Posts by Stephen Shapiro
Why Following Someone Else’s Success Can Lead to Your Failure
You attend conferences. You read books. You take training classes. All with the goal of learning strategies from those who have paved the path to success before you. But what if following in their steps could lead you down the wrong track? 3M talks about its 15 percent rule–a philosophy that allows anyone in the…
Read MoreInnovate Like Sherlock Holmes
I am a fan of mysteries. I think they can train the brain to be a better innovator. In A Study in Scarlet, Holmes provides some great perspectives that everyone should consider.
Read MoreNo Doesn’t Mean No
Although his comment was more about a personal gripe with me, I realized that hidden in it were two important points related to innovation.
Read MoreInnovators Ask Questions
Imagine that I am holding a glass of water. Here’s a question for you (you know this one)… What is the difference between a pessimist, and optimistic, an efficiency expert, and an innovator?
Read MoreThe Power of Purposeful Tangents
According to a recent Huffington Post/YouGov poll 28% of Americans did not read a book last year. As an author, I find this both disappointing and yet not surprising. Fortunately most people read. But is what you are reading enhancing your creativity, or just furthering your intellect?
Read MoreDriving Your Differentiator Down
Imagine you are a company that produces products for consumers. It could be toothpaste or soft drinks. You decide that your differentiator is your marketing. Given this, you might assume that the marketing department is the most important part of the business.
Read MoreInnovate Where You Differentiate
Although some innovation experts say that you want “everyone innovating everywhere,” I believe this is bad advice.
Read MoreBring Me Better Problems
In life and in business, we are often told, “don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions.” From my perspective, this is bad advice. I want people to bring me bigger and better problems.
Read MoreThe Value of "Line" Thinking
While spending time recently at 3M, I learned that 80% of their innovations are “line solutions.” That is, multiple domains of expertise are involved. Although this may be unusual within other organizations, at 3M, this is the norm. They are masterful at connecting dots.
Read MoreAll Ideas Can't Be Good Ideas
It’s very important for innovators to understand confirmation bias, because every person is convinced they have a billion dollar idea. They’ve got the next big idea that’s going to change the world and make them rich. But what happens is their confirmation bias only allows them to see the evidence that supports their belief that they have a great idea. Their brain doesn’t allow them to see all the evidence that proves it’s actually a bad idea.
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