(Note: this article appeared first in Fast Company Design.) What do the Mona Lisa smile and the Wall Street Journal have in common? They both employ a design principle related to subtraction and minimalism. By limiting information, they engage the imagination. In the case of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci purposefully blurred smile lines around the corners of Lisa’s mouth and eyes, the two most expressive parts of the human facial anatomy. The artist …
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Charles Darwin was on to something. Business innovation has a lot in common with his theory of evolution, about the origin of species. Oh, but how easily we forget, neglect, and even disrespect evolutionary innovation, and how easily our attention is riveted by ever-so-sexy revolutionary innovation. Allow me to unpack the parallels between Darwin’s theories and business innovation a bit. I see a few important touchpoints. First, there’s Darwin’s notion that everything can be traced …
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One of my favorite insights comes from Harvard’s David Garvin: “Learning will always remain something of an art, but even the best artists can improve their technique.” I like it because it quite subtly highlights two different yet intertwined activities, learning and training. Most companies engage in training. Few engage in real learning. Most companies focus heavily on leadership. Few focus on learnership. One path to leadership is innovation. And here’s the thing: learning and …
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Lady Gaga is one of the most well-known pop artists in the world, which is no surprise given her vocal talents and often bizarre wardrobe. She’s sold 23 million albums, won five Grammy awards, and been named by Forbes as one of the world’s most powerful celebrities. But behind the public persona lies a shrewd and calculating business professional, a marketing machine which has turned music lovers into a worldwide legion of diehard fans eager …
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I read, write, and talk about creativity and innovation ALOT–what it is, why it matters, how to pursue it. So it’s time to talk a bit about what innovation isn’t, and introduce a concept admittedly nuanced but that may fit a better in the business world than creativity. Not Innovation Innovation is NOT sitting around dreaming up earth-shattering ideas behind closed doors, trying to be clever and creative in concocting a new secret sauce that …
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Innovation is at or near the center of nearly everyone’s radar screen. If you’re not looking for it in your work, you’re looking for it in your personal life, because stirring in each of us is the desire to employ our ingenuity. Thus, the potential to innovate is alive and well in everyone. Actually doing it with any acumen and consistency is another matter entirely. A study of the great accomplishments in art, industry and science reveals …
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What if you were able to grow your business confidently in the direction of your choosing? What if you could consistently provide the most innovative solutions to your customers’ problems? What if you could attract your industry’s best talent? What if you could command premium pricing of products and services that are heavily in demand and are far superior to any alternatives? According to entrepreneur Ray Attiyah, author of The Fearless Front Line, there’s only one way …
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Perhaps you’re thinking of starting a new business, or perhaps a new line of business in your existing one. If you’re like most, you’re thinking about how to market, sell, and serve customers. That’s a mistake, according to Brian Solis, the author of What’s the Future of Business: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences. A futurist and principal at Altimeter Group, a research firm focused on disruptive technology, Solis argues that now is the time …
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Jeff Unger wants to waive $725,000 worth of legal fees to help 725 first-time entrepreneurs incorporate their business. Why? Because he’s done it before, he did it well, and it changed the world. Jeff, a Los Angeles-based attorney and founder of eMinutes, a corporate law firm, just spent most of the last 12 months helping 500 small business owners in California, New York, Texas, and the District of Columbia form their companies, to the tune of …
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