Henry Ford once said famously: “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.” As Tina Seelig, executive director of Stanford University’s Technology Ventures points out in her new book inGenius, this simple quote illustrates the difference between two kinds of fear, only one which drives the the entrepreneurial spirit. “There are two distinct mindsets related to taking on challenges,” she says. “Some people are driven by their strong fear of failure and therefore …
Read More
Artistry at Work: Through the Storm (series finale)
Thousands of people have talent. I might as well congratulate you for having eyes in your head. The one and only thing that counts is: do you have staying power? –Noel Coward Eventually, a storm will hit even our best-laid plans. We must welcome these tests, for they often force us in directions we might not have discovered on our own. Some of us will hunker down and wage war on anything that might undermine …
Read More
A Virtual Peek Inside Stanford’s Creativity Course
Many people believe creativity cannot be taught. If that’s true, then why is Dr. Tina Seelig’s course on creativity and innovation one of the most popular classes at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, aka the “d.school”? It’s incredibly difficult to get in: not only do you have first be admitted to Stanford, but once in, you’ve got less than one chance in three of getting in to the course itself: over 150 apply, …
Read More
Artistry At Work: Managing Creative Cycles
“An artist revolves in a cycle of masterpieces, the first of which is no less perfect than the last.” Oscar Wilde Last week’s post (Reaching for Greatness) concerned the first half of the creative achievement cycle. The second half of the cycle concerns translating those goals into key projects that contribute to our overall ambition and strategically build our portfolio of work. Completing well-aligned projects generates the creative energy required to drive one’s ambition toward the envisioned …
Read More
Billion Dollar Simplicity
In my previous post, I talked about a startup, Apptopia, an online marketplace for apps. Bet they wish they’d brokered the $1 billion deal between Facebook and Instagram. I’ve written about Instagram before, essentially as an example of simplicity in design. What made Instagram interesting was how its nearly overnight success could be traced to a strategy of subtraction on the part of CEO and founder Kevin Systrom. Instagram wasn’t always Instagram. The first iteration …
Read More
How To Launch A Lean Startup: The Apptopia Story
“Lean thinking”–the mindset and methodology derived from the Toyota Production System–has taken root and grown tremendously in the startup efforts of entrepreneurs in the U.S. over the last eighteen months. Partly driven by the exigencies of the marketplace and economy, partly driven by the reality that most startups using the old model of “plan-fund-build-launch” simply fail, the lean startup model centering on the creation of business hypothesis and proven out through rapid learning gleaned from …
Read More
Shibumi Strategy in the News
Nothing like a double whammy to start the week off right. In this case, it concerns my little fable, The Shibumi Strategy. First, my publisher informed me that it had won a gold medal in the Axiom Book Awards. Very cool. It may not have broken sales records, but a recognition of quality is always reinforcing, and I can now brag “hat trick,” since all three of my books have now garnered some sort of …
Read More
Artistry At Work: Reaching For Greatness
“I passionately hate the idea of being with it, I think an artist has always to be out of step with his time.” – Orson Welles So you’ve got a vision, a s.u.p.e.r. one. Even the most compelling vision may get sidetracked without some means to keep us on track. Marking our mission with stretch goals provides the impetus needed to catalyze movement, while meeting and re-setting them keeps us advancing confidently. Goals comprise the first …
Read More
The Apple Experience
A few weeks ago I visited my local Apple retail store, needing a cover for my new iPad. I walked in, and of course, it was crowded. But I spent less than two minutes in the store. As I stepped through the open doors, I was immediately greeted by a few “specialists,” one of which was actually helping someone else–it wasn’t a verbal greeting, just a friendly smile. I smiled back, a natural reflex. I …
Read More