13 Guidelines for Navigating the New Decade Ahead
In 2009, after a speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Summit (Russia’s Davos), I wandered into a panel discussion on the topic of trade wars, led by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. My thought was: “why this topic?” Trade wars were not on most people’s radar, certainly not mine. But the question is: should they have been? I’ve been ruminating of late about this…
Seven Brainstorming Techniques for Your Next Ideation Session
Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of innovation tools come and go. They get introduced with great fanfare at conferences. Perhaps a high-profile company or two starts touting the tool. Case studies get written up, and then comes the inevitable book. More often than not that’s where it ends. The tool fades away. Nothing more is heard. But brainstorming is the exception. Brainstorming…
How to Prepare College Students to Innovate
Several years ago, when my nephew enrolled in business school at the University of Southern California, I asked him to ping me whenever the topic of innovation came up. He pinged very little. As an innovation speaker and expert, I’ve long been frustrated with the lack of innovation in the teaching of this increasingly vital topic. The one course he took…
Moroccan Adventure: 21 Days of (Trying Not to) Think About Innovation
On a recent adventure tour of Morocco with seven dear friends and a super country guide (pictured on my right), my goal was to disconnect and not think about innovation. Not possible! For 30 years, I’ve studied innovation and lectured on the subject and it continues to engage me. Yet on this trip, what emerged was an appreciation for qualities…
Use Your Next Leadership Retreat to Manage the Future
Each year, thousands of top managers and board members head to the hills for an annual ritual: the strategic offsite retreat. The purpose of such meetings, of course, is to get away from it all and to strategize. To leave behind the distractions and quarterly pressures. To think big about the future. All too often, that’s not what transpires. Instead, the future…
