Ideas Don’t Equal Innovation
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
I had a long conversation today with a client discussing creativity, ideas, innovation, branding and the like. As a result of our conversation, I decided to dust-off an old post, give it a few updates, and pass along my thoughts, which can be best summarized as “Ideas Don’t Equal Innovation.“ It is my hope to help dispel the myth that ideas are inherently good things. Let me state right from the outset that I place little value on ideas. Not only do raw ideas have little intrinsic value, but they are often very costly. While I stipulate to the fact that ideas can sometimes lead to great things, I also submit that it is more frequently the case that ideas lead to disappointment, and even outright disaster. Those of you familiar with my work are probably wondering if it is really me authoring this text…if you’re baffled at how a champion of innovation can simultaneously be an idea-basher, I urge you to read on, and I promise the congruity will become apparent.
To restructure or not to restructure? That is the question that many a business is forced to ask at some point during their life cycle. The mere discussion of corporate reengineering can cause fear, anxiety, and in some cases even panic. This is so much the case that some CEOs will avoid restructuring initiatives at all costs. There are even some business theorists that warn against undertaking complex restructurings because of the great risks involved. My question is this…since when have fear and avoidance become prerequisites for success as a CEO? Give me real leaders who possess courage, vision, and a bias toward action, and spare me the timidity of mediocre managers posing as leaders. In today’s post I’ll examine the benefits of, and the need for corporate reengineering…
Is leading change difficult? Only if you don’t know what you’re doing. As much as some people want to create complexity around the topic of leading change for personal gain, the reality is that creating, managing and leading change is really quite simple. In fact, catalyzing and leading change isn’t very daunting at all if you understand the 3 pillars of change. To prove my point, I’ll not only explain the entire change life-cycle using the 3 pillars of change in three short paragraphs, but I’ll do it in simple terms that anyone can understand…
Thought Leadership…What is a thought leader, and what does thought leadership mean in today’s business world? As much as some people wish it wasn’t so, a thought leader is not someone who simply restates someone else’s views and positions. Furthermore, beyond uniqueness of thought, a true thought leader’s positions also challenge established norms and conventions. Moreover, the true litmus test for a thought leader is when their unique ideas are implemented in the marketplace, they tend to create disruptive innovation, and often change the way we view the world. In today’s post I’ll examine the subject of thought leadership in an attempt to separate fact from fiction
Batting cleanup in this week’s all-star lineup of guest bloggers is one of the most accomplished storytellers I know; Scott McKain. Not only is Scott brilliant in his ability to entertain you with wonderfully constructed word pictures, but he does so in a truly thought provoking fashion that leaves you both inspired and informed. Scott is the author of three #1 business bestsellers, including his latest: “Collapse of Distinction; Stand Out & Move Up While Your Competition Fails” — as well as “ALL Business is Show Business” and “What Customers REALLY Want.” Scott also has the distinction of being selected for membership in the legendary Speakers Roundtable and the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame, and he has appeared on platforms in all 50 states and 13 countries. I highly recommend 
How disruptive is your business model? While much has been written about corporate vision, mission, process, leadership, strategy, branding and a variety of other business practices, it is the engineering of these practices to be disruptive that maximizes opportunities. Without a disruptive focus you are merely building your business model on a “me too” platform of mediocrity. As we move into the closing days of 2009, nothing will be more critical to your efforts in increasing your revenue growth and corporate sustainability than understanding the value of disruptive innovation. So, in today’s post I’ll examine the power of disruption as a key business driver…
“Leading Change” is clearly more difficult than arriving at the realization that change is needed…If you want to validate the prior statement reflect back on all of the “change agents” that have crossed your path over the years and ask yourself the following question: How many of them have truly succeeded. While we’ve heard a lot about change of late as it relates to our current political landscape, the power of real change is trivialized when it becomes little more than a political sound-bite. Change…it can either be your best friend or your worst nightmare. Change got President Obama elected, and it may well end-up being the root of his political demise. Nobody ever said change was easy, but I’m here to tell you that change is essential. In today’s blog post I’ll discuss why CEO’s and entrepreneurs (and not just politicians) need to become masters at catalyzing and leading change.
Contextual thinking is a necessary skill set for those professionals seeking to operate at the top of their game. It has been said that the only constant in life is change. Given that change is bound to occur, it is surprising the small number of professionals that actually excel at managing change. Static thinking in a vacuum, that does not take into account situational and contextual nuances, will leave even the most experienced executives or entrepreneurs wondering what went wrong…
As a CEO Coach I can share that expectation management is no small matter for CEOs. The art and science behind making commitments and managing expectations has always been a critical skill set for CEOs to master. In fact, understanding how to come out on the right-side of the expectation curve can often be the difference between average performers and corporate superstars. This is evidenced by the fact that the consulting industry has zeroed in on the importance of this issue such that it has evolved into an emerging discipline known as ”Promise Management”. In this blog post I’ll discuss the value of promise management as a discipline.
Social Media 3.0…Okay, I said it and I’m sticking to it. It is time for Social Networking tools, applications and platforms to live up to their potential and make the iterative leap to next generation Social Networking, or “Social Media 3.0″ if you will…While I have no intention of disputing the commercial success of YouTube (Google purchased it for $1.65 Billion dollars when it was only a 9-month old company), FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, or any number of other organizations that have monetized on their first mover or early adopter advantage, Social Media is still in its infancy. For Social Networking to make the next leap in maturation it will need to move beyond advertising driven consumer models, and evolve to an enterprise class business platform. In today’s post I’ll examine what needs to happen for Social Media to go 3.0…