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From the Will of Albert Nobel. His Will be Done.
By now we have all heard about President Obama being awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. And whether you believe he was the appropriate nomination or not is for you to judge. Whether Alfred Nobel would agree who could tell. Perhaps the Presidents stance as a pacifist is his largest asset in his nomination.
The will of Albert Nobel designated the criteria for the Peace Prize and allocated one part of his wealth to the cause of Peace. It read as follows ”one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”
If you look at the past recipients of the award you see a list of who’s who and who’s that? Presidents, national leaders, distinguish nominations and international groups of esteem all led their names to this honor. The award has been given 96 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations. See the list of all the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Norwegian Rationale…Why the President?
I have my personal opinions on how the Norwegian committee selects their recipients…their criteria and their rationale. As you may already know the Norwegians not the Swiss were granted the honor of selecting the peace nomination by Mr. Nobel “I, the undersigned, Alfred Bernhard Nobel, do hereby, after mature deliberation, declare the following to be my last Will and Testament with respect to such property as may be left by me at the time of my death…that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting. It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration be given to the nationality of the candidates, but that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be Scandinavian or not.”
What Were They Thinking?
Even though I support the President and his initiatives to rid the world of nuclear weapons I find it hard to justify awarding such an honor to an individual who represents a country that is at war. Not only at war…but also in two wars. Now grant it the President inherited this legacy…understood. But he is also Commander and Chief to a nation that supports nuclear weapons and houses some of the greatest quantities of this technology. No one doubts his vision of HOPE…he has captured the hearts of the world with this simple but poignant message. But I believe that he is somewhat embarrassed by the award. Even the President was humbled and surprised by his selection.
Hope Moves People
Perhaps after the President moves us out of war…which I do not predict will occur in his tenure then he would be a logical winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. I feel that the committee confused hope as a result. Yes…hope is a movement a way of thinking and powerful non-the-less…but words and rhetoric have not proven itself as of yet. I pray it does sooner then later.
Why Not?
So if not the President…then who you may be asking. Perhaps one of the leaders of nations that is at peace…or one of the many social justice organizations throughout the world…or better yet a religious leader. I could give names of people worth this honor who have given everything of themselves and their world to accomplish peace. We all know individuals in our small circles of life that would carry this flag.
King For A Day
If I were king for a day…I’d ask my friends in Norway to consider the following candidates. Disagree if you will…I invite your comments. Now remember the award is for those who have achieved outstanding achievements in peace.
I Am The Greatest
I would have to throw in a vote for Muhammad Ali. What a fighter? Are you nuts Cloonan? I think not. Here is a man that is known throughout the world. A man who turned his back on the US government during the Vietnam War and chose to let his religious belief guide his decision. Controversial? Absolutely. But think about it. Here is a man that has moved millions and inspired tens of millions. Remember Zaire? Well you should. A nation of the poor, abused and neglected by a ruthless dictator found honor, hope, pride and a reason to succeed following Ali and his less then popular antics. Not to mention his iconic world image and his continued support around the world for those disadvantaged and those in need. Remember the Atlanta Olympics…Ali lighting the torch? It moved many. Why? Because of what he stands for and who he is.
Pick an Entertainer.
What are you serious? Yes…I am. There are many who work effortlessly today to make a difference. Look to Audrey Hepburn. Bono. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Sting. John Lennon. They all have put their lives and stardom to use to move social causes and support others larger then themselves. Disagree with me if you will…but I contend they are just as worthy as the President.
The King Of Peace
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. “The pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of satyagraha—resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa or total non-violence—which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.”
I mean really it’s Gandhi…give the guy the node every year for the award. People what on earth were you thinking…the man has never won the nomination. Now that is absurd.
10,000,000 SEK’s Wahoooeee! Obama’s Fortune
Not only does the President have good fortune…but he actually is rewarded with fortune. So… I took out my trusty iPod and plugged in 10 million Swedish Krona and thumbed into my currency converter to discover that the President will receive roughly over 1.4 Million US dollars for the award. What could this money do for an organization…hmmm not much really. For an individual? Slightly more of course. For the President…he certainly won’t need it…he’ll be fine after his tenure with books and speaking tours.
So does he keep the money? I suspect he won’t. It would make for great movement to his cause if he donates it to a charity supporting his beliefs; not to mention the political value he’d gain. I know this…if you drop 1.4 million to a researcher of a major healthcare provider you could without a doubt shorten the life cycle of a disease by years. Some things in life are worth more then cash. But only time will tell.
It’s Up to You
So my friends…I ask you…if not President Obama…then who would you nominate?
So you want to make a difference. You want to change the way people look at the world. Ahhh … you’re a man of social justice … a woman of global change! But the problem you have is you can’t seem to get your peers to see the light … to actually make a difference in this world. How do you help people see the opportunities? I hear you … and I too feel your pain. Sometimes by opening our eyes and trying to see something different we create something that changes the world. A little research and a lot of passion = innovation
And maybe just maybe when this happens … you can change the way we all see the world. Literally. I thank you Mr. Silver.
Josh Silver delivers his brilliantly simple solution for correcting vision at the lowest cost possible — adjustable, liquid-filled lenses. At TEDGlobal 2009, he demos his affordable eyeglasses and reveals his global plan to distribute them to a billion people in need by 2020. (I thank TEDGlobal for this information and credit them with the video content).
Healthier outcomes for the world … global health initiatives .. it has a nice ring to it.
Just thinking out loud. Peace.
Consistency is important.
If you order a box of quite frankly one of the best candies to enhance your movie experience…a box of Junior Mints…you know exactly what you are going to get in every piece. And the cool thing is…it’s all good. So…no surprises.
So why on earth am I speaking of Junior Mints? Well it’s simple…it’s an experience that you don’t mind repeating over and over again. As the back of the box states…”Over fifty years ago a new star was born…a creamy, flowing, refreshingly light mint center surrounded with just the right amount of rich dark chocolate coating has made Junior Mints a favorite of all ages…inside and outside the movie theatre!”
Photo credit from Juniormints.com
User Experience Matters
So turn your attention to web experiences…why isn’t it that every time you visit your favorite website that you don’t have a consistent experience…one worth remembering over and over again. Consider this…until recently web experiences have been misunderstood. Grant it…now we have user experience experts paying attention to the patterns, habits and trends of the audience.
Allow Yourself to Listen
The problem I still see is that the client who hires the user experience experts doesn’t always pay attention to the truths about what the audience wants or needs. Instead they get lost…lost in internal politics or lack of appropriate marketing needs. They get lost in their old paradigms. They get lost in the only way they know how to think. And remarkably they get clouded…clouded in their inability to think innovation. Some tend to underestimate the intelligence of their audience and often do not understand the audience behaviors…thus the user experience more then not fails. And every morsel of the experience is not as pleasurable. And every time they return to learn more they don’t get a consistent experience.
Let The Truth Be Told
With the web there are unique challenges…audiences aren’t always easy neither to understand nor to identify. So if you’re smart you listen. You listen to the audience, you listen to those you hire to share with you discoveries on how to pay attention to each and every experience and provide a consistent experience worth enjoying. And just as important you listen to yourself. You look at truths.
I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of large site relaunches and designs in my career and now I will be working on another such redesign for Cincinnati Children’s. We have chosen to interview three of today’s best interactive agencies to assist our team. So what have I learned? What have others around me learned? And what can I share to my new organization and to the company we decide to join in this large project.
A Lot of Really Smart People Make a Lot of Really Dumb Mistakes
I probably could write a book on what I have learned…what to do and what not to do. And I’ve seen a lot of really smart people make a lot of really dumb mistakes. Most of which they never realized they were making. Primarily because they didn’t understand the medium nor how to ultimately meet the user experience. And for some…it was there first time…the first real time they had undertaken a relaunch or a full site redesign. So despite their good intentions they made mistakes which were not easy to detect when they we making them.
Innovation and Ideas Require Clear Thinking
So my advice is be open…open to new ideas…new ways of thinking. Know that best practices in this medium occur each and everyday. They’re being developed…expanded upon…and created with unique approaches which are not all cookie cutter. Allow this to happen. Don’t get caught up in pride or insecurities. Remember that books are great references…but they are not bibles. Be flexible. Be innovative. Do not settle for mediocre or standard. Strive for excellence.
Oscar Wilde May Have Said it Best
“Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.”
Don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers…allow yourself to learn something new. It’s not easy to get direction or ideas when you’ve spent your whole career giving them to others. Trust in those you have hired…push them to help you change your thinking and the thinking of those within your organization. Understand there is plenty of room to grow…to make each user experience memorable and effective. This is the time to allow yourself to think of your audiences in new ways…ways you may not have ever allowed yourself to understand. Remember…sometimes you may be too close to the forest to see the trees.
Learn from those who have traveled the road before you and have new perspectives. Remember…you are creating the experience for others…not for yourself.
Junior Mints do it one experience at a time…so can you.
One thing about working for a world-class organization is opportunity…opportunity to explore new ideas and innovations…opportunities to evaluate partners and best practices from some of the best organizations in digital today. Which brings me to this weeks Advertising Age Digital 2009 Conference that took place at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City.
As one would expect there were insights, observations, talk of new trends, panel discussions, back-to-back presentations, and some memorable moments worth noting. And out of all of this professed wisdom there reined one or two particularly exceptional moments of truth often not heard into today’s conferences.
Out of this came some clear winners and clear losers. Being frank has sometimes got me in trouble…but I always am speaking openly and truthfully which is what this blog will do today…if you are going to charge people to listen to what you have to say… you best be prepared to hear differences of opinion. So instead of pointing fingers let’s concentrate on pointing thumbs ☺
Thumbs seem to be the texting method of the Y generation…so it’s appropriate to give a thumbs up…thumbs down or nothing but thumbs review for this year’s conference presentations.
But before I do that I have to say that the folks at Advertising Age hosted a great forum. I personally want to thank them for the agenda they set, the speakers they lined up and their hospitality. A special thanks to Jonah Bloom, editor and mc of Ad Age…this is one Brit worth knowing…a straight talking…action oriented chap.
Two Thumbs Up to…
The clear winner of the show was Simon Clift of Unilever…without a doubt the best presentation I have seen in the last twenty years of business. His candor, truth and honest insights to brand, corporate responsibility, passions from human wellness and a products effect on global social influences was refreshing and candid. Most people bury the truth. He hit truth between the eyes. After spending my career in business and advertising … I like most of you am use to hearing corporations dodge and hide the ills their organizations put on society. Mr. Clift I commend you…not that this is what you want to hear…I’m just glad that you are at the helm…many companies hopefully will follow your lead. Instead of ousting Greenpeace for their protest on destroying trees to gather palm oil for Dove…he invited them in for tea and now is partnering with them to do the right thing for us all.
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135866
Thanks to Evidently…the organization that worked with Simon to produce his presentation. It’s quite remarkable what preparation, practice and attention to detail brings to an audience. It’s good to know we matter enough. Special kudos to Marisa…I thank you…you are a truly gifted person despite the fact that you are a Blue Jays fan 
To the David from Hershey’s who had the insight to call it like he saw it in-front of the large crowd to wake up our friends at Blockbuster for their inability to see what they didn’t want to see.
A future changing thumbs up to GOGII you are going to single handed change the way we text and gather data on brands for years to come…quite simply brilliant. We better all learn of a good carpel tunnel doc because this new idea is going to revolutionize mobile advertising and brand knowledge for us all.
More Thumbs up…
To Keith Lee for hands down getting it! His genius to develop incredible user experiences and motivation models for his products are amazing. He shared with us all from learning’s that help engage the avid World of Warcraft following. Wow…would I love to spend a couple days in their shop to learn the magic of human behavior.
To Damon Wayans for his cool lid…yeah I’m the guy you were sitting next too who saved you from crushing your sunglasses…and I’m the guy that didn’t get a by-line in the group photo on Advertising Age Digital. No worries…I’ve always admired your work. You’re a class act.
For the producers of the TV hit Heroes…primarily because my boys like the show. Your integrated approach to multiple mediums should wake up a few broadcasters.
To UNICEF and P&G’s Lucas Watson Global Team Leader, Digital Business Strategy for their vaccination campaign, which is saving lives and entrusting a brand. If you purchase a package of pampers and selected products P&G will vaccinate a child
Joe Rospars, founding partner of Blue State Digital…the man behind President Obama’s new media marketing efforts and truly an email maven and campaign strategist We appreciated your direct approach to results and your being real attitude. It’s no wonder one and six subscribers voted for President Obama. The solution to getting it done…”How can you make someone act NOW”. By converting the top 15% of his audience he helped the USA make a change in history both for one-man…one nation and the future of online marketing. I hope to work with you soon.
Even More Thumbs Up…Wahooeeeee!!
Thumbs up to Fredrik Caristro, CEO and ECD of Great works America and his team for an Absolut idea that took a social media risk by taking custom musical machines that proved art still can be integrate advertising and engage a world with one of a kind concepts to interest and drive the senses of passion.
www.absolut.com/absolutmachines/
Thanks PJ Pereira, Chief Creative Director & Co-founder, Pereira & O’Dell…. for reinforcing Simon and others belief that the next revolution to follow this recession will a Creative Revolution….an opinion I share. He summed it up well by commenting we all well need to learn how to organize chaos.
To Benjamin Palmer of the barbarian group for recognizing with a calm cool delivery that …yeah we did this thing…and that thing did some things that …yeah were good. You would have made comedian Steven Wright proud. It was a nice reminder to those who get caught up in themselves… creative without the chest beating. Refreshing too be so comfortable with your works. Yeah well it worked.
Thumbs up to being on the client side once again for this great organization I work for and the kids we try to help everyday…passion still means something. If you care to join me in a few incredible global health initiatives stay tuned to next year…you may see Cincinnati Children’s on that stage talking about saving a few lives.
To my new friends…Jonah, Marisa, Bob, Louis, Lisette, Allison, Joe, Sheryl and the others who I hope to work with over the next year initiating some new projects to directly help kids and their families get healthy.
Nothing But All Thumbs Awards goes to…
Twitter. If you weren’t on twitter you felt like a twit! Ugh. I was twitted out just hearing the word twitter two million fourteen hundred thousand times in only two days.
Agencies that still don’t get it. And believe you me…many of them really don’t get it. Which is a shock…my suggestion to you is retire. Prepare to see many fall in the next year that can’t recognize or react to this changing world.
Blockbuster… for ignoring what you have… and ignoring your consumer audience segments…it’s more than soccer moms. Being close-minded will get you a one-way ticket out of business. Pay attention to your other audiences like the eighty Netflix fans in the audience who were trying to get you to recognize them as a segment. With that said I give you credit for standing up there and taking it in the gut. Now stand back up and get to work.
Thumbs down to…
All of those who had their heads down in the conference texting and checking emails non-stop…yes…you were at a digital conference hearing about twitter and every other trend…but professional courtesy and respect for those speaking and those sitting around you still has a place in this world. Or at least it should. Rude is rude. Trust me your not that important.
Arrogance and the inability to change award goes to the group of journalists on the panel that refuse to grow and learn. Insisting that having a Peabody award carries more relevance then changing …pay attention and get over your selves…perhaps it’s time to understand that everyone in this world is worth reading and listening too.
The staff at the Met for not being ready when audience members showed up to attend the conference …remember you had people coming from all over the globe to attend your facility. Pride and preparation still can go a long way.
The AV staff that was hired to support the folks at Ad Age need to get it together and pay back the good folks at Ad Age for all the mistakes you made and all the discomfort you put the speakers and audience through. I’ve been in your seats before…it doesn’t have to be so difficult.
And finally, two thumbs down to the NYC cop who pulled over the young middle eastern cab driver who was driving me to the conference and gave him two tickets / four points against his license for a left hand turn that a hundred thousand people make every day in New York. Especially when Abdul and I were having a great conversation about how NYC is the place to live because people don’t see color. No kidding the timing was epic and ridiculous.
And finally to the clear winner of the conference…YOU.
Ultimately all of the innovations and creative prowess shared will eventually hit an experience nearest you. Hopefully I may be a part of a few of those…I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
And at the insane speed things are moving today…sooner than later no doubt.
The views expressed in this blog are solely my views and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of my employer.
We need Bond…James Bond
“Your mission is to locate the source of our problem…gather all the Intel possible…and remedy the situation…and for God’s sakes Bond…you don’t have to kill everyone while doing it!” – M, Director of MI6
With the release of the new 007 movie ‘Quantum of Solace’ opening today in theatres all across the US…I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the quantum of today’s economy in the digital industry and where solace may actually reside.
I mean …come on people…this is James Bond!!!
After a year of waiting for the sequel to last years blockbuster… my sons and seven of their High School buddies donned our best Bond suits and tuxedos (no kidding…we really did!) and headed to the 12:01 a.m. show to watch the gritty new Bond (Daniel Craig) bust heads and take on the evils of the day.
“What the hell is this organization Bond…how can they be everywhere and we know absolutely nothing about them” – M
For ‘M’…the enemy was a mysterious organization…for us it’s the economy. So how do we combat the evils that lie in our digital economy? What challenges do we as marketing and advertising professionals need to pay attention too? Which products and services will allow your business to retain market share or stabilize until the economy gains strength?
“How long have I got” – James Bond
“30 seconds!” – CIA confidant
“Well that doesn’t give us a lot of time” -Bond
If you haven’t already acted…you need to act now!
Maybe you already know what to do…maybe you are positioned to weather this storm or the hurricane winds of this global conundrum. Maybe you recognized the need to evaluate the right industry solutions and trends in January of last year and you have aligned your corporate strategies to protect both company and client alike.
If you did…it is likely your mission was and still is to focus on the following:
Shaken not stirred…you delved into and solidified your current client relationships and developed plans to assure their services were going to be met without interruption.
Like Bond…your decision making was fair and decisive. You knew when to execute and you established price structures with integrity.
Like the leaders of MI6…you trusted and retained the right team, products and services that support the needs of your business.
You had the Bond intuition to anticipate…and the strength to analyze the quantum of data that insured ROI on each and every project and contract.
Ah…great…but Tim what about the Aston Martin…I must have a fast set of wheels to outrun my competition! Well of course you do!
So with exact precision you targeted your services to accommodate proven web marketing tools for ‘08 and ’09. You focused marketing resources to continue to provide exceptional search marketing, analytics, PPC, email and web marketing. Trends…no… I’m not talking just trends…you know what you need…solid practices with positive results.
You are James Bond
“I’m motivated by my duty” – James Bond
You are nimble and fast to react to changes…you are creative and realize that you need to execute with authority…be decisive and accurate.
You own the wisdom and character to overcome adversity.
You are iconic. You are James Bond for your employees, your industry, and your customers.
“You don’t have to worry about me” – Bond
Keep up the good work 007…we need you!
Visit www.007.com to catch up on the Quantum of Solace. (property of Sony/MGM) Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric. Directed by Marc Forster. Rated PG-13 for intense violence and sexual content.
I was eating lunch yesterday at the local Bob Evans. You can always depend on consistency at the Bob’s. A good brand with a decent 45 minute or less breakfast lunch dinner menu to meet most of your average diner appetite; in other words for six to eight dollars you are content.
I sat up at the breakfast bar and ordered an autumn salad glittered with apples…cheese…pecans etc. The guy next to me was twenty years my senior…and you guessed it…he was sucking down a full meal…the whole cornucopia…mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, beans, etc. We started to shoot the breeze and did the usually small talk. After a few minutes it didn’t take long to figure out we had a right brain and a left brain in our presence. Albeit…he was a frank man…with a calm demeanor, dressed like your Dad’s accountant and talked with kind eyes. If someone were to glance our way they may have assumed that these two men would have had little in common and not much to talk about. So why mention this…what does this have to do with THINK? Well read on…
Joe and I started talking about our line of work…we shared more than met the eye. We both owned a businesses in our lifetime. We both sacrificed much for others…and although we were in completely different industries we had nearly identical stories. I won’t bore you with details on our fascinating lives …but I will share with you one jewel Joe and I both carried under our caps. Innovation. Ok Tim…you lost me.
Both Joe and I ran completely different business’ he in the financial arena…I in digital design. Both of us hired people smarter than ourselves…and embraced ideas greater than our initial endeavourers could have even dreamed of at our starts. We learned many a lesson…some good some ridiculously awful…all of them worthwhile. Heaven and hell are places where a lot of business owners and C level executives ride in and out of while conducting a livelihood of decisions and strategies. But what Joe and I both could say with conviction and honesty was that we both ran our businesses with the highest level of integrity…great thought and combined intellect with employees, vendors, and clients alike. After our short story experience at the Bob’s had come to an end…we both stood up…paid our eight dollars….shook hands and parted back into our thinking lives.
The subject at hand is Thinking and Innovation. These two words can make or break an organization. Throw in the thought of the inability to change and now you won’t be able to sleep at night. You’ll note that I have this fascination with innovation. In many of the autobiographies from great leaders and great businesses of our time many of them share in the grasping of innovation…at the very least their abilities as strategists usually are a fundamental element of their success.
Which brings me to an interview I read on the Behance Network (BN) featuring an innovative thinker Andrew Zolli of Z + Partners; Zolli helps major companies, institutions, and governments respond to complex change. He is also the Curator of Pop!Tech, the cutting edge conference and social innovation network. Zolli studies the global trends at the intersection of technology and sustainability, and applies that learning to help shape a better future.
Zolli is a thinker an innovation expert. I pulled a few excerpts from the interview (BN highlighted here in italics) and added a few thoughts of my own (TC).
BN: Zolli admits he cannot keep track of his organizational system in his head, so he relies on a number of methods for managing his tasks. He explains, “I keep a ‘cloud of info.’ I keep one-two years’ worth of email. I use Copernic (desktop tool), which enables me to search a large breadth of info. A big part of keeping organized is that I interact with a data cloud, then I make sure that the cloud is entirely on the Web, making it accessible to me and other people at any given time. I give up privacy. I’ve learned that no problem that I might find embarrassing is unusual. If you’re willing to let people access your life and the cloud, then they’ll find what they need. I’ve open-sourced my life. My calendar, email, contacts are all shared with the organization. I’m highly transparent. You can see what I’m doing as a partner.”
TC: Shared information across the company leads to innovation. Zolli strips out any and all insecurity and allows thoughts and ideas to be shared with his fellow thinkers. Wow. Now here is an organization that is an open book. Allowing ideas to generate and flow freely with no beginning or end. Selfishly holding back information to enhance ones career or build an individual need eventually leads to lackluster strategies, failure and an unwillingness to grow and truly innovate an organization.
BN: To get the best results within a collaborate environment, Zolli has identified an indispensable new role: not of the idea-generator, but of the translator. “The way to get exceptional results is to have a team with a cognitive portfolio. People have different cognitive capabilities (some are planners, some people are explorers, some people learn by looking, some by hearing, etc.). We are trying to create routine breakthroughs and want our teams to solve problems with different cognitive capabilities. This requires mastering translation. People are passionate, and when pushed, they have a bias toward their natural cognitive way of thinking. A translation person is always required in any sort of collaborative effort.”
TC: Collaboration leads to innovation. Zolli recognizes that change is good and a part of the process; the ability to be flexible with your thinking and then act on it. More often than not I see companies unwilling to leave their comfort zones. Being unwilling to work within a collaborative environment and unwilling to listen to findings…or worst ignoring findings that effect your results. Why put a team together if you don’t want to hear what they discover. Why ask for insights or strategy if you choose to ignore the results. Fear of the unknown stifles thinkers and innovation…and eventually kills more than great ideas…it usually puts companies out of business.
BN: Of course, any team whose business is idea generation must maintain the ability to let go, alongside a focus on making their ideas happen. As Zolli states, “It’s a truism that ideas are cheap. The biggest and most important aspect of working is to trust in you and your colleagues to have new ideas. It’s critical that you have an ability to let go of ideas. My first job was in a creative firm. The best lesson I learned: you can kill any idea as long as you trust that more are coming. The trick is to move from an openness to new ideas to creating accountable management structures where people execute on those ideas and are responsible for seeing them through.”
TC: Failure to execute kills innovation. Sounds simple but this is the number one problem I have seen in more companies than I’d like to admit. If you don’t buy the lottery ticket you can’t win the lottery. This is the over thinker syndrome. Talk, talk, meet, meet, talk again, meet to meet, work at working…on and on and on. Great ideas drown in a sea of the inability to act on them. Whether it is fear, ignorance, pride or a power play…no one wins. Idea generation doesn’t have a leg to stand on without the ability to execute.
BN: “Expertise is overrated. Some of the world’s most successful people (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson) don’t have college degrees. They didn’t get professional training. They had many ‘experts’ telling them why what they were doing wasn’t possible. Paul Polak stubbornly refused to accept the dominating wisdom of the age. Expertise isn’t a source for innovation because it’s conventional. Accepting that you will look foolish on the way to learning things is important.”
TC: Ego kills innovation. Many people have heard me say…I don’t care if the UPS driver has an idea he can contribute to this task…if it’s good we need to hear it! Destructive and destructive heroes and leaders or followers that have more to protect then great innovation need not apply. Whether the thinking is tried and true, non-conventional strategies, best practices, or a totally new approach…you best wrap your arms around the possibilities. Put away your linear thinking and fears and trust innovation and those bringing you new ways of thinking. Free yourself of your pride, the way things use to be…remove your ego.
If you truly want to open your arms to new ways of thinking and new innovations…open your mind…open your creativity…listen…observe…ask questions…make mistakes…build on them and move on them… provide forward thinking and thought leadership throughout the entire organization.
Think. Think innovation.
Credit and special thanks to Behance Network and Andrew Zolli.
