The Potential Trap of Innovation Metrics
“Be careful what you wish for measure … you just may get it.”
As my library of books on Innovation grows, I am seeing two somewhat conflicting themes emerging in regards to the role of metrics in Innovation. One sees up-front metrics as a key determinant of establishing efficient distribution of a firm’s resources across all [...]
Improving Your Company’s Velocity - Practice, Practice, Practice
Not only is it a way to get to Carnegie Hall, but focused, repeated practice of your firm’s best business processes is one of the ways to improve your overall velocity. In sports, it’s called establishing “muscle memory” by the repeated execution of a golf or tennis swing (for example), first working on the [...]
Speed - Life In The Business Fast Lane
At this week’s staff meeting, we discussed an emergent theme from our conversations with clients and other constituencies - that of improving the velocity of organizations in executing across a number of dimensions.
In the area of new product development, the ability of a firm to accelerate new product introduction ahead of competition and within window [...]
Another Lesson From The Super Bowl?
OK, full disclosure requires me to admit that I’m a diehard and longtime NY Giants fan. Please don’t take the following to be Monday Morning Quarterbacking…
Earlier in the week preceding the Super Bowl, I heard a TV commentator mention that Tom Brady appreciated that his coach, Bill Belichick, took on the responsibility of “dressing [...]
“Sincerity is Everything…..
…and once you can fake that, you’ve got it made!”
So runs the old joke, and unfortunately, I’m am seeing the embodiment of this cynical approach in some circles regarding the use…no, make that the manipulation/exploitation of social media.
Am mostly seeing this attitude evidenced in the domains of traditional marketing communications and public relations professionals [...]
A Contrarian View of Influencer-based Marketing
There’s a commonly accepted view that the key to viral-based trend-setting in both B-to-B and B-to-C environments is the identification and cultivation of so-called key influencers or “hubs” in the prevailing social networks related to your targeted marketing environments. Books such as The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell and The Influentials, by Ed Keller and [...]
What is “knowing”?
At a recent Quantum Leaders staff meeting, Norman broached the issue of “knowing”, that is the instances where a person appears to have an insight as to a situation, often what will happen in the future, that she cannot ascribe to particular information - e.g. she “just knows” something will happen or is the case.
We [...]
Quantum Pulse: Have You Blogged Today?
And I don’t mean only writing a post to your own blog, but also reading and actively participating in other blogs? Obviously, if you’re reading this post, you’re already reading at least one blog (Quantum Leaders)…but are you reading this blog (and others) on a regular basis? Are you actively participating by submitting comments? If [...]
Transparent Technology and The New World of Consumerism
There was an interesting posting over on FutureLab’s Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog on the impact of technology on consumerism, particularly within the youth culture.
The gist of the posting was on how young people in particular are aggressively using technology to seamlessly move back and forth between the worlds of bytes and atoms as they [...]
The Importance of Being Earnest
The subject of authenticity appears to be a real hot topic these days - both in the political arena and in the realm of business.
We appear to long for authenticity in all our major relationships and public/private interactions, and there is a growing understanding within the business community that our constituencies want us to be [...]