How do you get to be considered an innovation expert? It helps if you are a bestselling author who promotes their books and brand on national television, or a university professor who has studied their subject for decades. But there is another kind of expert. It can be a person who is well-known and respected within their industry, frequently delivering key notes at conferences and winning plum consulting gigs. Here are the following five things anyone can do to start developing a recognized brand.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Strategic Leadership, Outside the Ability of Most CIO's
What does it take to transform from a department head to a respected, company-wide strategic leader? Apparently, much more than CIO's are currently delivering, according to a new survey from Chally Group. The performance-measurement firm recently surveyed top executives worldwide for its Global Leadership Research report, to come up with a better sense of what organizations need from leaders these days—as well as which departments typically serve as the farm-team for C-level executives. The bad news for IT? The most elite of the C-suite talent doesn’t generally come from the tech side. On the positive side, the report also sheds insight on valued qualities of senior leadership to which any executive can aspire, as well as leadership-killing characteristics to avoid. Some 1,400 top-level executives worldwide responded to the survey.
Here are the key strategic leadership requirements and the top five leadership killers. The most telling stats are:
Here are the key strategic leadership requirements and the top five leadership killers. The most telling stats are:
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Leadership and Talent, Two Different Attributes
Talent and leadership are separate attributes, but people too often regard them as one and the same. Talent is what you do well. Leadership is your ability to bring others to common cause. Anyone in a position to hire should heed the difference. Hiring managers promote or recruit people for their ability to produce results. That's good hiring. But everyone should carefully evaluate candidates' leadership abilities.
For example, super sales pros make ideal solo performers but not always team players. A leader has to understand the nature of team and be willing to step forward to pull people together for common purpose. Team members, on the other hand, motivate themselves with the goal of individual achievement.
When considering someone for advancement to a leadership position, ask three questions:
For example, super sales pros make ideal solo performers but not always team players. A leader has to understand the nature of team and be willing to step forward to pull people together for common purpose. Team members, on the other hand, motivate themselves with the goal of individual achievement.
When considering someone for advancement to a leadership position, ask three questions:
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Can You Spot an Innovative Opportunity?
Innovation happens when a team comes up with something brand new and brings it to market with astonishing success. But innovation does not always have to be about launching The Next Big Thing. CIOs, for example, constantly depend upon innovation to keep their organizations ahead of competitors. This quiz tests your knowledge of the kinds of innovations that enabled companies across a wide range of industries to achieve success. Can you spot the innovative concept with the company that put this innovation to good use. Questions and answers are based on the case studies featured in the book "Breaking Away: How Great Leaders Create Innovation That Drives Sustainable Growth – And Why Others Fail".
Q: When customers said they didn't want to post their photographs on social network sites, which cosmetic company came up with a digital, customized “perfect look” tool that women could have e-mailed directly to them?
A: Estee Lauder, as part of its “Your Beauty, Your Style, Your Profile” campaign.
Key Takeaway: Listen and learn from your customers' comments on Web sites and in social media.
Q: Which toy company used the power of narrative to turn a $30 million product into a $500 million-plus brand?
A: Hasbro, which sparked a sales surge and movie franchise by creating intriguing plot lines to revive Transformers. Key Takeaway: Use good storytelling to sell your vision.
Q: Which business had achieved innovation by answering this question: “If file-sharing works for addresses, documents, music and movies, why can’t it transfer voice data?”
A: Skype, which found no reason not to make it happen. Key takeaway: Innovation often stems from asking: “Why not?”
Q: Which food giant broke off a brand’s highly associated alignment with one particular product to embrace a more diversified approach?
A: Kraft, which greatly expanded its customer base by promoting Philadelphia Cream Cheese as a food for desserts, late-night snacks, tailgating, etc.Key takeaway: Think about broader applications for existing resources.
Can you think of other examples that demonstrate the critical ability to spot an innovative opportunity?
Q: When customers said they didn't want to post their photographs on social network sites, which cosmetic company came up with a digital, customized “perfect look” tool that women could have e-mailed directly to them?
A: Estee Lauder, as part of its “Your Beauty, Your Style, Your Profile” campaign.
Key Takeaway: Listen and learn from your customers' comments on Web sites and in social media.
Q: Which toy company used the power of narrative to turn a $30 million product into a $500 million-plus brand?
A: Hasbro, which sparked a sales surge and movie franchise by creating intriguing plot lines to revive Transformers. Key Takeaway: Use good storytelling to sell your vision.
Q: Which business had achieved innovation by answering this question: “If file-sharing works for addresses, documents, music and movies, why can’t it transfer voice data?”
A: Skype, which found no reason not to make it happen. Key takeaway: Innovation often stems from asking: “Why not?”
Q: Which food giant broke off a brand’s highly associated alignment with one particular product to embrace a more diversified approach?
A: Kraft, which greatly expanded its customer base by promoting Philadelphia Cream Cheese as a food for desserts, late-night snacks, tailgating, etc.Key takeaway: Think about broader applications for existing resources.
Can you think of other examples that demonstrate the critical ability to spot an innovative opportunity?
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Are you Prepared to Lead, Survey finds most are not
You may think of being promoted as the reward for all your hard work, but is this also a case may wish you were better prepared. For a significant percentage of new managers being prepared to lead is an issues if a new CareerBuilder survey is to be believed. The nationwide poll of nearly 4,000 workers revealed that finally getting on to the next rung of the career ladder can cause some serious stress.
The survey revealed that more than a quarter (26 percent) of new managers felt underprepared for their new responsibilities and a whopping 58 percent reported receiving no management training. So what did these fledgling bosses struggle with the most? CareerBuilder outlines the most commonly reported trouble spots for managers:
- Dealing with issues between co-workers — 25 percent
- Motivating team members — 22 percent
- Performance reviews — 15 percent
- Finding the resources needed to support the team — 15 percent
- Creating career paths for my team — 12 percent
Of course this blog provides great information that can help get new leaders comfortable with their new role.
What are you doing to prepare for the demands of 21st Century Leadership?
The survey revealed that more than a quarter (26 percent) of new managers felt underprepared for their new responsibilities and a whopping 58 percent reported receiving no management training. So what did these fledgling bosses struggle with the most? CareerBuilder outlines the most commonly reported trouble spots for managers:
- Dealing with issues between co-workers — 25 percent
- Motivating team members — 22 percent
- Performance reviews — 15 percent
- Finding the resources needed to support the team — 15 percent
- Creating career paths for my team — 12 percent
Of course this blog provides great information that can help get new leaders comfortable with their new role.
What are you doing to prepare for the demands of 21st Century Leadership?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Habits of innovative, high-performance companies
Today's thinner revenue streams, narrower margins, heightened competition, and more limited resources have, if anything, increased the already high levels of stress among corporate survivors and raised the performance bar set by business executives. That has prompted changes in the ways companies invest, manage, and innovate—changes designed to minimize risk.
In a survey involving more than 280 product executives in 17 different industries, common patterns emerged among the study's top performers. Among the good management habits of innovative, high-performance companies:
In a survey involving more than 280 product executives in 17 different industries, common patterns emerged among the study's top performers. Among the good management habits of innovative, high-performance companies:
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