Oh, to be the person who comes up with “the great idea”! Solar power! The artificial heart! Potato chips that stack in a can! Great ideas are everywhere, and yet they always seem to be the brainchild of somebody else. So how do you become one of those “somebodies”? How do you become the person who comes up with “the great idea”? Is there a secret to coming up with a great idea?
Yes, and here it is:
“Creativity” is one of those things (like its close cousin “risk-taking”) that nearly all leaders love to hail, praise, and rhapsodize over. So why is actual creativity in the workplace so rare?
It’s because hailing, praising, and rhapsodizing are free and have no consequences. (Although, actually, they do; more on that later.) It’s kind of like hailing, ...
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You’ve got a star performer in your organization. Let’s call her Amanda. Amanda is brilliant at her job. She’s so good, in fact, that you begin to think, “Amanda is fantastic! Imagine how valuable she’d be in management! Why I’ll bet she could turn her entire department around!”
So you promote Amanda to a leadership position. And you wait. And, slowly but surely, you watch as Amanda and her department start to die. (Figuratively speaking, of course. This isn’t that kind ...
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It’s officially spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Typically, spring is a season associated with rebirth and renewal. It’s a chance to look at the world through fresh eyes. So today, let’s use spring as an opportunity to look at your business through fresh eyes.
Sometimes, though, it’s difficult to look at things that we’re close to (like our business) through fresh eyes because—well, because we’re so close to them! It’s hard ...
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Let’s start with a 2-part quiz:
Question 1 — Which would you pay more for: an original Van Gogh, or a copy (even a very good copy) done by a third-year art student?
Question 2 — Switching now to your own business: are you an original, or a copy (even a very good copy) of what somebody else did first?
Question 3 (okay, so it’s a 3-part quiz) — Regarding Question 2: Which would you rather be?
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Most teams that I work with claim that they would like to be more innovative. And all of them would like to see better bottom line results, such as growth in market share, and better client communication and loyalty.
So how can you get these results with your team? One word: diversity.
When I was producing my sketch comedy TV show, I took some heat because the show was perceived as being too white and too male. And you know what? That ...
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In his book Start With Why, Simon Sinek contends that the foundational, underlying question you must answer in order for your business to thrive is “Why?” Why are you in business? Why are you called to this business? Why, why, why? Sinek claims that the answer to this question will unlock the intangible appeal that draws customers to your door (or website).
I’m not as sold as Sinek is that your customers are all that interested in why you do what ...
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Do you ever wonder why your team isn’t as excited about that bold, new project as you are? Have you ever been disappointed when your motivating pep talk (the one you practiced for hours) falls on deaf ears? It may be that you’re trying to sell them on features and benefits about which they care not a whit.
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I shouldn’t be writing this. Really. If I had any sense, I wouldn’t be writing this. I wouldn’t be writing anything. Why? Because it’s late at night on Sunday, and I have an early flight tomorrow morning. So I shouldn’t be writing. I should be in bed asleep.
So why am I writing this article, and what does it mean to you?
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It would be good to be Shonda Rhimes, wouldn’t it? She’s the creator and producer of not one, not two, but three hit TV shows: Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder. Along the way she’s made the careers of numerous actors, entertained millions of viewers, and, by the way, amassed a net worth of some $60 million. Not too bad! So how can you achieve results like this in your world, and with your people?