Business Intelligence

Get a Jump on What Your Customer Wants Next

by Robyn Waters (14600)

Contrary to generally accepted wisdom, new trends aren’t always spotted early ultra-hip types who are much cooler than everyone else. At the very best, these people help keep a business up-to-date with what’s going on in the world. They’re trend trackers. Instead, you need to become a trendmaster — someone who initiates a new trend and translates it into ideas and concepts that make sense for your own company and customers. The good news is everyone can become a trendmaster by adopting the right mind-set and by applying the A-Z tools and tricks of the trendmaster trade.

The Trendmaster’s Guide

Moving Beyond the Fads to Choose the Right Innovation Strategy for Your Business
Michael Lord, Donald DeBethizy and Jeffrey Wager

Just about everyone in business today loves the idea of innovatino as a way to grow revenues and profits. As a result of that interest, there have been a succession of innovation fads and ideas. None of these concepts, however, have proven to be one-size-fits-all or definitely superior. Therefore, instead of trying to find the lone “silver bullet” of innovation, successful companies are now using a mix of different innovation tools and tactics to successfully innovate.

The main elements of this emerging portfolio of innovation options are:

Core Firm — Portfolio of innovation options
Concept <– 1. Corporate venture capital investments
Research <–> 2. Intellectual property licensing
Development <–> 3. Innovation by alliances, collaboration
Commercialization <– 4. Innovation by making acquisitions
Commercialization –> 5. Innovation spinouts

The key to making a portfolio of innovation options work is ot link what’s being done closely with the core of the business. Innovation choces need to be made in the context of balance and fit with that core rather than in isolation. Juggling the entire portfolio effectively is essential. At various times, specific innovation tools and tactics will come to the fore, while at other times different tools will be better suited. Managing this portfolio and keeping it fine-tuned is surely the future of sustainable and beneficial innovation.

Innovation that Fits

This was a very interesting read that we can all learn from:

The Google Enigma

Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships

by James Tamm and Ronald Luyet (12700)

In today’s networked world, being able to add value by collaborating effectively with others has gone beyond being nice to have to become a new business imperative. The collaborative capital of a company is now of equal importance to its intellectual and financial capital.

Significantly, collaboration cannot genuinely be mandated from the top. Instead, it must begin within the mind-set of the individual and then work its way out into the organization as a whole. The five essential skills of collaboration are the personal skills around which sound productive collaborative relationships are built.

So what it is about this methodology that is radical? Radical collaboration works from the inside out rather than being imposed from on high. It requires that an individual have the right mind-set to begin with, then moves outwards into individual relationships and from that base this collaborative intent then moves into team and organizational settings. Unless you master and integrate the five skills of radical collaboration at a personal level first, you’ll be unable to use them in a group setting with any degree of success.

Radical Collaboration

From Effectiveness to Greatness

by Steven Covey (11800)

The 8th habit of highly effective people is: “Find your voice and inspire others to do likewise”.

This latest habit is not an add-on to the original seven habits, but represents another dimension of effectiveness which will enhance the performance of each of the other seven habits.

The 8th Habit: Find your voice and inspire others to do likewise

1. Dependence (Private Victory)
   • 1. Be proactive
   • 2. Begin with the end in mind
   • 3. Put first things first
2. Independence (Public Victory)
   • 4. Think win/win
   • 5. Seek first to understand, Then to be understood
   • 6. Synergize
3. Interdependence
   • 7. Sharpen the saw

The 8th Habit