Author Archives: Steve

It’s not a seven course meal.It’s just a snack.You can consume it in a minute or so.But, it brings the flavor! The first two of three criteria were Passion and Impact. Over the course of coaching hundreds of startup entrepreneurs, I’ve seen many whose projects meet these two criteria – but that fail the thirdContinue reading “Innovation Snack 9-3 Selecting Your Next Innovation Project. Criteria 3: Doable”

It’s not a seven course meal.It’s just a snack.You can consume it in a minute or so.But, it brings the flavor! I believe that companies and products exist for more than just making a buck. I believe that they should make a positive impact on a community or the entire world – that they shouldContinue reading “Innovation Snack 9-2 Selecting Your Next Innovation Project. Criteria 2: Impact”

It’s not a seven course meal.It’s just a snack.You can consume it in a minute or so.But, it brings the flavor! If you try at least a little bit, you should be able to identify (brainstorm, ideate) a LOT of potential new innovation projects. Over the next three Innovation Snacks, I am going to describeContinue reading “Innovation Snack 9-1 – Selecting a New Innovation Project. Criteria 1: Passion”

It’s not a seven course meal.It’s just a snack.You can consume it in a minute or so.But, it brings the flavor! OK, let’s assume that you have solved a needed customer problem by creating a superb product solution. Good job on your innovation work, but you aren’t close to done yet. To realize a returnContinue reading “Innovation Snack 8 – It’s Story Time”

It’s not a seven course meal.It’s just a snack.You can consume it in a minute or so.But, it brings the flavor! I recently saw a post touting a process to create 10X-100X more brainstorming ideas. Sounds good, but it misses the point of ideation. The goal is not to create a massive quantity of ideasContinue reading “Innovation Snack 7 – Ideation: Relevance Over Quantity”

It’s not a seven course meal.It’s just a snack.You can consume it in a minute or so.But, it brings the flavor! If you were investing in a startup, the odds are that you would expect that startup to meet some pretty strong criteria. Apply those criteria to your own product portfolio. Would you invest inContinue reading “Innovation Snack 6 – Evaluate Yourself Just Like a VC Would”

It’s not a seven course meal.It’s just a snack.You can consume it in a minute or so.But, it brings the flavor! Want growth tomorrow? Sell to companies that are growing. Tomorrow’s leaders. The companies ahead of the curve. Catch them early on to capitalize on their growth. Who are the companies in your market whoContinue reading “Innovation Snack 5 – Skate Where the Puck Is Going”

It’s not a seven course meal.It’s just a snack.You can consume it in a minute or so.But, it brings the flavor! You could measure the effectiveness of your innovation program by the effect on sales or profitability. But those are backward looking metrics. Instead, measure some forward looking metrics to make sure you are doingContinue reading “Innovation Snack 4 – Forward Looking Innovation Metrics”

It’s not a seven course meal.It’s just a snack.You can consume it in a minute or so.But, it brings the flavor! You just completed refreshing a product. Customers love it! You solved some of their gnarliest problems. So, you’re good now, right? Time to rest and reap the rewards? Nope. Now that those problems areContinue reading “Innovation Snack 3 – No Such Thing as SUSTAINABLE Competitive Advantage”

It’s not a seven course meal.It’s just a snack.You can consume it in a minute or so.But, it brings the flavor! Prioritizing is often used as a way to become more productive and efficient. For example, focusing on the needs of your big customers can bring you a quick and sizable return. But in innovationContinue reading “Innovation Snack 2 – Prioritization Is the Enemy of Open Mindedness”