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How to Use Question-Storming to Innovate
…a better way than brainstorming when innovating The idea of brain-storming is to get a group of diverse people to generate a lot of ideas, without judgement, in order to discover a solution to a problem. It has its use at times, but the problem is that it doesn’t work! Why do I say this? There are two key problems with brain-storming. Firstly, the problem starts at the beginning when we look to solve a problem rather than to find
The Familiar and the New
Customers are a fickle lot. You produce what your research tells you will sell, and you end up with a lemon, or it fails to produce the results you seek. Why is this? If customers are going to buy a new offering it has to appeal to them, not just in terms of the needs it satisfies, but in how it gets over the initial barrier of being attractive to them. Customers are torn between a curiosity about new things
Don’t Cut Your Costs, Manage Them!
How to avoid being a cost-cutter and create a thriving business from managing your costs. When times are hard the knee-jerk reaction for many businesses is to cut costs. Don’t do it! Or to put it another way – don’t do it! Before we get into this I want to give you an operational definition of costs for the purpose of this article. Costs have several relevant definitions, costs are: a payment before something can be done or acquired an
The Conflict Management Strategies Matrix
Four key strategies to use when managing conflict, and when to use them When assessing what strategy to use in managing the conflict there are two key criteria: the importance of the outcome and the importance of the relationship. Their relative importance will vary with each situation. The four quadrants in the above matrix are: Detachment/Disinterest. You don’t care about the outcome or the relationship. Accommodation/Appeasement. Keeping the relationship going is far more important to you than achieving your personal
Performance vs. Potential Matrix
How to determine and assess future leaders, and where and how to focus your efforts in their development. You are looking to develop future leaders for your business. How can you do this so that you can consistently evaluate them across the board? What is more important when you evaluate them – their past performance or their future potential? It isn’t an either/or question. You need to understand both their past performance, and to identify their future potential. This is
Why Meaning in What You Do Is Important
How meaning and progress drives engagement, the bottom-line and results. Meaning is something you create, not something that is. Meaning is a powerful tool as it can help you from dwelling on factors and conditions that are beyond your control; and you can create a little meaning for yourself, and others, every day. This helps to give people better focus and a sense of control as they work on what they can influence. Meaning is central not just to your
3 Elements for Guiding Effective Change
Research has found that over 70% of all change initiatives fail. In a world of accelerating change you and your organization have to adapt. As leading management guru, Professor Gary Hamel said: “Today, the most important question for any organization is this: are we changing as fast as the world around us” The problem is that the odds are not in your favour, but here are three tips to help tip them in your favour. Establish a Greater Purpose –
The Power of Golden Silence
Using silence to find out more Silence is a powerful way by which you can elicit more information from people you are talking with – especially when talking with customers or interviewees. A Golden Silence is when you pause, deliberately, so that you can listen without thinking of what you are going to say next. There are two forms of Golden Silence: Golden Silence I – you simply pause for approximately three to four seconds after you ask a question, and Golden
Why We Fail to Make the Right Impression (& What to Do)
Why we sometimes fail to come across as we intend. We often want to make the ‘right’ impression, but inadvertently end up making the ‘wrong’ impression. This can happen with your boss, a potential employer, or someone who represents a romantic interest – in fact, anyone with whom you interact. This can happen despite our best efforts and having the best of intentions. Not coming across as you intend - particularly in your initial encounter with someone - can cause