walk again. Here was Young Glenn’s reply: “Sir, I won’t just walk again, I will also run”. Not wanting to discourage him, the doctor did not reply as he saw this statement as a mere rambling from a lame kid.

With intensive therapy and application, he overcame the odds and by high school was running competitively. He was the fastest miler in the Amateur Athletic Union in 1933 and 1935-38, and in 1934 he set a world record (4:06.7). He became one of the greatest U.S. middle-distance runner. He not only walked, he ran; he not only ran, he broke records.

" There are 3 D's in life: Desire, Determination, and Dedication. You need all 3 to go somewhere...but it all starts with the 4th D...Dream."…Author Unknown

Where is your little box? If you would agree with me, once upon a time you had a dream, and somewhere along the line you decided to bury it because of circumstances; this is a wake up call telling you it is time to bring it out. There is only one you and whatever anybody have said about you, be it your teachers, managers or parents is not a good reason for you to hide your little box.

" Look sharply and you will see opportunity: For though she is blind, she's not invisible." Francis Bacon