This "Innovation Self-Diagnostic test" might be a good conversation starter about your company's ability to foster and capitalize on innovation initiatives.http://bwnt.businessweek.com/self_diagnostic/quiz.asp
This "Innovation Self-Diagnostic test" might be a good conversation starter about your company's ability to foster and capitalize on innovation initiatives.http://bwnt.businessweek.com/self_diagnostic/quiz.asp
It was an article in Wired magazine. Then, it was a blog and lots of discussion in trade press and on the web. Along the way, it became a Wikipedia entry. Now, it is a book. What is the big deal about Wired's editor Chris Anderson's theory about the long tail?
The gist is this...all markets have a curve. The bulk of the activity (and the big players and big brands) are in the front of the curve and it trails off to nothingness to the right (see diagram below from Wired Magazine). Some markets have very concentrated bells and long tails (because of the ever-relevant 80/20 rule). For example, there are only 100 NY Times Best-Sellers, but there are millions of books. Successful companies, the author contends, are taking advantage of the long-tail to build a business at the niche/fragmented end of established markets where personal preference can reign and lots of little sales from the passionate few can result in serious profit. Some examples are in the diagram below from Wired magazine.
The gist is this...all markets have a curve. The bulk of the activity (and the big players and big brands) are in the front of the curve and it trails off to nothingness to the right (see diagram below from Wired Magazine). Some markets have very concentrated bells and long tails (because of the ever-relevant 80/20 rule). For example, there are only 100 NY Times Best-Sellers, but there are millions of books. Successful companies, the author contends, are taking advantage of the long-tail to build a business at the niche/fragmented end of established markets where personal preference can reign and lots of little sales from the passionate few can result in serious profit. Some examples are in the diagram below from Wired magazine.
There are businesses that have been working the tailing end of markets, including the brands mentioned above like NetFlix, Rhapsody, and Amazon. The applications of this are far reaching. Blogging is the long tail of web publishing. Terrorism is the long tail of war. Examples of the long tail are everywhere and although the concept is not new, it is a strategy that many now are embracing as new technology has enabled growth without traditional inventory models, distribution expenses, or mass production costs. The examples of the long tail of product-based business is interesting and worthy of discussion. How could your business expand to include the long tail of the markets you serve? However, my interest in sharing this today is how the theory of the long tail could change how services are delivered.
By their very nature, services are more personal. They are generally not sold through mass distribution channels. They are contract-based. However, I see a lot of opportunity for services companies to use technology to reach the long tail of their market. Or better yet, could a product company get into the services business by thinking about the long tail of their marketplace. One example of this is in the stationary business.
There are over 4,000 Hallmark Gold Crown Stores. American Greetings are sold in thousands of outlets. Crane & Co stores are in dozens of cities. For those who love paper (as I do), it is exciting to see the selection, feel the textures of offerings, and dream of a lifestyle of leisure where I would sit down daily at a writing desk with quill pen in hand to craft gracious notes of appreciation and sympathy. Instead, like millions of Americans, I scribble out the periodic note or special occassion card and rely on email for more pedestrian communications. Right now, my address book is in Plaxo, cards are available at the store (or I suppose I could print out my own on the computer), stamps are available at a variety of outlets, and the trigger for correspondence is varied. They can range from a birthday scribbled on a calendar, to a phone call or email, or to a thought that I might have about an old friend. How could this industry respond to the long tail of correspondence and provide more than just the standard selection of greeting cards in retail outlets?
Imagine if a service was available that look my address book (and the birthdays recorded there) and I could specify automatic printed cards to be sent. (Plaxo has an ecard offering, but you have to manually select and remember to send them.) They would do the addressing, stamping and mailing. If I wanted to personalize the message, a prompt would be sent to me via email asking for the message in time for them to print the card and get it in the mail. Since they are printed on demand, they could offer a wider selection of card design, graphics, and copy. Furthermore, they could accept original artwork or copy that I provided to them. (Today, I can submit a digital photo, for instance, and get cards made at PSPrint, 48hourprint, iprint, Zazzle, and others, but they are not tied into my address book). If the interface was slick, they could take a page from Zazzle's playbook and make my card available to others for selection (giving me a cut of the profits). I could customize this service with the alerts, control, payment options, or expense level that I would specify. The holidays would be a great time to test this system out and then let the long tail of correspondence lead to birthdays, sympathy cards, and "thinking of you" cards throughout the year.
So, it sounds cool, but would you use a system like this?
In my work for the Westside Mothers of Preschoolers, I have ran across a cool tool that might be of use to you.
It is called Mollyguard. On this website you can set up an event, specifying not only the date and time, but the capacity that you can accomodate and the price of the event. You can have multiple "ticket types" with different prices and can collect credit cards via PayPal. You can track your registrations and ticket sales. The basic (free) service is quite robust and they offer a premium service for those who want to do their own branded look and feel.
I have found it easy to use and just what we needed. We are going to use it to allow people to register their children for childcare provided during our meetings. We may also use it for registration for special events where capacity is limited or we want to collect fees ahead of time. This tool really starts where Evite ends.
It is called Mollyguard. On this website you can set up an event, specifying not only the date and time, but the capacity that you can accomodate and the price of the event. You can have multiple "ticket types" with different prices and can collect credit cards via PayPal. You can track your registrations and ticket sales. The basic (free) service is quite robust and they offer a premium service for those who want to do their own branded look and feel.
I have found it easy to use and just what we needed. We are going to use it to allow people to register their children for childcare provided during our meetings. We may also use it for registration for special events where capacity is limited or we want to collect fees ahead of time. This tool really starts where Evite ends.
Sometimes technology is a nuisance or a distraction, but other times it enables real solutions to real problems. One of my problems is that I am a continuing education junkie. I must confess that I actually enjoy reading business books (even if they are a bit redundant at times) and love to take instructor lead courses on topics of interest. However, I am not a full-time student and can't devote all the time and resources that I would like to this endeavor.
Enter stage right...web conferences. The leading providers of web conferencing services publish calendars of free web seminars and training events that are conducted by their clients on a variety of topics. I have taken a variety of these courses over time and have found many of them very engaging, professional, and useful. Often they are presented by best selling authors and leading industry consultants. And for the price of admission (did I mention they were free?), I was surprised by the quality of the content!
See the links below to see the course offerings sorted by web conference software provider.
There are, undoubtedly, other companies that offer similar services. Which other ones would you recommend?
P.S. Some are better than others, of course, so if you choose unwisely - don't blame me. They all have a compelling feature when compared to traditional courses: because they are accessed via the web and phone, you can always multi-task and do something else (like read my blog) while you listen in. Try one and let me know what you learned!
Enter stage right...web conferences. The leading providers of web conferencing services publish calendars of free web seminars and training events that are conducted by their clients on a variety of topics. I have taken a variety of these courses over time and have found many of them very engaging, professional, and useful. Often they are presented by best selling authors and leading industry consultants. And for the price of admission (did I mention they were free?), I was surprised by the quality of the content!
See the links below to see the course offerings sorted by web conference software provider.
There are, undoubtedly, other companies that offer similar services. Which other ones would you recommend?
P.S. Some are better than others, of course, so if you choose unwisely - don't blame me. They all have a compelling feature when compared to traditional courses: because they are accessed via the web and phone, you can always multi-task and do something else (like read my blog) while you listen in. Try one and let me know what you learned!
The following article was posted on Seth Godin's blog and encourages us choose abundance as an approach to our work and our lives. I thought this an appropriate reminder for a beautiful summer day!
Abundance and the TBR
If you've got a pretty good job (and I assume you do) that probably means that you get to do a fair amount of self-management. If you're installing eyelets at a Nike factory, they measure your output to the tenth of a second. I'm not talking about that. I'm writing this for people who are given the freedom to solve problems or create opportunities at work. Like most things, there's a spectrum of approaches. In this case, I think the two ends of the spectrum are an approach of Abundance and an approach I call "Technically Beyond Reproach" (TBR).
Abundance means that you look at every problem spec and figure out how tomake it bigger. TBR tries to make it smaller. Abundance means that you spend a lot of time imagining how you will overdeliver. TBR means you start from the beginning making sure that the work you do will either meet spec or you'll have a really good excuse. Entrepeneurs have a hard time with the TBR approach, because it has never ever worked for them. VCs and customers and competitors give few bonus points for excuses, even really good ones, so the only approach that wins is the abundance one.
An abundant-approach employee shows up early so she won't need the "train was late" excuse on the day of the presentation. The TBR employee gets a note from the Metro (true story). An abundant-approach minister grows his church from 200 families to 3,000 by constantly reinventing what he does all day. A TBR minister does a very good job of consoling the sick and writing sermons. Is there something wrong with the TBR approach? It depends what you want. If you want to grow, TBR won't get you there. Yes, I probably want my airline pilot to be TBR, at least most of the time. But no, not the chef at the restaurant. There are whole industries built around TBR thinking. The wedding business for example, charges extra so the bride and her mom will be blameless. The"top" colleges offer an expensive degree that is also beyond reproach,"Hey, it's not my fault... I paid my dues, went to a great school..."
The fascinating thing about the transparency of the Net is that it makes it easy to measure the differences between the two approaches. There are a bazillion blogs, and technorati makes it easy to see which ones have popped. And those are? Those are the ones that didn't follow the blogging manual, that didn't diligently do what they were supposed to do, bu tinstead, they were run with an abundance mindset. The blogger chose to answer a bigger question, in a bigger way. (Note: Seth's blog was #30 on the top 100 list at technorati on the day I posted this).
I think what it comes down to is the first question you ask yourself when you see an opportunity or a challenge. Is it, "How can I make this bigger, do it faster and change the outcome for all of us?"or is it"If this doesn't work, will I get in trouble or will I be okay?"
Abundance and the TBR
If you've got a pretty good job (and I assume you do) that probably means that you get to do a fair amount of self-management. If you're installing eyelets at a Nike factory, they measure your output to the tenth of a second. I'm not talking about that. I'm writing this for people who are given the freedom to solve problems or create opportunities at work. Like most things, there's a spectrum of approaches. In this case, I think the two ends of the spectrum are an approach of Abundance and an approach I call "Technically Beyond Reproach" (TBR).
Abundance means that you look at every problem spec and figure out how tomake it bigger. TBR tries to make it smaller. Abundance means that you spend a lot of time imagining how you will overdeliver. TBR means you start from the beginning making sure that the work you do will either meet spec or you'll have a really good excuse. Entrepeneurs have a hard time with the TBR approach, because it has never ever worked for them. VCs and customers and competitors give few bonus points for excuses, even really good ones, so the only approach that wins is the abundance one.
An abundant-approach employee shows up early so she won't need the "train was late" excuse on the day of the presentation. The TBR employee gets a note from the Metro (true story). An abundant-approach minister grows his church from 200 families to 3,000 by constantly reinventing what he does all day. A TBR minister does a very good job of consoling the sick and writing sermons. Is there something wrong with the TBR approach? It depends what you want. If you want to grow, TBR won't get you there. Yes, I probably want my airline pilot to be TBR, at least most of the time. But no, not the chef at the restaurant. There are whole industries built around TBR thinking. The wedding business for example, charges extra so the bride and her mom will be blameless. The"top" colleges offer an expensive degree that is also beyond reproach,"Hey, it's not my fault... I paid my dues, went to a great school..."
The fascinating thing about the transparency of the Net is that it makes it easy to measure the differences between the two approaches. There are a bazillion blogs, and technorati makes it easy to see which ones have popped. And those are? Those are the ones that didn't follow the blogging manual, that didn't diligently do what they were supposed to do, bu tinstead, they were run with an abundance mindset. The blogger chose to answer a bigger question, in a bigger way. (Note: Seth's blog was #30 on the top 100 list at technorati on the day I posted this).
I think what it comes down to is the first question you ask yourself when you see an opportunity or a challenge. Is it, "How can I make this bigger, do it faster and change the outcome for all of us?"or is it"If this doesn't work, will I get in trouble or will I be okay?"
Remember in the childhood game of hide and seek, when you found the person who was hiding you'd exclaim, "I found you!" This search would involve traditional methods like looking under and behind things and listening closely for giggles uttered by those so consumed by their own cleverness in finding the perfect hiding spot that they unwittingly revealed themselves.
Well, I learned of a company from my colleague Patrick, that seeks to employ the web in a professional version of hide and seek. Utilizing methods like "Natural Language Extraction, Artificial Intelligence Algorithms, and Information Integration Logic" (whew!) they scour the web and consolidate their findings into profiles of nearly 31 million business professionals and 2.5 million companies. The company is zoominfo (Waltham, Mass) and they call themselves a "summation search engine." The net result is that you can search the site for a person or coompany and find everything that has been written about them or by them and published online. It is unclear as to whether or not they search blog content.
They are selling the tool to HR professionals as a way to find targeted candidates. Recruiters can now find people with specific employment history or those associated with thought leadership in certain industries. They can search up to 20 different characteristics to locate the right person for the job. They are also showing it as a LinkedIn alternative.
The company profiles are very interesting. They are like mini-DNB reports, showing revenue, employees, and contact information. With their premium package, apparently, you can also find competitors or employees of this company. Talk about redefining "hide and seek."
I am wondering if there are other uses for this data set? Could the tools be used in a predictive sense? For instance, rather than just showing the candidates past mentions and job titles, could the site use algorithms to indicate which companies people may be attracted to based on a host of criteria? This might be useful for job seekers or college placement departments, who could help candidates find jobs not only based on location and job descriptions, but also on company culture and strategy. Could it help companies find customers that share particular problem sets/pain points?
Well, I learned of a company from my colleague Patrick, that seeks to employ the web in a professional version of hide and seek. Utilizing methods like "Natural Language Extraction, Artificial Intelligence Algorithms, and Information Integration Logic" (whew!) they scour the web and consolidate their findings into profiles of nearly 31 million business professionals and 2.5 million companies. The company is zoominfo (Waltham, Mass) and they call themselves a "summation search engine." The net result is that you can search the site for a person or coompany and find everything that has been written about them or by them and published online. It is unclear as to whether or not they search blog content.
They are selling the tool to HR professionals as a way to find targeted candidates. Recruiters can now find people with specific employment history or those associated with thought leadership in certain industries. They can search up to 20 different characteristics to locate the right person for the job. They are also showing it as a LinkedIn alternative.
The company profiles are very interesting. They are like mini-DNB reports, showing revenue, employees, and contact information. With their premium package, apparently, you can also find competitors or employees of this company. Talk about redefining "hide and seek."
I am wondering if there are other uses for this data set? Could the tools be used in a predictive sense? For instance, rather than just showing the candidates past mentions and job titles, could the site use algorithms to indicate which companies people may be attracted to based on a host of criteria? This might be useful for job seekers or college placement departments, who could help candidates find jobs not only based on location and job descriptions, but also on company culture and strategy. Could it help companies find customers that share particular problem sets/pain points?
Getting "unstuck" is the term used to describe when we take action beyond perceived constraints and free our minds to see possibilities. I love this idea, because is exudes positivity and possibility (two of my favorite things).There is a consulting firm called Box of Crayons owned by Michael Bungay Stanier. He has published The Eight Irrestible Principles of Fun, which are provocative to say the least. He sells a bunch of products and services around these concepts, and I thought I would share one, as it relates to something I have been acutely aware of recently: the need to not be "busy." His advice for how to change our "busy for busy sake" ways is summarized in this from his website:
"Being busy is seductive. Just because you're going flat out doesn't mean you're on the right track. If it's the wrong hole, you need to stop digging."
So, there is a principle here that I have experienced and am trying to learn more deeply. Busy is not a "good" in and of itself. The feeling of accomplishment after completing something (which is VERY sweet to an impatient, type-A person like myself) is not as sweet as the accomplishment of actual results and demonstratable, measurable successes!
We must respect our time and our energy enough to act deliberately. If we believe a hole needs to be dug, we should consider each shovel-full and decide at what point we reassess the location of our hole, the tools we are using to dig, and the treasure we are seeking to uncover.
This January one of my resolutions was to do less things, but do them better. This is something that I want to keep focused on, as I still believe that is a hole worth digging. What are the holes that are worth digging for you right now? What holes have you abandoned?
At the risk of mixing metaphors, I leave you with this graphic conclusion from GapingVoid:
You may have heard about this, and it is worth repeating. Architect Mike Pearce was given a complex challenge on a project in Zimbabwe. He was asked to build an office building that would be comfortable without air conditioning! The result: Eastgate, a mixed office comoplex and shopping mall covering half a city block in the business center of Harare, Zimbabwe. How did he do it? By studying termite mounds, which are able to maintain a constant temperature dispite ambient temperature swings ranging from 35 to 104 degrees. You can find out more about how it works at Wikipedia entry. Fascinating!It is estimated that half the energy that we use in our homes is related to heating and cooling. So, what can we learn from the indiginous animals (insects being perhaps the most inventive of the bunch) that might help the frigid northeast stay warm, soggy northwest stay dry, the dry southwest stay cool, and all of the structures in our country work with nature instead of just against it? This could have huge economic and social consequences. How many social welfare dollars goes to paying utilities that could be used for other things? How many industries would be disrupted by this change of approach?
A lot has been said about looking to the animal kingdom for insight on how organizations function, how work is accomplished in teams, and for innovation insights for medicine, architecture, and energy production. A new term has been penned: biomimicry. I think this field is fascinating and makes practical sense. What other examples of biomimicry have you seen or heard about that have inspired you or your work?
There was an article in Business School's Working Knowledge eNewsletter a year ago worth reading. You can find the entire article or sign up to receive the free enewsletter at their website. They also have an RSS feed, if you'd rather.
It contracts how different companies (Dell, Quizno's sandwiches, P&G, etc) approach innovation, product planning, and market positioning. It poses some great questions about strategy, brand, hiring the best employees, and selling ideas to customers and executive management.
I'd love to hear your reactions.
The article is peppered with quotes from business leaders. Here are some of my favorites:
"It's a prerequisite that if you're going to fail, you have to fail forward." - Terry Hall, Chief Marketing Officer, Quizno's Sub
"I believe innovation comes from two sources: technology and the consumer. It's less about process and more about people - don't look at the numbers. Get out in the world." - Dan Buchner, vice president of innovation and design at Design Continuum, an industrial design firm.
In Dan's bio on the Continuum website, he claims to have received an MBA from the "School of Hard Knocks, University of Starting and Running your Own Manufacturing Firm." I love it!
I know I feel like I got an MBA from the "University of Building and Nurturing a Sales Channel" and another from the "University of Marketing Innovation" where my thesis was "never confuse activity with results." I think I am currently working on my Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the "University of Helping Others Embrace Change." What are you studying?
It contracts how different companies (Dell, Quizno's sandwiches, P&G, etc) approach innovation, product planning, and market positioning. It poses some great questions about strategy, brand, hiring the best employees, and selling ideas to customers and executive management.
I'd love to hear your reactions.
The article is peppered with quotes from business leaders. Here are some of my favorites:
"It's a prerequisite that if you're going to fail, you have to fail forward." - Terry Hall, Chief Marketing Officer, Quizno's Sub
"I believe innovation comes from two sources: technology and the consumer. It's less about process and more about people - don't look at the numbers. Get out in the world." - Dan Buchner, vice president of innovation and design at Design Continuum, an industrial design firm.
In Dan's bio on the Continuum website, he claims to have received an MBA from the "School of Hard Knocks, University of Starting and Running your Own Manufacturing Firm." I love it!
I know I feel like I got an MBA from the "University of Building and Nurturing a Sales Channel" and another from the "University of Marketing Innovation" where my thesis was "never confuse activity with results." I think I am currently working on my Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the "University of Helping Others Embrace Change." What are you studying?
It is important for companies and individuals to know what they are about. I have written before about the importance of being responsive to customers or clients and that is absolutely true, but it does have to balanced by a discipline of deciding to do some things well.
I had an illustration of this a few weeks ago. I had contacted the support group at 37Signals whose produce Basecamp I have used to manage a variety of projects for myself, my employer, and clients. I highly recommend this tool and I know they are always develping new offerings. I suggested to them that they develop a new interactive, collaborative scheduling service. The idea would be that it would allow a person to set up a calendar of events and allow people to RSVP. However, it would be more than an Evite (which is another tool I love and use all the time). The innovation that I was suggesting was that the tool would allow multiple events to be managed from one interface and that it would include an element of capacity planning. Let's say, a hair studio wanted to use a tool like this to accept online appointments. They could enter the number of stylists available throughout the day and the software would prevent people from overbooking, perhaps suggesting alternates that might work or managing a waiting list. I thought this would be cool for a variety of their small business customers and I knew that I could use it right away for a project I am working on for the Westside MOPS.
But, I digress. I sent the idea to them in some detail. I received a response back that surprised me. I thought that I would get a "thank you and we appreciate your ideas" email that would be that. Instead, I got a personal email back from Jason at 37Signals that read "We will not be building the software you suggested. We only build things we can use and we wouldn't use this."
Needless to say, I was a little taken back. I send them back an equally curt response saying how unfortunate it was that they would not be taking action on this and that I would have scheduled time to talk with them in more detail about the idea, but sadly they don't use scheduling software. But, the whole thing got me thinking.
Here is a company that is very well-respected and builds great tools. They got a suggestion for what would be a great product (in my humble opinion) and they said, "no." No, because it wasn't something they were passionate about. No, because, perhaps, it didn't fit into their vision of who uses their tools and why.
Although their response to me could have been a bit more respectful, I can see and appreciate their point. If they pour their resources into making Basecamp and other tools I use better, then I can't really complain.
So, my "collaborative scheduling" idea is out there. Somebody should develop this tool! If you know of any offerings like this on the market, I am very interested in learning about them. To learn of other product ideas or offerings that I have put on the curb to recycle, see Invention Recycling.
I had an illustration of this a few weeks ago. I had contacted the support group at 37Signals whose produce Basecamp I have used to manage a variety of projects for myself, my employer, and clients. I highly recommend this tool and I know they are always develping new offerings. I suggested to them that they develop a new interactive, collaborative scheduling service. The idea would be that it would allow a person to set up a calendar of events and allow people to RSVP. However, it would be more than an Evite (which is another tool I love and use all the time). The innovation that I was suggesting was that the tool would allow multiple events to be managed from one interface and that it would include an element of capacity planning. Let's say, a hair studio wanted to use a tool like this to accept online appointments. They could enter the number of stylists available throughout the day and the software would prevent people from overbooking, perhaps suggesting alternates that might work or managing a waiting list. I thought this would be cool for a variety of their small business customers and I knew that I could use it right away for a project I am working on for the Westside MOPS.
But, I digress. I sent the idea to them in some detail. I received a response back that surprised me. I thought that I would get a "thank you and we appreciate your ideas" email that would be that. Instead, I got a personal email back from Jason at 37Signals that read "We will not be building the software you suggested. We only build things we can use and we wouldn't use this."
Needless to say, I was a little taken back. I send them back an equally curt response saying how unfortunate it was that they would not be taking action on this and that I would have scheduled time to talk with them in more detail about the idea, but sadly they don't use scheduling software. But, the whole thing got me thinking.
Here is a company that is very well-respected and builds great tools. They got a suggestion for what would be a great product (in my humble opinion) and they said, "no." No, because it wasn't something they were passionate about. No, because, perhaps, it didn't fit into their vision of who uses their tools and why.
Although their response to me could have been a bit more respectful, I can see and appreciate their point. If they pour their resources into making Basecamp and other tools I use better, then I can't really complain.
So, my "collaborative scheduling" idea is out there. Somebody should develop this tool! If you know of any offerings like this on the market, I am very interested in learning about them. To learn of other product ideas or offerings that I have put on the curb to recycle, see Invention Recycling.
As I have said before, it is critical for companies to understand what customers are paying for. Are they paying for a product with a particular warranty period or are they paying for up-time during their capitalized product life? Are they paying for software that rids their computer of viruses or are they paying for the assurance of a safe computing environment? It could be that customers value a portion of a company's offering and by streamlining the features, removing complexity, and focusing on the things that matter, companies can deliver a higher perceived value with less effort and expense.
This approach has huge implications for marketing. While facts and figures can be captured on datasheets and product copy on a Website, solutions are hard to contain in these mechanisms. When emotions (ie, trust, confidence, safety) need to be communicated, it is best done through stories. Sometimes the story is about a product and other times it is about a company. Who, in your opinion, tells the best stories?
Stories are also critical within the organization, to build alignment and motivate stakeholders. More on that later.
This approach has huge implications for marketing. While facts and figures can be captured on datasheets and product copy on a Website, solutions are hard to contain in these mechanisms. When emotions (ie, trust, confidence, safety) need to be communicated, it is best done through stories. Sometimes the story is about a product and other times it is about a company. Who, in your opinion, tells the best stories?
Stories are also critical within the organization, to build alignment and motivate stakeholders. More on that later.
There is a principle that is so simple it is easy to miss when we are designing or marketing products: customers define the value of the goods or services that they pay for. Thinking about our business from their perspective is absolutely critical. This leads to better resource utiliziation (for example, anything that doesn't add value that customers' perceive and would pay for, is one definition of waste). It can also lead to radical thinking and innovation for new products and services. This is especially evident in the new world we live in, where outsourced manufacturing, Internet services, and the like allow us to respond immediately to customer suggestions.
Interestingly, I have been proud, as a customer, to have some of my suggestions integrated rapidly into products (I have seen it happen on LinkedIn and Basecamp by 37Signals). I can only assume I am not the only one asking for the enhancement that was implemented, but it does demonstrate to me that they care. From their perspective, however, they just received free market research to drive new development and built a little more loyalty with me in the process.
Interestingly, I have been proud, as a customer, to have some of my suggestions integrated rapidly into products (I have seen it happen on LinkedIn and Basecamp by 37Signals). I can only assume I am not the only one asking for the enhancement that was implemented, but it does demonstrate to me that they care. From their perspective, however, they just received free market research to drive new development and built a little more loyalty with me in the process.
For a while, I have subscribed to a newsletter put out by the InnovationNetwork. You can sign up or view archives at www.thinksmart.com. The InnovationNetwork guru, Joyce Wycoff also has a blog.
Several months ago they had a discussion about what "simple rules" would create sustainable innovation for companies which is a great example of the kind of topics that are featured. Here is a summary of a few of my favorites that kicked the discussion off.
A. Four Simple Rules
Contributor: Paul Hindes, president of Watcher Technologies as quoted
in Fortune Magazine's article "Making Decisions in Real Time"
(6/26/2000).
1. You can't be a jerk with clients.
2. Tell me if I have spinach in my teeth
3. Be responsive, but not dumb.
4. It's really, really okay to make mistakes.
Note: I have edited some of the potentially-offensive language from
the original, but I hope captured the essence (jd)
B. Everything I needed to learn, I learned in Junior High
Contributor: Unknown Junior High, as quoted in Margaret Wheatley's book
Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time (February 2005).
1. Take care of yourself.
2. Take care of each other.
3. Take care of this place.
C. Innovation and Progress
Contributor: Brian Barron as attributed to William Kingston's book Innovation: The Creative Impluse in Human Progress (1977).
1. Develop only the bare minimum to prove an idea
2. Prove only one idea at a time
3. Never develop what can be bought or modified
4. Minimize the time to demonstration
5. Insist on the highest standards of workmanship
6. Do all of this with the smallest team possible.
D. Google's 9 Rules
Contributor: Marissa Mayer (their innovation guru) 45-minute presentation on the Stanford University Website
1. Ideas come from everywhere
2. Cheer everything you can
3. You're brilliant, we're hiring
4. A license to pursue dreams
5. Innovation, not instant perfection
6. Data is apolitical
7. Creativity loves constraints
8. It's users, not money
9. Don't kill projects, morph them
If you could create a few "rules" (or guidelines or principles) that could create sustainable innovation within your company or organization, what would they be?
Several months ago they had a discussion about what "simple rules" would create sustainable innovation for companies which is a great example of the kind of topics that are featured. Here is a summary of a few of my favorites that kicked the discussion off.
A. Four Simple Rules
Contributor: Paul Hindes, president of Watcher Technologies as quoted
in Fortune Magazine's article "Making Decisions in Real Time"
(6/26/2000).
1. You can't be a jerk with clients.
2. Tell me if I have spinach in my teeth
3. Be responsive, but not dumb.
4. It's really, really okay to make mistakes.
Note: I have edited some of the potentially-offensive language from
the original, but I hope captured the essence (jd)
B. Everything I needed to learn, I learned in Junior High
Contributor: Unknown Junior High, as quoted in Margaret Wheatley's book
Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time (February 2005).
1. Take care of yourself.
2. Take care of each other.
3. Take care of this place.
C. Innovation and Progress
Contributor: Brian Barron as attributed to William Kingston's book Innovation: The Creative Impluse in Human Progress (1977).
1. Develop only the bare minimum to prove an idea
2. Prove only one idea at a time
3. Never develop what can be bought or modified
4. Minimize the time to demonstration
5. Insist on the highest standards of workmanship
6. Do all of this with the smallest team possible.
D. Google's 9 Rules
Contributor: Marissa Mayer (their innovation guru) 45-minute presentation on the Stanford University Website
1. Ideas come from everywhere
2. Cheer everything you can
3. You're brilliant, we're hiring
4. A license to pursue dreams
5. Innovation, not instant perfection
6. Data is apolitical
7. Creativity loves constraints
8. It's users, not money
9. Don't kill projects, morph them
If you could create a few "rules" (or guidelines or principles) that could create sustainable innovation within your company or organization, what would they be?
Whether or not you are actively looking to buy or sell a home, it is interesting to keep tabs on the rea estate market. There are a variety of tools that are fun to explore to this end.
I love Zillow. This company out of Seattle was founded by a few Expedia alums that sought to provide better visibility to real estate pricing. The result is a website where you can map a property address and see the valuation of it and the surrounding properties. They literally provide an estimate (or a Zestimate, as they call it) for over 65 million homes. Essentially, this site is not only a fun interface, but is allows you to do your own real estate comparables and market research. They are adding metropolitan areas all the time and they claim a high accuracy rate. Check it out!
Another tool that is useful is one offered by a local real estate agent in Portland, Oregon powered by PDXHomeQuest and is now offered also in Seattle and San Diego. It is an email service that will provide you with the new listings in any price range or neighborhood that you specify, allowing you to keep tabs on MLS activity in your area. To sign up for the service in Portland, visit Donna Erickson's website.
Now these are useful tools and show the power of using data to create useful decision-driving information. I am always on the look-out for tools of this type.
I love Zillow. This company out of Seattle was founded by a few Expedia alums that sought to provide better visibility to real estate pricing. The result is a website where you can map a property address and see the valuation of it and the surrounding properties. They literally provide an estimate (or a Zestimate, as they call it) for over 65 million homes. Essentially, this site is not only a fun interface, but is allows you to do your own real estate comparables and market research. They are adding metropolitan areas all the time and they claim a high accuracy rate. Check it out!
Another tool that is useful is one offered by a local real estate agent in Portland, Oregon powered by PDXHomeQuest and is now offered also in Seattle and San Diego. It is an email service that will provide you with the new listings in any price range or neighborhood that you specify, allowing you to keep tabs on MLS activity in your area. To sign up for the service in Portland, visit Donna Erickson's website.
Now these are useful tools and show the power of using data to create useful decision-driving information. I am always on the look-out for tools of this type.
In Patrick Lencioni's book The Five Temptations of a CEO (which is a great one, by the way), he warns business leaders to never confuse clarity with certainty. There are always things that are uncertain. Facts that require validation. Assumptions that need to be checked out. Assumptions that must be researched.
That uncertainty can't stop people from being clear in their communications. Better to say "here is what I know and here is what I don't know" and "here is what we are going to do," than say "I think we should do this." It is important in all of our communications that we model clarity, even if there are things about which we are uncertain. Better yet, if you feel like you can't be clear or certain in your communications, stop and take action immediately to resolve the issue. Once you find the answer or have taken appropriate action, then respond.
Note: sometimes this approach will require you to respond with a "I have heard you and will respond when I have a chance to give it proper attention". Especially if the request came via email, where people expect responses.
If you want to purchase a copy of Patrick's book--which is an easy, but insightful read-- click below.
The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable
Over the years, I have used a variety of tools to manage contact information for friends, family, and colleagues. I kept little address books, I maintained a Rolodex (perhaps dating myself, I know), addresses in various email programs, and the like. I wanted to tell you about two tools I am using now that you might be interested in trying yourself.
The first is Plaxo. It is an online address book, essentially with a couple of twists. The first is that if I enter an address (triggered by a unique email address) of someone who is also a Plaxo user, we are "connected" and I am alerted to any updates or changes in their contact information. Second, I can send me own information (professional or personal or both) to selected contacts and have them update their own information. This is a useful way to make sure your address book has the latest information. I use the free online version, which requires nothing to be downloaded on my computer and alllows me to access it anywhere. The premium version has some features that are nice as well. I understand that some people do not like Plaxo's model and would rather use a more permission-based system, but for my work information which isn't so sensitive, I have Plaxo to be a useful tool.
The other tool that I enjoy using is LinkedIn. It is a social network that many of my professional contacts turned me onto. In essense, I can invite people to join my "network" and in return, they can access my network, allowing me to help them make introductions to others I know (and visa versa). The network affect takes hold, when you link these networks together by degreees of separation. My 200 (or so) contacts, actually connect me to nearly 7,000 people within 2 degrees of separation. Wild! I have used it to make contact into companies that I would have otherwise had to cold call. I use the free online version.
I'd encourage you to check these out. If you use either of these systems and know me personally, invite you to send me an invitation!
The first is Plaxo. It is an online address book, essentially with a couple of twists. The first is that if I enter an address (triggered by a unique email address) of someone who is also a Plaxo user, we are "connected" and I am alerted to any updates or changes in their contact information. Second, I can send me own information (professional or personal or both) to selected contacts and have them update their own information. This is a useful way to make sure your address book has the latest information. I use the free online version, which requires nothing to be downloaded on my computer and alllows me to access it anywhere. The premium version has some features that are nice as well. I understand that some people do not like Plaxo's model and would rather use a more permission-based system, but for my work information which isn't so sensitive, I have Plaxo to be a useful tool.
The other tool that I enjoy using is LinkedIn. It is a social network that many of my professional contacts turned me onto. In essense, I can invite people to join my "network" and in return, they can access my network, allowing me to help them make introductions to others I know (and visa versa). The network affect takes hold, when you link these networks together by degreees of separation. My 200 (or so) contacts, actually connect me to nearly 7,000 people within 2 degrees of separation. Wild! I have used it to make contact into companies that I would have otherwise had to cold call. I use the free online version.
I'd encourage you to check these out. If you use either of these systems and know me personally, invite you to send me an invitation!
Budding artists all over the world have dreamt of their first gallery showing. The more commercially-minded of the bunch dream of selling out and having their artwork displayed on a wide array of novelty items and gifts...and those royalty checks rolling in.
Now you don't have to wait to make your dreams come true. In fact, any Tom, Dick, or Harriett can now publish and promote their creative works and get paid. Thanks to the wonder of on-demand printing technology, now no one has to old inventory and so artists are free to make anything available for sale, before a single item is physically made. The gist of the business model here is that third-parties can host the virtual stores, sell the goods with the "licensed" artwork, and then send the artists a royalty when something bearing their image or art is purchased. There are a variety of sites that have aspects of this business model and I'll highlight a couple. I must warn you that I have not ordered from either of these companies, so this is not an endorsement. However, if you choose to experiment, I am very interested in the results you get.
The first is Zazzle.com. You upload your art and you can create t-shirts, mugs, cards, prints, and postage stamps (yes, real postage stamps) bearing the image. Better yet, you can publish your art into a gallery so that others can buy. You get 10-17% royalty on sales. If you are not artistic but like the idea, they have an affiliate program that pays 7% commission for referred sales. You can create Zazzle flash panels that parade merchandise you select or specify embedded into your website.
Other services of this ilk include CafePress. They have lots of products onto which art can be affixed and they have an affiliate program as well that looks pretty interesting. I'd love to hear a success story (or a failure, for that matter) from any of these companies.
On the lower end of "art," the company called Threadless specializes in t-shirts. Some of them are quite funny (some are not appropriate for a family show, I must warn). They offer nice things like gift certificates and a funky design aesthetic on the site.
So, how can you use all of this?
Now you don't have to wait to make your dreams come true. In fact, any Tom, Dick, or Harriett can now publish and promote their creative works and get paid. Thanks to the wonder of on-demand printing technology, now no one has to old inventory and so artists are free to make anything available for sale, before a single item is physically made. The gist of the business model here is that third-parties can host the virtual stores, sell the goods with the "licensed" artwork, and then send the artists a royalty when something bearing their image or art is purchased. There are a variety of sites that have aspects of this business model and I'll highlight a couple. I must warn you that I have not ordered from either of these companies, so this is not an endorsement. However, if you choose to experiment, I am very interested in the results you get.
The first is Zazzle.com. You upload your art and you can create t-shirts, mugs, cards, prints, and postage stamps (yes, real postage stamps) bearing the image. Better yet, you can publish your art into a gallery so that others can buy. You get 10-17% royalty on sales. If you are not artistic but like the idea, they have an affiliate program that pays 7% commission for referred sales. You can create Zazzle flash panels that parade merchandise you select or specify embedded into your website.
Other services of this ilk include CafePress. They have lots of products onto which art can be affixed and they have an affiliate program as well that looks pretty interesting. I'd love to hear a success story (or a failure, for that matter) from any of these companies.
On the lower end of "art," the company called Threadless specializes in t-shirts. Some of them are quite funny (some are not appropriate for a family show, I must warn). They offer nice things like gift certificates and a funky design aesthetic on the site.
So, how can you use all of this?
- If you are artist, you can submit your art, tell your family and friends, and promote your own licensed product sales.
- If you like unique artwork and gift items you could go shopping (after you sign up for that affiliate program, so you make money on your own purchases, I suppose)
- or to combine the above, if you are an artist, submit your artwork, and order presents for the next holiday for all your friends and family. Be sure to include a website in your art design so that admirers can order reprints!
I have ran across a few resources lately regarding color that I thought I would pass along.
The first is from a group called the Color Marketing Group. Their charter is to track trends in colors for professional fashion and interior designers. They publish an annual report, from which you can find highlights on their website, to detail what their research has indicated. The results for 2006? Reds lead the forecast and are considered the most "livable." They credit (or blame) the upcoming Beijing Olympics, among other influences. The leading blue is something they call "aqueous." A spa-themed cross between blue and green, often paired with chocolate brown. I might have guessed this one, because you are seeing that color everywhere.
Next is a cool tool called ColorMatch. This site allows you to mix your own cocktail of red, green, and blue to create your own shade. Then it provides you with the reference number for that color if you wanted to use it on your Website. You can see my BloggerAssist blog for information on how to use color on your blog or in comments.
The other thing that ColorMatch provides you is a handy matching palette of five other shades that coordinate well with the color you created. This would not only be helpful for choosing a palette for your next brand identity project or website design. It could also prove useful for picking exterior house paint, fabric for a quilt design, or finding colors that coordinate with the retro "harvest gold" sink in the downstairs bathroom.
You got to love a tool that was first created for a Danish web competition in 2001 and turned open source and now you can Google versions of it that address particular compatibility issues of this winning tool.
The first is from a group called the Color Marketing Group. Their charter is to track trends in colors for professional fashion and interior designers. They publish an annual report, from which you can find highlights on their website, to detail what their research has indicated. The results for 2006? Reds lead the forecast and are considered the most "livable." They credit (or blame) the upcoming Beijing Olympics, among other influences. The leading blue is something they call "aqueous." A spa-themed cross between blue and green, often paired with chocolate brown. I might have guessed this one, because you are seeing that color everywhere.
Next is a cool tool called ColorMatch. This site allows you to mix your own cocktail of red, green, and blue to create your own shade. Then it provides you with the reference number for that color if you wanted to use it on your Website. You can see my BloggerAssist blog for information on how to use color on your blog or in comments.
The other thing that ColorMatch provides you is a handy matching palette of five other shades that coordinate well with the color you created. This would not only be helpful for choosing a palette for your next brand identity project or website design. It could also prove useful for picking exterior house paint, fabric for a quilt design, or finding colors that coordinate with the retro "harvest gold" sink in the downstairs bathroom.
You got to love a tool that was first created for a Danish web competition in 2001 and turned open source and now you can Google versions of it that address particular compatibility issues of this winning tool.
Sometimes my brain kicks into overdrive and spews out more ideas than I could possibly take action on, so rather than let them go to waste, I thought I would recycle them. Literally.I have posted a separate blog at http://inventionrecycling.blogspot.com where I can post these ideas and keep them alive. I am hoping that some of these ideas put out on the virtual curb will be found by others. Maybe they will give someone a chuckle or inspire them in their own business endeavors. Check it out!
Welcome to the musings of Jennifer Davis. The purpose of this site is to provide a forum for the discussion of ideas about innovation, to share some cool tools that might be of use to you professionally and personally, and to connect to like-minded folks who love technology that works and creativity in practice.
The topics represented in this blog represent the variety of influences on my work and play. Some of my recent work will be described in more detail in the future on the website and blog of Creative Outlet Labs.
I invite you to enjoy and engage in this forum!
The topics represented in this blog represent the variety of influences on my work and play. Some of my recent work will be described in more detail in the future on the website and blog of Creative Outlet Labs.
I invite you to enjoy and engage in this forum!
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