In an extraordinary move, destined to be emulated by forward thinking business leaders everywhere, I've just outsourced all my sleep to a guy named Namdev in New Delhi. Yes, it's true. I no longer need to sleep. Namdev does it for me. It's astounding how much more productive I've been this week. And, as if my sleep breakthrough wasn't enough, I've also outsourced all my exercise to a guy named Sung Lee in Malaysia. God bless Sung Lee! He's been on the Stairmaster three hours today and will be working on our delts and pecs tomorrow. Needless to say, I'm feeling totally buff at the moment.
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Most Topular Stories
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Consultant Outsources Sleep!
The Heart of Innovation7 Feb 2012 | 9:30 pm -
If we had a blank slate
Innovate on Purpose8 Feb 2012 | 8:06 amAs you may have noticed, Paul Hobcraft and I have been interacting on the subject of "frozen" middle managers and their impact on innovation. No, they aren't cold, they are frozen in their thinking and perspectives. The pressures of efficiency and short term profitability have frozen their visions, actions and incentives. As we all know, middle managers are the folks who get things done - using resources efficiently and acting as a bridge between executives (who create vision and direction) and staff (who implement the plans to achieve the goals). If the middle is frozen, it… -
Computing Education for the 21st Century
Creativity & Innovation2 Feb 2012 | 12:54 pmToday and tomorrow (Feb 2-3, 2012) I’m in Washington DC at a meeting hosted by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The meeting brings together researchers from around the country who’ve received funding from an NSF program to improve computing education. What’s exciting is the broad range of research going on here: from middle school, to high school, to college, educators are working hard to figure out how to better teach computer science concepts. One important goal is to encourage more of our talented youth to choose computer degrees and careers, as a valued national… -
Brainstorming = Finding Better Options
Idea Sandbox Brainstorming » SandBlog5 Feb 2012 | 6:23 amYour spouse asks you to stop by the grocery store and pick up a nice, ripe tomato for this evening’s dinner. You make your way to the produce department, to the bin of tomatoes. To your disappointment, there’s only one tomato left. It is overripe, bruised, and fuzzy. You only have one bad item to choose from. Your other option is to depart tomato-less. Go home without a tomato, you’ve wrecked the salad. Go home with a rotten tomato, you’ve wrecked the salad. While this example is so simple, it is almost silly… This is what happens in business. We find ourselves… -
Brothers Weekend - Solving the Greece Problem
CEO Blog - Time Leadership5 Feb 2012 | 4:28 pmI am just back from Brothers' weekend - an Estill brother tradition for 20 plus years. It was a great weekend (although we still miss my brother Mark). I find on brothers' weekends I often laugh more in a short weekend than I do in a month.The weekend was held at my youngest brother, Lyle's house in North Carolina.At first I was honoured to be invited to help solve the Greece problem but when I arrived I found out it was a grease problem (my brother Lyle owns a Biodiesel plant).Busy weekend. I helped Lyle deliver a truckload of biodiesel (well, perhaps not helped but road shotgun). We kayaked…
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The Heart of Innovation
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Consultant Outsources Sleep!
7 Feb 2012 | 9:30 pmIn an extraordinary move, destined to be emulated by forward thinking business leaders everywhere, I've just outsourced all my sleep to a guy named Namdev in New Delhi. Yes, it's true. I no longer need to sleep. Namdev does it for me. It's astounding how much more productive I've been this week. And, as if my sleep breakthrough wasn't enough, I've also outsourced all my exercise to a guy named Sung Lee in Malaysia. God bless Sung Lee! He's been on the Stairmaster three hours today and will be working on our delts and pecs tomorrow. Needless to say, I'm feeling totally buff at the moment. -
Creative Thinking Technique #5
7 Feb 2012 | 7:54 pmTHE THIRD EYE OF THE STORM At the center of every storm is total stillness. No matter how much swirling, flooding, and high winds are happening on the periphery, at the core of every storm is complete quiet. The same holds true for the creative process. At the edges of your Big Idea, there is a great swirling: bills to pay, ovens to clean, cars to repair -- the kind of stuff that can easily occupy all your time and attention. That is, if you let it. A true innovator will find a way to deal with the high winds and still have enough time to hatch their big idea. And they will do so in a way… -
A Message for Dads Who Travel
5 Feb 2012 | 8:49 pmThirteen years ago I found myself standing in my closet, madly searching for clean clothes in a last minute attempt to pack before yet another business trip, when I noticed my 4-year old son standing at the entrance. In one hand, he held a small blue wand, in the other -- a plastic bottle of soapy water. "Dada," he said, looking up at me. "Do you have time to catch my bubbles?" Time? It stopped. And so did I. -
The Top 10 Reasons Why The 10 Top Reasons Don't Matter
3 Feb 2012 | 8:01 pm1. If you need more data to prove your point, you'll never have enough data to prove your point. 2. Being unreasonable is often an innovator's biggest advantage. 3. Analysis paralysis. 4. You already know what to do. 5. You're going to follow your gut, anyway. 6. "Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted counts." (Einstein) -
Creative Thinking Technique #4
2 Feb 2012 | 6:54 pmIDEA BRAHMACHARYA In India, spiritual adepts who give up sex to pursue God are known as "brahmacharyas." They believe that their vital power (i.e. kundalini) needs to be completely intact in order for them to have the ultimate experience. They celebrate by being celibate. What does this have to do with you, oh sexually active seeker of the Big Idea? Plenty -- especially when you consider that one of the main reasons why many new ideas never see the light of day is because their originators have a tendency to "prematurely articulate." Indeed, the act of talking about one's idea often takes the…
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Innovate on Purpose
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If we had a blank slate
8 Feb 2012 | 8:06 amAs you may have noticed, Paul Hobcraft and I have been interacting on the subject of "frozen" middle managers and their impact on innovation. No, they aren't cold, they are frozen in their thinking and perspectives. The pressures of efficiency and short term profitability have frozen their visions, actions and incentives. As we all know, middle managers are the folks who get things done - using resources efficiently and acting as a bridge between executives (who create vision and direction) and staff (who implement the plans to achieve the goals). If the middle is frozen, it… -
Slow Motion Innovation Disaster
7 Feb 2012 | 7:41 amI was discussing the disaster that is Kodak with a friend today when he said something I found difficult to believe. He suggested that Kodak never saw or understood the impact that digital photography would have on its business. I think quite the opposite is true. Kodak knew what digital represented, and was an early developer of much digital intellectual property. Plenty of Kodak employees forecast what was likely to happen if Kodak didn't change its emphasis on film and shift to focus on digital. Kodak's failure isn't one of a lack of vision or… -
From smooth and steady to rough and ready
6 Feb 2012 | 5:51 amI pondered, for a least a few minutes, what to title this post. Sometimes as a writer you know innately what you want to say, and how "right" the point you want to make is, but it can be difficult to distill it down to a catchy title.I entitled this post "From smooth and steady to rough and ready" because I want to point out the importance of perspectives, especially for the true engine of innovation - middle management. Middle managers have been encouraged to create programs and processes that run "smooth and steady". In the future, they'll need processes that are "rough… -
Four factors that drive the need for innovation
1 Feb 2012 | 6:26 amEveryone, and I mean everyone, talks about innovation. We've got CEOs, academic leaders, the President of the United States, talking about innovation. It's clear everyone thinks that innovation is important. The challenge with all of this talk of importance is that few people stop to define WHY innovation is important. What's driving the need for more innovation? We all seem to agree that more innovation and more frequent innovation is important, even necessary. But are we to accept this as an article of faith? Should we allow innovation consultants,… -
Shifting from occasional to Relentless Innovation
31 Jan 2012 | 6:09 amLast week I was working with a client in the midwest, trying to help build the case for making a shift from the traditional, half-hearted, unfocused and short-lived innovation initiative to a concept of consistent innovation built on a framework of processes and trained people - what I referred to as Relentless Innovation in my new book. Those discussions made it clear to me that while many firms may need to make a switch from sporadic or occasional innovation, we innovators needed to provide a roadmap.Below I've identified six factors that must change, and have attempted to document…
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Creativity & Innovation
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Computing Education for the 21st Century
2 Feb 2012 | 12:54 pmToday and tomorrow (Feb 2-3, 2012) I’m in Washington DC at a meeting hosted by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The meeting brings together researchers from around the country who’ve received funding from an NSF program to improve computing education. What’s exciting is the broad range of research going on here: from middle school, to high school, to college, educators are working hard to figure out how to better teach computer science concepts. One important goal is to encourage more of our talented youth to choose computer degrees and careers, as a valued national… -
Mel Brooks and Group Flow
27 Jan 2012 | 11:59 amWhat can comedian Mel Brooks teach us about “group flow”? Group flow is a state of peak performance, when a group is in sync and creative ideas are flowing. I’ve just published an article in a magazine edited at the University of California, Berkeley, called Greater Good. The article summarizes the ten keys to group flow (as originally presented in my 2007 book Group Genius). Visit the full article or take a quick look at the ten here: 1. A compelling, shared goal 2. Close listening 3. Use “yes, and…” to keep it moving forward 4. Complete concentration and… -
Defense of Collaboration Published in New York Times
19 Jan 2012 | 7:37 amThe same day as my post below, I emailed a letter to the editor at the New York Times, and it was published today along with several other letters critical of Susan Cain’s article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/opinion/the-key-to-creativity-solitude-or-teams.html -
Does Solitude Enhance Creativity? A Critique of Susan Cain’s Attack on Collaboration
16 Jan 2012 | 8:48 amI’ve just read a New York Times article by Susan Cain, author of the forthcoming book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. It’s the frustrated cry of a true introvert. Cain is clearly tired of everyone touting the benefits of collaboration; some people, herself included, just want to be left alone. And, she argues, those are the people who really come up with all of the great ideas. There’s a grain of truth to Cain’s claim: Psychologists who study creativity know that it requires both solitude and collaboration. Exceptional… -
Online “Badges”: Do They Threaten Colleges?
12 Jan 2012 | 3:28 pmThe Chronicle of Higher Education has just published an article (Jan 8, 2012) wondering whether online “badges” pose a challenge to colleges and universities. Here’s the phenomenon: The spread of a seemingly playful alternative to traditional diplomas, inspired by Boy Scout achievement patches and video-game power-ups, suggests that the standard certification system no longer works in today’s fast-changing job market. Educational upstarts across the Web are adopting systems of “badges” to certify skills and abilities. At the free online-education provider…
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Idea Sandbox Brainstorming » SandBlog
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Brainstorming = Finding Better Options
5 Feb 2012 | 6:23 amYour spouse asks you to stop by the grocery store and pick up a nice, ripe tomato for this evening’s dinner. You make your way to the produce department, to the bin of tomatoes. To your disappointment, there’s only one tomato left. It is overripe, bruised, and fuzzy. You only have one bad item to choose from. Your other option is to depart tomato-less. Go home without a tomato, you’ve wrecked the salad. Go home with a rotten tomato, you’ve wrecked the salad. While this example is so simple, it is almost silly… This is what happens in business. We find ourselves… -
Achieve Goals + Resolutions With Bite-Sized Chunks
16 Jan 2012 | 1:23 pmSand for Your Inbox January 2012 I hope your year is off to a great start! Have you ever tried to put together a jigsaw puzzle with 500 or 1,000 pieces? It takes a while… And, needs to be done in more than one sitting. One of the reasons we miss achieving our personal New Year’s resolutions or business strategies is that we try to accomplish too much at once. We approach the 1,000-piece goal as if it can be finished in one sitting. We get frustrated… The finish line seems a million miles away… And, we lose motivation. A better approach is to cut your goal into… -
On Resisting Change
9 Jan 2012 | 1:23 pmHow To Deal With ChangeChanging versus Being ChangedHow ‘Riding Elephants’ Can Prompt Change: “Switch”Read “Switch” To Be A Champion Of ChangeDon’t Like The Way Things Are At Work? -
Todd Sattersten’s 11 Best Business Books of 2011
29 Dec 2011 | 8:30 amThis article is a complete copy/paste from what Todd posted on his site on the 17th of December. Why am I stealing so blatantly? Todd “wrote the book” on great business books. No. Literally. He wrote “The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You” with Jack Covert in 2009. Todd always does a great job summarizing WHY a book should be read. He lets you know the value of the read. (This is a lesson for any of us who write book reviews on our sites). Enjoy! Todd’s words are next… 2011 brought us some… -
NORAD Tracking Santa – Live!
24 Dec 2011 | 2:28 pmIt is very exciting to be able to track Santa’s progress around the globe. As of this writing, he is making his rounds in Italy! The NORAD website (noradsanta.org) allows you to watch Santa as he flies over different cities and also tracks how many presents delivered along the way. [click for larger view] NORAD – which stands for North American Aerospace Defense Command – is a military organization responsible for keeping watch of the skies and waterways of North America. Normally they use their equipment to watch for air attacks and missiles. On Christmas Eve, their…
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CEO Blog - Time Leadership
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Brothers Weekend - Solving the Greece Problem
5 Feb 2012 | 4:28 pmI am just back from Brothers' weekend - an Estill brother tradition for 20 plus years. It was a great weekend (although we still miss my brother Mark). I find on brothers' weekends I often laugh more in a short weekend than I do in a month.The weekend was held at my youngest brother, Lyle's house in North Carolina.At first I was honoured to be invited to help solve the Greece problem but when I arrived I found out it was a grease problem (my brother Lyle owns a Biodiesel plant).Busy weekend. I helped Lyle deliver a truckload of biodiesel (well, perhaps not helped but road shotgun). We kayaked… -
The See Do Time Management System
3 Feb 2012 | 3:53 amLately I have been using a slightly different time management technique which I call the "See Do" method. As the word implies, I see it and I do it.This method works great for keeping things clean and tidy. See a spot, wipe it. See something out of place, put it away.In email. I get an email and deal with it. Previously I had often used a 2 minute rule. If I could deal with it in less than 2 minutes I would but leave the longer ones. And during busy times, I would reduce that to a minute or less.The see do method helps reduce stress and that nagging feeling there is something still ahead to… -
YPO in Panama
30 Jan 2012 | 3:06 pmI am just back from a YPO event in Panama. I had never been there. Interesting country.If I were to invest in Latin America (and I do not - lots of business close to home), Panama would be my choice. They have only 3.5 million people and have a canal that delivers $3.6 Billion in revenue which keeps the economy stimulated. And the Billion in profit goes to pay for education and other government services.And Panama signed a neutrality pact which means they cannot have any navy or military so there is no tax to fund that.Only downfall might be the differences in income from lower to upper class… -
Simple Works
24 Jan 2012 | 5:55 amA friend emailed me the following (although as a brevity guy, I slightly edited it):A toothpaste factory had a problem: they sometimes shipped empty boxes, without the tube inside. This was due to the way the production line was set up, and people with experience in designing production lines will tell you how difficult it is to have everything happen with timings so precise that every single unit coming out of it is perfect 100% of the time. Understanding how important that was, the CEO of the toothpaste factory got the top people in the company together and they decided to start a new… -
Management Tips
23 Jan 2012 | 3:53 amWe finally got a bit of snow. It is beautiful. And grandson Josh continues to flourish. He does quite an ab workout (I tried doing it). Lying on his back and kicking his feet and hands. It is tough.I read a neat little book by Harvard Business Review that is just called Management Tips. It is divided into 3 sections - Managing Yourself, Managing Your Team and Managing Your Business. Each page is a short stand alone tip. There are about 200 tips. An example:"Be Confident But Not Really Sure.One of the keys to effective decision making is confidence. Even if you only have temporary convictions,…
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thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World
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A Personal Interview with a Great Leader
8 Feb 2012 | 9:29 amThe people in my professional network are awesome. Occasionally one of them is gracious enough to let me grill them on the subject of leadership. John Petrucci is one of those guys. He’s one of the most down-to-earth people you’ll ever meet and that’s part of what makes him an exemplary leader. You can read [...] This is only the beginning of the thought... Please click the article headline above or go to http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/blog for more. -
The Real Reasons You Didn’t Get the Job
6 Feb 2012 | 4:03 amInterviewing for a new job is an exercise in humiliation, fear, and confusion. Whether you’re interviewing for a job at a new company or just changing roles at your present employer, the process is nauseating. You do everything you can to put your best foot forward. You get your suit pressed. You make your hair [...] This is only the beginning of the thought... Please click the article headline above or go to http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/blog for more. -
Leadership and Decision Making – A Personal Interview
1 Feb 2012 | 9:46 amSo for the first time ever, I’m including a recorded interview as today’s blog post. I was recently interviewed by Yongho Shin on the subjects of leadership, the U.S. Army, decision making, and other leadership topics. The interview is about 30 minutes long and should be a good listen during your morning coffee. Yongho Shin [...] This is only the beginning of the thought... Please click the article headline above or go to http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/blog for more. -
Great Leaders Live Balanced Lives
30 Jan 2012 | 4:02 amThe following is an excerpt from One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership (you can get your copy here). This post focuses on having a balanced life and the importance of keeping things in perspective. If you’re burned out, you’re worthless. Here’s an example of how I keep myself in balance [...] This is only the beginning of the thought... Please click the article headline above or go to http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/blog for more. -
Get Out of B.E.D. And Alter Your Outcomes
26 Jan 2012 | 4:02 amToday’s post is by Marty Stanley, author of Get Out of B.E.D. and the newest member of the thoughtLEADERS team. “We got it done, but it was ugly,” the manager said, shaking his head in disbelief. Miscommunications, lack of communication, an inexperienced team leader and management on vacation resulted in cost over-runs exceeding $50,000, delayed [...] This is only the beginning of the thought... Please click the article headline above or go to http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/blog for more.
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The Enlightened Manager
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Bust out the Tissues: When You’ve Got a Weeper
7 Feb 2012 | 5:51 pmMy clients hate this part. You know, when you’re giving someone helpful performance feedback and they burst into tears? It’s hard to stay focused on performance feedback when it results in tears. A few pointers for those of us who manage a weeper. “They’re making me feel bad!” Bullpucky! No one can “make you” feel bad without your consent. Is it good to empathize with the emotions of others? Sure! But tears don’t mean that you are doing something wrong. Your emotional reaction is yours to manage, just like they need to manage theirs. “They’re trying to manipulate me, or to… -
More Myths about Dysfunctional Teams
26 Jan 2012 | 9:33 amI was checking my LinkedIn updates last week when I saw a highlighted article about fixing dysfunctional teams at Forbes.com. Restoring trust and productivity in teams is my niche, so of course I was eager to click and read what others were saying. Sadly, I found that some myths are still alive and well. Myth One: To fix a dysfunctional team, fire the troublemakers. It sounds promising right? You fire your bad apples, and everything gets better. The problem is that this works for about a month or two, and then a new troublemaker… -
Fire the Customer! The Case for Partnership vs. Subservience.
25 Jan 2012 | 9:24 amIf there is one saying I hate, it’s that the “customer is always right.” Even beyond the logical absurdity of the statement, it creates a feeling of insincerity. No one is always right, and pretending makes liars out of us. Sometimes the customer is wrong. Sometimes they are simply asking for what you are not able to offer. Sometimes a customer can be abusive, and sometimes a customer needs to be fired. One of the great lessons of consulting is that it teaches you to work in partnership with others. My clients have needs, and it’s my job to meet and exceed them. I also have needs,… -
Your Voice as an Instrument of Service
24 Jan 2012 | 9:15 amI love Irish music. The way that it manages to be sweet and melancholy at the same time has the power to lift me out the present moment and place me on another continent and another time. Before we had orchestras, we had our voices, the first human instrument. What if we could use our voice as an instrument of customer service? Chances are that we are doing it already. If you’ve ever raised your voice in passion to drive home a point in a conversation, or slowed down your rate of speech to soothe an upset friend, you’ve experienced the power of your voice as an instrument of service. When… -
Beyond Customer Service 101
23 Jan 2012 | 7:04 amOne of the frustrations I have with customer service training is that it’s very easy to get stuck in the land of “Customer Service 101.” I was talking with a client about this yesterday. We’re working on a project to improve customer satisfaction for a technical support team. I love surveys, focus groups, and interviews, because they give us real data to base our assumptions on. Do we think customers are unhappy? Let’s validate that assumption. Do we think customer service needs to be improved? Let’s take a look at the feedback, both high and low, to get a feel for the specific…
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Motivational Memo Blog
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Why I Am So Proud Of My Mother
5 Feb 2012 | 8:28 amI want to let the world know that I am so proud of my mother. I want to shout it from the rooftops. So listen up world as I’m going to brag about some of the wonderful accomplishments that she has achieved throughout her lifetime to date. Firstly she gave birth to me. Wow! Now that has to be something to shout about. She gave me the greatest gift that can be given to any human – and that is life. She carried me for nine months before I gasped for air and then loved me throughout my childhood, on through my teenage years and well into adulthood. Of her childhood I know little… -
7 Things You Must Sacrifice If You Want to Freely Follow Your Passion
2 Feb 2012 | 8:42 amPost written by Mohamed Tohami. According to a 2-year study conducted by Northwestern National Life Insurance, 72 percent of American workers experience frequent physical and mental conditions that are directly related to stress in their jobs – that’s 3 out of 4 are getting sick from their jobs. Fact is, if you want to FREELY follow your passion and increase your personal wellness, you must be your own boss. This means that you must quit the job you hate and start for the first time in your life waking up in the morning excited to go to work! 7 Things You Must Sacrifice You just need… -
How To Overcome Fear, Timidity & Self Pity
30 Jan 2012 | 8:30 amAs a boy I struggled with all three of these giants. They particularly played a dominant role in my life when I was nine years old and my parents decided to invite a twelve-year-old boy to live with us. Being super-athletic, on the very first day he attended my school, he was challenged to race the fastest boy in the school. With mixed feelings I celebrated the fact that the boy who had just moved into our house was now the toast of the school and faster than the fastest. He could swim (which I struggled with and in fact nearly drowned in a twenty five meter swimming race in front of a crowd… -
From That Heart
29 Jan 2012 | 4:28 pmI remember the first time that I fell in love with poetry. I think it was when I heard read to me The Owl & The Pussy Cat as a child. Then as a teenager I had a teacher introduce me to the works of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Donne. So from time to time I play with words – and as I was a song lyricist for many years and a librettist, I from time to time wander back and tinker with words. Some time ago on Facebook I published this poem – and thought that it deserved a place on my blog. So here it is entitled – From That Heart. Enjoy! There is a beat That beats Within the… -
Whatever You Focus on Becomes Real to You
26 Jan 2012 | 8:31 amPost written by Justin Mazza. One thing that all of us have in common is the ability to focus on external objects or events. Today I was watching my beloved Baltimore Ravens play the Houston Texans for the AFC playoff hunt. Maybe you don’t care a lick about American Football and I am alright with that, but I want to use this as an example for this post. Let’s back up for a moment. At 1:00 pm on Sunday January the 15th the Ravens and the Texans played each other for a chance to go to the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots next Sunday. So my wife and I are…
