Word Count: 1,310Estimated Read Time: 5 Min. Last week, you went to Ikea to buy some inexpensive magazine holders to file the last dozen issues of Harvard Business Review piled on the floor next to your desk.  You walked into … Continue reading →

As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Innovation is about solving problems. Companies that are innovative focus on the needs of their customers and find ways to meet those needs in new and novel ways. That is what Uri Levine, founder of Waze, meant in his book “Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution.” That’s how most companies start out: solving an existing problem. And some, like Steve Jobs at Apple, go a step further and foresee a problem even before the customer realizes they have it. But the bottom line is that innovation is really just good, old-fashioned problem-solving. If you want to bring something truly innovative to market, focus on the problem.

Here’s how. Continue reading →

Word Count: 1,509Estimated Read Time: 6 Min. In business, innovation is the ultimate game changer.  Real innovation (not just tiny tweaks or insignificant modifications) can overcome a multitude of company failings and disadvantages, including not being first-to-market.  In fact, an … Continue reading →

First is Not Always Best Word Count: 1,586Estimated Read Time: 6 Min. There is tremendous pressure when an individual has a new idea or a company has an innovative product and wants to be the first to market.  The rush … Continue reading →

Word Count: 1,897Estimated Read Time: 7 Min. Social Listening is the process of monitoring and analyzing online conversations about a brand, product, service, or industry. It can be used to identify opportunities, threats, and trends, and to gauge public sentiment. … Continue reading →

Word Count: 1,638Estimated Read Time: 6 ½ Min. According to an ancient Chinese proverb, “A good reputation is more valuable than diamonds.”  But how do you know what your company’s reputation really is? What do people say about your business … Continue reading →

Word Count: 2,442Estimated Read Time: 9 Min. Time is like water cupped in hands… it seeps away in drips and droplets.  In no time, it is gone and even the wetness evaporates.  Still, it is easier for a person to … Continue reading →

Word Count: 2,115Estimated Read Time: 8 ½ Min. Is your team struggling to keep up with daily tasks?  Are projects falling through the cracks?  Has managing the To Do List become just another cumbersome task on the To Do List??   … Continue reading →

Word Count: 1,281Estimated Read Time: 5 Min. Holiday or vacation is over.  It’s time to get back to work.  But focus is hard to come by.  Intrusions abound.  Work hours, which always had some casual interruptions, are now fraught with … Continue reading →

Word Count: 1,430Estimated Read Time: 5 ½ Min. Everyone understands that managing workload is an important part of any job.  And yet, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.  So some things must take priority … Continue reading →