Four false myths of creativity from The Innovation Architect blog: Creativity should be fun – brainstorming and coloured post-it notes are preferred to the hard work of challenging existing practices and solving recurrent problems. As a boss, are you prepared to be told that “you have been doing it wrong”? All ideas are good; all … Read more
“If something is worth doing, it is worth doing well” is a common english language phrase. However, it is a very dangerous idea. Perfection is the enemy of progress. If something is worth doing, it is simply that – it is worth doing. If you start with little experience, you will probably do it poorly … Read more
I spent Thursday at the World Innovation Forum in Barcelona. I had the opportunity to speak to a great group of entrepreneurs and some politicians and regulators about the process of pitching a business plan to professional investors. What does it take to communicate a business plan in order to raise money? I had the … Read more
I have been a member of Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO) for five years. There is a regular theme at any large international gathering (see you in EO Cape Town?) about the role of an entrepreneur. The saying is that “you should work on your business not in your business”. The successful scale entrepreneurs are those that … Read more
A couple of years ago I had some discussions with Solera Capital about taking on a role in Europe leading the change at a company called Audatex, an insurance claims adjustment business. Solera explained their simple, three part philosophy that they apply to managment of their acquired companies: 30/30 80/20 90/10 30/30 – Every manager … Read more
I was on the Air Europa flight back from Madrid sat with JC Duarte and Manuel Vidal-Quadras. At a certain point we watched as JC pulled up an impressive iPhone application that allows him to track his time. This led to a discussion about how to be effective with time. I feel that I am … Read more
I listened to a podcast from Barry Nalebuff of Yale University and founder of drinks brand Honest Tea (sold 40% to Coke for $43Min 2008; apparently Barrack Obama’s favourite drink is “Black Forest Berry”) as I sat on British Airways flight BA10 from Sydney to Bangkok. He spoke compellingly of why a decision to be … Read more
I listened to Warren Rustand speak on Leadership to the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last week. Warren is a man who has fit the experiences of several lifetimes into his own – he has been in public service, in academia, involved in not-for-profits and has been chairman or CEO of 17 organisations. … Read more
“You either learn to sell, or you will always work for someone who has learnt to sell” This blog post is a summary of my notes on a session by Blair Singer on Sales. Your ability to selling has a major influence on your income, your promotions, your relationships and ultimately where you take your … Read more
The conclusion: it doesn’t matter how good the idea, it matters what the “buyer” thinks of you as a person in the first few seconds of your pitch. I have just read “How to Pitch a Brilliant idea” by Kimberly Elsbach in the Harvard Business Review. In 150 miliseconds a “buyer” will have categorized you … Read more