Posts Tagged "Innovation"
May24

Social Media in the 1870s

Posted at 9:45 AM • View Comments

I’ve been intrigued with History Channel’s recent product America: The Story of Us. Last night, I caught up with my DVR to watch Episode 6 (Heartland).  One entrepreneurial story covered was that of R.W. Sears.  It obviously struck me from an entrepreneurial aspect; but it really dawned on me that in the 100+ years of advertising & direct response marketing innovations we have undergone, we are in the exact same spot from which we began in the 1870s.  The quick story on Sears:

Once the four standard time zones were created (reduced from 8,000!), Sears bought a handful of unwanted pocket watches and through the use of Morse Code sold them to other train station attendants using the trains to make deliveries.  The next year he expanded his product offerings by getting products to farmers and their families in the Midwest that had limited access to stores for products such as bicycles, sewing machines and even automobiles.  At its maximum, the catalog was over 700 pages!  People ordered what they needed and received it in a relatively timely manner.  Less than 20 years later, he was fulfilling 30,000+ orders per day.

So how have we not evolved in over 100 years of direct marketing?

Big brands are freaking out and having to work harder than ever for customer loyalty because customers are back in control with word-of-mouth discourse that can be released to thousands of people on impulse.  That impulse is very real and very measurable. Customers tell brands what they want and not the other way around.  When I think about it, the time of Mad Men (1950s) to let’s say 2000 were really an anomaly in our nation’s history with regards to advertisements.  Brands used to push and tell people what is popular.  The people are back in control of their buying habits.

The only difference between now and the 1870’s is that the scope of access has dramatically increased.  I can now go to Google to find my favorite sewing machine* at the lowest price and then virtually truck on over to Facebook to instantly discuss my potential purchase with thousands of my sewing buddies*.  Relatively soon, I will use my Android-based GoogleTV to purchase my favorite advertised sewing machine* (based on my Facebook viewing habits) at its lowest price in the middle of my favorite History Channel show.

*Disclaimer: I do not sew!  That is all.

Apr1

UPDATE: Leadership Video Toolbox

Posted at 7:34 AM • View Comments

The Leadership Video Toolbox project is barely a week old, and I have 3 video submissions already!  The 3 qualities taken thus far are: Vision, Initiative & Teachability.

I’ve got 18 more qualities to cover so just pick the one that sounds best to you.  You can also redo 1 of the 3 already chosen.  I’d like to hear as many viewpoints as possible.

Click here for the details on the project.

Let me know if you have any questions or ideas.

Mar30

Leadership Video Toolbox…BE PART OF IT!!!

Posted at 1:28 PM • View Comments

HELP: CALL FOR VIDEOS ON LEADERSHIP!!

Background: I’m currently working a on video blog for my MBA Leadership class.  The project is called a “Leadership Toolbox.”  The professor wants us to create a “toolbox” that future leaders can refer to for guidance.  My idea for the toolbox is to create a video blog that has individuals whom I see as leaders spend 30 to 60 seconds on the one of the 21 leadership qualities discussed in the book by John Maxwell “The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.” It’s simple to do.  Pick one of the 21 Leadership Qualities and send me your 30-60 second video commentary about that topic.

In the past, this project has been a static one.  I want to use the the collective minds to create and grow a living, breathing toolbox for myself and others.  I plan to continue growing this toolbox long after my class has been concluded.  But, I need your help now!

Directions: The video can simply be recorded with a webcam and shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes of your time.  If you need help recording it, just let me know as I have several methods for doing this.  Don’t worry about editing it. I’ll do that.  Just film it.  Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns or ideas on how to start.  You can email the video to me; or if you use Dropbox, let me know, and I’ll setup a shared folder between the two of us. (You can sign-up for Dropbox free here)

The final video blog will be located here: CLouvi’s Leadership Toolkit (Note: the current videos are just placeholders).

Timeline: Before Monday, April 12, 2010

21 Indispensable Qualities: Character, Charisma, Commitment, Communication, Competence, Discernment, Focus, Generosity, Initiative, Listening, Passion, Positive Attitude, Problem Solving, Relationships, Responsibility, Security, Self-Discipline, Servanthood, Teachability, Vision  Here is a 21 Indispensalbe Leader Qualities Summary that overviews each chapter.

Extra: If you’d like me to include any links to your blog, LinkedIn profile, bio, etc, please let me know and I’ll be sure to include it online.

Great thanks to all the people have submitted videos thus far! Special thanks to Liz Philips for the suggestion to crowdsource this project.

Dec3

3 Vital Tools for Honest Communication

Posted at 7:01 AM • View Comments

stopcollaborateandlisten

So now you have your Innovation Dream Team.  Are you being as effective as possible using your current tools to communicate and collaborate with your team?

I’ve written about the importance of communication when it comes to change management and/or innovation.  Below, I’ve listed some of the tools that I use because of their ease and effectiveness.

  1. Google Talk – I send very little email because it’s time consuming and too formal for the majority of conversations.  Aside from instant messaging, the best features of Google Talk are: On / Off-the-Record Chatting, Free Voice and Video Chat & Instant File Transfers.  Also, Google Talk has mobile apps for the most popular mobile OSes including iPhone, Blackberry and of course Android.  If your group doesn’t have Gmail accounts, then you can easily sign up for one.
  2. Basecamp – 37signals has a nice package of collaborative tools that are perfect for any organization from bootstrapped to venture funded.  Basecamp is their project management platform.  It allows you to manage multiple projects, assign certain users to certain projects and milestones.  The dashboard provides an easy to follow snapshot of everything that is going on within a project.  My favorite part is that I can subscribe via RSS or email to the reminders, so I always know where everyone stands.
  3. Food / Drinks – Not “hi-tech,” but I’m a firm believer in getting away from my static habitat to increase productivity.  With my laptop and a mobile phone, there is nothing I can’t get done from a coffee shop that I can’t get done from my office.  Besides a change of scenery, it does 2 important things for my teams and me: 1) It provides an opportunity to talk one-on-one with team members about their concerns and/or accomplishments.  People like to be known other than a name on a screen and this helps achieve buy-in. 2) Change management requires innovation and innovation requires new perspectives.  A change of scenery always stirs my creative juices simply by having new surroundings.

What other tools are vital to your organization’s success?

Photo: liz burnunzio via flikr

Dec2

Change Management: 5 Ways to Be a Successful Leader & Innovator

Posted at 7:30 AM • View Comments

No Fear from the Lion

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin

How do you lead innovation in an environment that is resistant to change?

Unless you work in a zoo or some place where people are the minority, then you will face resistance to change because people are inherently resistant to it.  Innovation leaders understand how to manage change when people want to run from it.

I’ve been successful at several companies where innovation is a necessity; and the people inside them that survive adapt to the change that naturally comes from innovation.  Some of my companies have changed their business model every quarter, month and even every week, so it becomes a necessity that your team adapt to change that naturally occurs from innovation in order to survive.  The need for speed in change management varies from start-ups to corporations; however, these 5 factors will ensure successful change management regardless of size:

  1. Endorsements – Get true sponsorship for your idea from the top to the down.  If you’re serious about your idea, then don’t settle for simply getting one or two sponsors.  Make sure you have sponsorship from all the people that will be required to make the idea work.  Always be prepared to sell your idea by showing its immediate benefits.  If you are the “top dog,” then it’s your job to make sure the people you bring on to help you buy-in to your idea.
  2. Honest Communication – Typically, honest communication relates to something that you could read about in the self-help aisle.  As far as change management is concerned, it relates to deadlines, realistic expectations and real needs.  The success of innovation will come if communication is always open and timely.  Priorities are constantly shifting inside of innovation endeavors, so deadlines are in constant flux.  The person that doesn’t provide a realistic deadline will commit the crime not the person that has to change it.
  3. Employee Investment – A simple concept…but usually the hardest for leaders to execute.  Let people show-off their strengths by taking over responsibility for their parts of the project.  Trust them to succeed, and they (and you) will shine.
  4. Change Agents – #4 won’t happen without #3 happening first.  The change agents are the ones that become the internal champions for your idea.  Once they buy-in, they will become the best PR ever because they have true blood invested.  In essence, they should become mini-yous.
  5. Culture – You either have it or you don’t.  And if you don’t, it will make your job harder; but it’s crucial to the long-term success of your innovations.  Culture is not something that can simply be created overnight.  Culture takes time to grow.  Steps 1 – 4 will lay the groundwork for your culture change and at the same time providing a blue print for a successful change management strategy.
Photo: ucumari via flickr

Feb28

A Definition of Entrepreneurship

Posted at 12:48 PM • View Comments

Tim Berry has a link to a great video about entrepreneurship. Here is the link to the video.

I love learning about languages and how they’re used. I have several books on the origins and meanings of words. I was fascinated by the three Latin classes I took at LSU. It kind of bothers me that I never bothered to look up entrepreneur. I had no idea it was French (although it makes sense now) and really doesn’t mean anything in English. Also, one root means to immerse one’s self into something. I bet many entrepreneurs are baffled a bit by this because we are usually idea people; so our minds are constantly wandering!!

Feb18

Format Wars…errrr Battles

Posted at 1:14 PM • View Comments

Beta vs. VHS…Laser Disc vs. DVD…HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray…

Winners: Sony, Blu-ray Content Providers, Us (Consumers)

Losers: Toshiba, Apple Microsoft, Anyone Else Trying to Win the Living Room

These are some expensive battles that take place. Sony is always a high stakes player. I keep wondering when they’re going to learn their lesson; but after all their risk taking, it seems like they will finally win a battle. Even when they first introduced the Sony Vaio laptop computer line, they only allowed for Sony memory card to be accepted. They’re always trying to control mediums. It’s a risky game they play because they put all of their resources into the development of a standard, and they will have to endure years of loss because the only people buying Blu-ray anything are early adopters or people that don’t know any better. Combining both is a very small section of the market.

Last week, Netflix and Best Buy said they will go predominantly Blu-ray. Last month, Time Warner said it will make Blu-ray exclusive. Today, Toshiba has said to cede its place in the battle.

My initial thoughts are that Sony will be having a very good Christmas 2008. Sony has not only won a huge format battle, but they have taken a huge step in locking up the War of the Living Room. Apple is one loser in this situation. They have been largely successful with their iPod/iTunes creations, but they aren’t making much headway with Apple TV…for a variety of reasons. Aside from Toshiba, Microsoft is the biggest loser in this war. PS3 has been lagging behind XBOX 360, but sales are expected to either match or surpass those of the XBOX 360 this year. Nintendo Wii has been the most popular and biggest surprise, but the target market is different. The majority of their customers are not the coveted 18-34 year-old male but everyone else. That’s just fine with Nintendo, and they’ve done a fabulous job of targeting “everyone else.” A little unscientific proof…I’m friends with a 22-year old male and about a week before Christmas everyone in his sports club received the highly coveted Nintendo Wii as their prize for a tournament win (around 150 units!). The majority of the men tried to sell/auction them, so they could use the cash to buy an XBOX 360 or Sony PS3.

Before today, the main factor for the projected increase in sales was the price drop on PS3 and that more movie titles have opened up for the PS3. The XBOX 360 has an add-on HD-DVD player, and the PS3 is built with a Blu-ray player. Sony has just taken a huge leap in the War of the Living Room, and this will now be an even larger determining factor in the lead they take over Microsoft. The 18-34 year old market can go out to buy a PS3 for its video game capabilities and Blu-ray technology. This one system can now immediately quench the needs of the typical 18-34 year-old male. It offers a high-end gaming system, Blu-ray player and will finally allow users to buy Blu-ray discs with confidence enabling them to maximize the use of the LCD TVs they invested in last year. Savvy parents will also see the value in the system as well. They can buy a PS3 to meet their child’s video game and Disney Blu-ray needs.

I’m anxious to see Sony’s movement in 2008.