Tag: creativity

The Hidden Cost Of Success

by Bright Osadiaye, posted in Health & Well-Being, Improve Academy, Leadership, Management, Personal Development, Workplace Learning Report

‘When you lay your head on the pillow at night- or in my case the small hours of the morning- you just have to believe that you did everything you could.’

‘Never compromise or second-guess yourself. It’s all too easy to be dazzled by the promise of experience, but tread carefully.’

‘I had to face the fact that I will always be a work in progress.’

‘It takes a certain humility to recognize that you will never have it all figured out. But learning to let go is critical. As soon as you get too attached to a certain way of doing things, failure is inevitable.’

‘Keep your eyes open and your camera phone ready. Great ideas can come from anywhere.’

‘We stayed ahead by constantly tweaking. Not reinventing so much as adjusting with subtle changes that added up to something fresh. True creativity never stays still.’

‘Anyone can be creative. It’s all about finding a solution to a problem, then taking action.’

‘When you’re going against someone, get into the numbers and cold, hard facts. Never give them the chance to dismiss what you are saying as biased or personal.’

‘… Sometimes no matter how hard you prepare or how much leeway you give yourself, that perfect storm will hit, and all you can do is get through it.’

‘You think that you know the business like the back of your hand and you are the only authority, but other people can hit home runs for you.’

‘You cannot out-give God.’

Source:

Brandi Temple (2017). Scrappy: Using Everything You Have, Trust Yourself, and Press the Reset Button for Success, the Lolly Wolly Doodle Way

Robert G. Cooper On Creating Value Through Innovation

by Bright Osadiaye, posted in Improve Academy, Innovation Management, Leadership, Management, Workplace Learning

‘The best innovators have four times the sales from new products and more than double the success rate as the worst performers. But why the huge differences?’

‘A superior and differentiated product– one that delivers unique benefits and superior value to the customer- is the number one driver of success and new product profitability.’

‘Building in the voice of the customer is one of the strongest drivers of new-product profitability, and also of time efficiency. But the great majority of companies miss the mark here- with insufficient VoC and no fact-based customer insights.’

‘People don’t know what they’re looking for until they see it or experience it. So get something in front of the customer or user fast- and keep repeating these tests all the way through to formal product testing or field trials. Multiple iterations and product validations- spirals development- are essential when facing fluid markets with customers that are uncertain about their needs.’

‘Manage risk by breaking the process into increments. When the uncertainties and unknowns are high, keep the spending low.’

‘If you want speed to market, then focus– resource your projects properly.’

‘Of the five most important drivers of businesses’ new-product performance, idea management has the strongest impact.’

‘Customer visit teams are valuable for gaining real insights into the customer’s world: the ability to identify and focus on customer problems and unspoken needs, a vital source of product ideas.’

‘Innovative customers are quite likely to have the industry’s next new product, and this lead-user method is one way to uncover what it is.’

‘Your own employees are excellent potential sources of new-product ideas. Yet all too often, internally generated ideas are either mundane or not acted upon. But there are ways to change that.’

‘How does one design a system that integrates many activities and multifunctional inputs and fosters a cross-functional team approach?’

Source:

Robert G. Cooper (2017). Winning at New Products: Creating Value Through Innovation