Monthly Archives: October 2011

Teenagers in Our Midst: Why Are World Class Innovators So Surly?

2017-04-10T21:46:58-06:00By |Innovation Behavior, Uncategorized|

With the passing of Steve Jobs and with it recent reminders of how not only bright and creative, but arrogant and obnoxious he could be, I got to thinking: Why are great innovators at times so insufferable?

Innovation’s Holy Grail

2017-04-10T21:46:58-06:00By |Innovation Behavior, Innovation Culture, Uncategorized|

Under Steve Jobs, Apple became what by almost all accounts has been the most successfully innovative company in the world. Now Apple faces what may be an even more daunting challenge: continuing with that innovation success without Steve Jobs. Isn’t that innovation’s Holy Grail? Isn’t that what the whole field of innovation is trying to figure out: how to build an organization that can produce the kind of success of an Apple…without having a world class genius at the helm? I have some hunches as to how...

Innovation Essentials: Which Direction is Your Flywheel Turning?

2017-04-10T21:46:58-06:00By |Innovation Behavior, Innovation Culture|

In his acclaimed bestseller, Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about what he calls the “Flywheel Effect.” He describes how small actions and decisions, made over a period of time, add up to sustained momentum and success for great companies—like small nudges building momentum on a flywheel. I agree and riffing on his metaphor, I would add that our flywheel can be turning in either direction. It’s possible that a series of seemingly small decisions and incremental actions can gradually undermine our success. So the key question becomes: Which direction is your flywheel turning?

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