Technology Innovation Literacy
This sixth grader, Thomas Suarez, gave a TED Talk. For me that alone stands out. How many 6th graders do you see doing TED Talks? He develops IPhone apps. His most popular one is called “Bustin Jieber.” He created it because a lot of his classmates disliked Justin Bieber. He knows how to develop ideas (from what your “people” or users suggest or want), and he knows how to name the apps he creates in sticky and catchy ways. Also, he is pretty good on stage public speaking! Sounds like he is putting himself on the fast track to tech entrepreneurship. Funny quote: “These days students usually know a little more than teachers.” Thomas is an example that there are opportunities for younger and younger students with the web/apps/social media, etc. Yes indeed, innovation and entrepreneurship isn’t just for college students anymore. Continue Reading →
How to Title your Article or Blog: 3 Simple Ways to Get More Views
We need titles for many things: ideas, concepts, images, tweets, social media and blog posts, articles, reports, and books. In an earlier blog post I shared some insights from my research on bestselling nonfiction books for how to create better titles. I would like to now zero in on smaller ideas or bite-sized pieces of writing. How can we title our articles, blogs, and other short social media posts that we want people to click on and read? Who can we learn from, who knows how to title? The answer is copywriters. A popular blog for copywriters is Copyblogger. I’ve heard many fine title writers recommend this site as a good model. I’ve taken a screen shot of some of the most popular, commented, and shared blog posts or articles on the Copyblogger site. Give it a look and synthesize what you see. What can we learn from these popular article titles on how to title our own articles and blog posts? What themes do you see? Continue Reading →
Incremental or Breakthrough Innovations: Go +1 or x2?
Would you rather go +1 or x2 in your ideas and innovations? How about life? How about at work? When innovating and doing things better we have choices. Do we want a slight improvement, a +1, an incremental innovation? Or, do we want a x2, a drastic improvement? This is a breakthrough or even disruptive innovation. With the +1 approach things get slightly better. It is like a CD that now holds one more song, or is 1 inch smaller. The x2 approach is like an Ipod. It looks different and even operates different. It is a breakthrough or a disruption to the way things had been done before. It is a drastic improvement.
Scale your Idea Up and Out
The concept of scale is an important one for innovation and greater success. Just like the mighty oak tree began as a small acorn turned seedling, our success begins with a small-scale idea. This idea goes live and it works. It sees light and wants to grow. This idea scales up and out in different ways. We can apply the concept of scale to find greater success in our life and work. Take one of your best ideas…how can you scale it up or out in new directions? Continue Reading →
Innovating on the Wall: Activities for Reflection and Strategy
When you post your innovation activities on the wall and keep them there, you not only have more room to work and collaborate but you are visually reminded of what you are working on. Here is my wall. This innovation journey program I’ve developed guides participants through a number of deep reflection and life assessment projects to help them make meaning of the past and present as well as strategize for the future. The activities are deep, creative, and visual. Participants will leave with “maps” they can put on their walls to keep their strategy at the top of their mind and be motivated to act.
Data: Generate, Analyze, Interpret, Visualize, Communicate and Innovate from it
The CTO of IBM recommends people develop the skill of turning data into knowledge. The New York Times featured an article about how new ways to mine or exploit raw data may bring a surge of innovation. McKinsey research identifies big data as the next frontier for innovation and that people with deep analytical skills are needed for this frontier. I believe that data can be transformed into a logical innovation, and that the innovation has the best chance to succeed when it is grounded in data. There are many steps to doing this. First you need to find or generate data related to the challenge you are working on. Next, you organize and analyze this data. Then, you interpret or make meaning of the data. Later, you visualize this data and communicate it to yourself and other audiences. When you have done all of this the innovation could seem obvious. The solution or course of action seems logical when the data presents itself to you. Infographics are a trend and this trend is useful. Communicating data visually helps us to understand. Watch this video of Hans Rosling to see what I mean.
Speech on Developing and Communicating Innovative Ideas
I had been blogging about the process of creating a visual keynote speech. I recorded a final prototype version of a speech on “developing and communicating innovative ideas” from my home studio and posted the video here. I did this speech live for a group of 300…plus an overflow room for the live stream of the event. They also recorded the live stream of the event and you can view it at Showcase 2011 to see how it looked live. My keynote on developing & communicating innovative ideas starts at 32:15. Continue Reading →
How to create a visual keynote speech
I’m doing a pecha kucha keynote speech for an event called Showcase at the University of Wisconsin. This is my story of how I’m developing it. A pecha kucha is a structured framework for a presentation. It consists of 20 visual slides that advance after 20 seconds. It is only a 6:40 long speech! Some benefits of this are that the audience gets a lot of visuals and you have to get to the point quickly. It is a bit more challenging to present but could be a good model for you to use, especially if your presentations tend to look too “texty” or you don’t wrap up soon enough.
Do Not Create Alone: How to Develop a Title Using 2 Question Surveys
I am finishing a book based on my dissertation research of high quality leadership programs. The purpose of the book is to help people innovate their own leadership programs and teach leadership in a way that works with how people learn and develop as a leader. I spent a lot of time thinking about titles for the book. Then I decided to use an innovation process for this. I decided to co-create the title with my target audience, the people who would be buying and reading the book. It makes sense doesn’t it, let them develop the title they want with you. I created a two question surveymonkey survey and floated it to my network on Facebook through a status update.