What if almost everything you know about creating a culture of innovation is wrong? What if the way you are measuring innovation is choking it? What if your market research is asking all of the wrong questions? It's time to innovate the way you innovate. Stephen Shapiro is one of America's foremost innovation advisrrs, whose methods have helped organizations like Staples, GE, Telefónica, NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and USAA. He teaches his clients that innovation isn't just about generating occasional new ideas; it's about staying consistently one step ahead of the competition. Hire people you don't like. Bring in the right mix of people to unleash your team's full potential. Asking for ideas is a bad idea. Define challenges more clearly. If you ask better questions, you will get better answers. Don't think outside the box; find a better box. Instead of giving your employees a blank slate, provide them with well-defined parameters that will increase their creative output. Failure is always an option. Looking at innovation as a series of experiments allows you to redefine failure and learn from your results. Shapiro shows that nonstop innovation is attainable and vital to building a high-performing team, improving the bottom line, and staying ahead of the pack.
Solve Any Problem Faster, with Less Risk and Lower CostUnprecedented access to infinite solutions has led us to realize that having all of the answers is not the answer. From innovation teams to creativity experts to crowdsourcing, we've turned from one source to another, spending endless cycles pursuing piecemeal solutions to each challenge we face.What if your organization had an effective and systematic approach to deal with any problem? To find better solutions, you need to first ask better questions. The questions you ask determine which solutions you'll see and which will remain hidden.This compact yet powerful book contains the formulas to reframe any problem multiple ways, using 25 lenses to help you gain different perspectives. With visual examples and guidance, it contains everything you need to master any challenge.This book will help you:? Discover why we are hardwired to ask ineffective questions and learn to work through those barriers.? Understand the power and importance of well-defined questions.? Reframe any problem multiple ways to help you find the optimal solution.? Move from idea-based innovation to question-based innovation that drives higher ROI.Apply just one of the lenses and you will quickly discover better solutions. Apply all of them and you will be able to solve any problem-in business and in life.
Five years and more than 100,000 copies after it was first published, it's hard to imagine anyone working in Web design who hasn't read Steve Krug's "instant classic" on Web usability, but people are still discovering it every day. In this second edition, Steve adds three new chapters in the same style as the original: wry and entertaining, yet loaded with insights and practical advice for novice and veteran alike. Don't be surprised if it completely changes the way you think about Web design. Three New Chapters! Usability as common courtesy -- Why people really leave Web sites Web Accessibility, CSS, and you -- Making sites usable and accessible Help! My boss wants me to ______. -- Surviving executive design whims "I thought usability was the enemy of design until I read the first edition of this book. Don't Make Me Think! showed me how to put myself in the position of the person who uses my site. After reading it over a couple of hours and putting its ideas to work for the past five years, I can say it has done more to improve my abilities as a Web designer than any other book. In this second edition, Steve Krug adds essential ammunition for those whose bosses, clients, stakeholders, and marketing managers insist on doing the wrong thing. If you design, write, program, own, or manage Web sites, you must read this book." -- Jeffrey Zeldman, author of Designing with Web Standards
Techniques for Awakening Your Organization's Innovative Potential in a Global Marketplace That Never Sleeps Praise for Stephen Shapiro's 24/7 Innovation... "Shapiro's ideas provide just enough structure for innovation to grow, but never so much as to stifle it." Thomas H. Davenport, Director of the Accenture Institute for Strategic Change, Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Babson College "24/7 Innovation weaves a compelling picture of what will be needed to win in the new millennium." Steve Stanton, Coauthor, The Reengineering Revolution "Steve's book provides a timely focus on innovation as competitive advantage, and it is well worth your time." Charles Koch, CEO and President, Koch Industries "Steve offers a pragmatic, global, business savvy realism as well as artistic flair to anyone who needs to be an innovator in business." Peter Keen, CEO, Keen Innovations, Coauthor, The eProcess Edge "Steve shows how companies can be innovative everywhere, everyday, by everyone. This is a must read book for anyone who is serious about 24/7 innovation." Dr. Trevor G. Gibbs, Head of Global Clinical Safety and Pharmacovigilance, GlaxoSmithKline In one of the great paradoxes of twenty-first-century business, market leaders must continuously pursue the obsolescence of their own bestselling products. Why? Because they know that beyond their own corporate walls, hungry competitors are "borrowing"and improving on the strengths of those products in order to take their hard-won customer base to the next level of satisfaction. And if they plan to stay on top, leaders know it is up to them to reach that next level first. Whether you are a leader or a pursuer, 24-7 Innovation takes you beyond the rigid policies, prescriptive processes, and fragmented organizational structures that have stifled true innovation for too long. This step-by-step book shows you how to instill a mind-set of continuous innovation at every level of your organization, one that will allow you to achieve and sustain a leadership position in any market. It outlines a lean, action-based framework designed to put your organization in the state of "perpetual innovation" that is necessary for creating sustainable business success. Look to 24/7 Innovation for the latest techniques and strategies to: Create a culture of innovation and inject innovation continuously throughout the execution of each process Implement the Capabilities approach at every level of your organization, and coordinate its five essential components-Strategy, Measurements, Processes, People, and Technology-to consistently interrelate with each other and deliver measurable results Align all stakeholders from customers to shareholders to employees at all levels of an organization Moving far beyond theory, 24/7 Innovation reveals what today's most innovative companies are actually doing right now and provides guidelines to help you replicate these successes in your own organization. It offers a blueprint for creating a truly flexible organization, one that builds upon current successes even as it promotes rapid change and adaptability for maximizing those successes. In today's age of unprecedented access and unlimited competition, constant change is the prerequisite for survival. Let 24/7 Innovation show you how to introduce constant change throughout every level of your organization revolutionary change that is strategic, pervasive, and ultimately overwhelming to your competitors.
Every day, seemingly intelligent and successful companies make headline news for poor decisions that can cause their business to stumble and make many of us scratch our heads in wonder. Why would such a successful business make "that" strategic decision? Neil Smith, with more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale performance improvements, reveals the hidden barriers that limit excellent companies from reaching their potential, and cause even the smartest managers and leaders to falter. During his experience transforming some of the top global businesses, Smith has identified 8 barriers that exist in every organization and prevent them from implementing literally thousands of ideas to improve the way they work: Avoiding Controversy Poor Use of Time Reluctance to Change Organizational Silos Management Blockers Incorrect Information and Bad Assumptions Size Matters Existing Processes Rich with anecdotes and case studies, Smith identifies the ways in each of these barriers interrupt your own business. He then outlines a fast and proven process in which 12 principles of business transformation can break down the processes that hold companies back. What Smith offers his readers is the same thing he offers every day to the major companies he works with, A PROMISE that by following his insights, the company will be able to increase communication, simplicity, and profit to levels never before attainable. Throughout the book, Dr. Richard Levak has contributed personality and organizational insights that shed light on why an individual or an organization behaves in contrary ways giving you a better sense of why these internal walls exist and how to be aware of your actions in your day to day life.
“Why don’t board members do what they’re supposed to do?” Board members not meeting performance expectations is one of the most challenging issues faced by nonprofit organizations and causes considerable frustration among nonprofit leaders—and they usually place the blame on board members. However, much of what has been written on this topic is based on opinions and experiences of staff professionals, with solutions focused on more training of the board members. Yet the problem persists. So whatever advice that has been offered hasn’t worked. This book is different. Author and expert leadership consultant Hardy Smith shows that most difficulties contributing to boards not performing as desired are self-inflicted by leaders who repeat flawed practices that could be avoided. As a result, Smith provides what numerous other books on this topic have not: truly effective solutions. Stop the Nonprofit Board Blame Game • uses feedback from a wide variety of board members to reveal their unique perspectives; • explains why performance problems exist; • identifies realistic, results-oriented solutions; • shares proven how-tos for taking action. This book is the only guide you need to improve the engagement and effectiveness of your board and strengthen relationships. It will constructively transform your organization.
Although this book is about Information Technology, it is in no way technical. The main objectives are to both enlighten and entertain. It covers the four decades I have worked in the industry in which I've attempted to cover all the good things, all the bad things and some downright ugly things. There is also a flavour of 'Wouldn't it be nice if...?' There are 26 sections - one for each letter of the alphabet and the book takes the format of Questions and Answers, not dissimilar to I.T Agony Uncle columns. The main message I have attempted to convey is that I.T. is a knowledge industry. It is populated almost exclusively by very smart people. These people do not require micro-management. They need to be encouraged and trusted to do outstanding work in an environment that is free of fear and blame. There are not many managers who are comfortable with this and we need a radical change in culture so that people can flourish and have fun.
