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The Difference Between Breakthrough Thinkers and the Rest of Us

We all run into obstacles.

Maybe it’s a business change that we don’t like; a traffic jam when we’re already late; a system or process that feels overly cumbersome. But we all run into obstacles.

And what do we do when that happens? What do we do when we run into that obstacle?

We whine. Grumble. Curse. Complain. Gripe about it to others.

And that’s where most of us stop.

In other words, the entire process for most of us looks like this:

Run into obstacle.
Complain ...

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14
JAN
2020

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Creativity, Innovation, Leadership, Producing Results

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How to Cultivate a Disruption Mindset

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Disruption.

It’s more than just a corporate buzzword.

It’s the new way of the world.

Amazon did it with retail. Uber did it with transportation. Apple did it with phones and other devices.

Ask any CEO what they fear the most, and you’ll hear a variety of answers. Recession. Talent exodus. Brain drain. All valid concerns. But the one that really keeps them up at night — the one they talk about in the back rooms where nobody else can hear ...

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9
JAN
2020

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Innovation, Leadership, Producing Results

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How to Come Up With Breakthrough Ideas

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Do you want to know where breakthrough ideas really come from? I’ll give you a clue: they don’t come from some lightning bolt in the sky.

Breakthrough ideas, almost invariably, are found at the intersection of two or more seemingly unconnected things. What do these intersections look like?

They look like Johannes Gutenberg connecting a wine processor and movable type and creating the printing press.
They look like Steve Jobs connecting computers and a college calligraphy class and creating ...

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13
NOV
2019

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Customer Service, Innovation, Leadership, Producing Results

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You Don’t Have to Change the World to Be an Innovator

Posted by: Bill Stainton

If I were to ask you to name an innovation, what would you say?

The iPhone? The Tesla? The Internet?

Maybe not any of those three. But the odds are that whatever you name would be a biggie. Something groundbreaking and game changing.

And that’s kind of what we think innovation is. Something groundbreaking and game changing. We associate innovation with names like:

Steve Jobs
Marie Curie
Leonardo da Vinci
Elon Musk
Thomas Edison

And look, there’s no question that these people are innovation rock stars. If there were ...

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9
OCT
2019

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Innovation, Leadership, Producing Results

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How to Be the Idea Person on Your Team

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Are all of your dots the same color?

I talk about dots a lot. That’s because dots are the key to innovation, creativity, and breakthrough thinking.

Most people get this wrong. They think that breakthrough ideas—the creative innovations that make the competition whimper like scared puppies—are the result of some divine lightning bolt that only strikes the gifted few. This is the common myth. But it’s just that—a myth.

The truth is that breakthrough ideas ...

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3
OCT
2019

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Creativity, Innovation, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams

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How to Win Against Your Competition

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I’ve been doing homework for the past week or so.

I’ve been doing homework because in a little over a week, I’ll be attending a business development workshop, and the workshop leader gave us the homework assignment. Since I want to get the most out of the workshop (and since the thought of getting in trouble from the teacher triggers upsetting high school memories), I’ve been diligently working.

One part of the homework has been particularly eye-opening.

There are four steps to this ...

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13
SEP
2019

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Innovation, Leadership, Producing Results

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What It Really Takes for You to Be in the Hall of Fame

Posted by: Bill Stainton

This is going to sound like bragging (because, let’s be honest—it is), but I was recently inducted into the Professional Speaker Hall of Fame. It’s kind of a big deal in my industry, because there are fewer than 185 of us alive on the planet. If we were a species, we’d be endangered.

Here’s the interesting thing that I’ve found about reaching an “elite” level in your profession:

At the higher levels, you actually have to be better, and work harder.

It’s easy ...

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21
AUG
2019

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Customer Service, Leadership, Producing Results, Producing Under Pressure, Teams, Work Ethic

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Why Fixing a Problem Isn’t Always the Best Solution

Posted by: Bill Stainton

“Let it go!”

That was the sole message of an acclaimed keynote speech that my colleague Joe Calloway delivered at the annual convention of the National Speakers Association some years ago.

Let it go.

In his speech, Joe encouraged us to look at all the manifold things we had on our respective plates and think about how we could simplify, how we could focus. In short, what could we let go of so that we could really shine at what was left.

About a ...

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14
AUG
2019

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Leadership, Producing Results, Producing Under Pressure, Teams

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The Joy of Deadlines (for Fun and Profit)

Posted by: Bill Stainton

In the early days, I would panic.

Friday night. The day before show day. 24 hours from now every seat in the TV studio will be filled, and a million more viewers will be watching the show on television.

And we don’t have a show for them.

It could be any number of reasons: that big piece we’d worked so hard on all week just didn’t come together in editing; the guest we’d booked and promoted canceled earlier today; the perfect monolog we’d ...

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12
JUN
2019

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Leadership, Producing Results, Producing Under Pressure, Teams

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Why You Need To Let The Blocks Fall Down Go Boom

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I think my friend Steve made a mistake.

Steve was a high school friend of mine. Unlike me, he chose to breed just a few years after high school. I remember visiting him when his first-born was maybe two or three years old. And because this was in the olden days, when iPads were not a toy option, his toddler was playing with blocks. Quite happily, in fact. He would try to stack the blocks and, because he was a toddler, ...

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30
MAY
2019

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Leadership, Producing Results, Producing Under Pressure, Teams

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Producing Results Blog

We all run into obstacles.

Disruption.

The iPhone? The Tesla? The Internet?

Are all of your dots the same color?

The truth is that breakthrough ideas ...

At the higher levels, you actually have to be better, and work harder.

“Let it go!”

Let it go.