keep it to yourself!

Have you ever invented something? Have any patents under your belt? I have a feeling you have. Most of us have a few eureka moments in our lives, others blessed with many.

Where do good ideas come from?

Check out this TED talk by Steven Johnson here:


Steven was also featured in the Wall Street Journal, September 25th, in the article, The Genius of the Tinkerer. In a similar tone to his TED talk, he speaks about how to use technology.

Innovation is not about implementing the latest technology, but the appropriate technology.


It's clearly about not keeping it to yourself, right? If you've ever wondered about the validity or complained about preparing for a design review, I hope this makes you think twice.

If brainstorm meetings, product development strategy sessions, or design reviews aren't quite what they used to be in your company, perhaps we should talk over coffee.

busy doing nothing

Progress.

Defined simply by Wiktionary as “a moving or going forward; a proceeding onward; an advance”

Progress is something you can witness, effect, and feel. You know the days I’m talking about. It just feels good when you’ve completed a project, nailed the critical idea in the development of a product, solved the root cause of a big problem, or simply sold a new program.

It feels good when you make progress.

What about the other days you work? What about the people you work with? Can you tell when they make progress?

Can you tell when they’re not making progress?

Sometimes.

It can be witnessed by individual or company – as in a culture of a company.

You know what I’m talking about. You witness:

• People walking really fast needing to get somewhere fast
  

• Someone walking in breathless to a meeting because they were rushing there

• A person who begins many sentences with, “I’m going to…” and “I’ve been really busy”
  

• People who choose to focus on the now with disregard for future work

• A person or group of persons busy but not getting done what they need to

There are a few top causes why this happens, let’s start a list:

• Procrastination

• Lack of understanding

• Lack of planning

• Alternative agendas

• Bureaucracy

• Conflicting directives

• Multiple ‘bosses’

• Lack of strategic direction

• Lack of leadership

Are you experiencing any of these?