It’s been several months since the Our Revolution road trip, but the experience has stayed with me and often finds its way into my conversations with others. Although Our Revolution is about promoting social change with revolutionary ideas and actions to change perceptions in lives in communities, my friend Lucas asked me an intriguing question – “How did the experience change you?” I have to say that in retrospect, one of the most important takeaways I have from the road trip was an improved technique for coming up with innovative solutions. The technique is similar to what Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, says, “We run the company by questions, not answers.” Innovation does not spring up out of nowhere. Innovative solutions and answers come first by asking the right questions. The Our Revolution road trip was full of questions that needed answers. How can we improve a situation? And when you ask a question, it stimulates conversation. It is out of these conversations that come innovation. To stimulate innovation within your team, you need to create a culture of questioning. Here’s how: 1. Set an Example – The behavior of team members always gravitates to the behavior of their leaders. [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
|
Also posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized
|
Tagged define innovation, definition of innovation, Innovation, innovation business, innovation technology, innovations, innovative solutions, innovator, new innovation, team building activities, technology and innovation, technology innovation, what is innovation
|
Do you shy away from the unknown or do you welcome the unexpected? Ever since I was a little girl I have thrived on curiosity and questioning things. However, many colleagues I know in business stick like glue to the familiar. They rely on the routine things that have served them in well in the past, and avoid anything new and different. This attitude can maintain stability, but if you’re not curious you are doomed to the same experiences without ever growing in business or in life. This article by Donald Latumahina at Lifehack tells of the virtues of curiosity. Curiosity gives you a fresh perspective, allowing you to discover fresh ideas. Being curious makes you more observant and opens up new worlds and possibilities you wouldn’t otherwise consider while also adding the spice of variety to your life. Some of my best ideas for projects, as well as some of my best adventures, have come from stepping outside of my comfort zone and following my curious nature. For these reasons, curiosity should be a quality you cultivate. So here are some things you can do to be more curious in your life: Do Not Ignore the Mundane. We all [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
|
Also posted in Adventure, Arts, Creativity, Happiness, Marketing, Philosophy, Strategy, Uncategorized
|
Tagged curiosity quotes, curious quotes, find happiness, finding happiness
|
Education is what you make of it. We are perpetual students, learning something new everyday. It doesn’t matter if you spend four years in college (and $200K) or time talking to someone in a coffee shop. We are constantly learning. With college tuition being as costly as it is, I know many people looking for alternative ways to continue to learn and expand their skill set. Look at any entrepreneur or historical figure and you will see that continuous self-education is a major component to their lives. Here are some free online courses from some of the top universities: Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative (my alma mater) – No instructors, no credits, no charge. Use these self-guiding Carnegie Mellon materials and activities to learn at your own pace. MIT OpenCourseWare – MIT OpenCourseWare is a free web-based publication of MIT course materials that has some of the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT. MIT Sloan School of Management – As one of the top business schools in the US, this is a great subsection of the larger MIT OpenCourseWare site. Tufts OpenCourseWare – Tufts OpenCourseWare is part of a new educational movement. Khan Academy – Over 1200 videos lessons [...]
I have known Sam for years. But I also haven’t seen him in awhile, so getting together for a cup of coffee sounded great to me. Sam is getting his MBA at a well-known institution in Cambridge (there are really only two choices, so I will let you decide which one you think he goes to). He was walking me through the curriculum when I asked, “What is the objective of most of these classes?” He looked at me like I had four heads and responded, “To solve problems, of course.” That’s when it occurred to me that this program (and many MBA programs) has it all wrong. Life and in this case, business, isn’t about just solving problems. It is about recognizing opportunities. Those opportunities can come in many forms: some are where to present change and innovations. Some opportunities allow us to capitalize on a system that is currently working and integrate it into other areas or create derivatives of that model. That was why part of the Our Revolution team went on the road: to find the models that were working and share them with the world, so others could use them. Not everything is broken. There [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
|
Also posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Our Revolution! Project, Strategy
|
Tagged business plan, how to open business, how to own a business, how to start a startup, ideas for small business, our revolution, problem solving, productivity, recognizing opportunity, software startup, start business, startup america, startup companies, startup company, startup programs, startups, the startup
|
Jeff was looking for his glasses…again. This was the 3rd time this week. He had to find them and find them quickly because he was going to be late for a meeting. So, the search was on. He went through everything on his desk. He searched through his bags, tore up the living room, his bedroom and to no avail. “My jacket!” They must be in my jacket.” he scurried his way to the black jacket hanging there on the coat rack. He turned every pocket inside out. Jeff even shook the jacket. Nothing. After about forty-five minutes of searching, Jeff sulked down onto the couch furious with himself. As he glanced through the window, he caught something within the reflection. He saw a little glimmer from atop his head. He slowly reached up and realized that what he has been searching for had been with him the entire time. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Most of the time, the answers we are looking for are right in front of us or within us. Keeping your eyes, ears and minds open to what is around you can help you find the resources you need or the [...]
Have you ever had the morning where two cups of coffee wasn’t even to get you going to tackle the day? The type of morning where your bed is so comfortable that you wonder why you ever leave it to do other things? Yes, it is that type of morning. We all need a little motivation from time to time. One way that always gets me going are quotes that I love. From Vince Lombardi to Lao Tzu, here are 50+ quotes to help kick start your day! 1. “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” -Lao Tzu 2. “Leadership rests not only upon ability, not only upon capacity; having the capacity to lead is not enough. The leader must be willing to use it. His leadership is then based on truth and character. There must be truth in the purpose and will power in the character.” -Vince Lombardi 3. Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy. – Norman Schwarzkopf 4. The golden rule for every business man is [...]
April 21, 2011 – 10:07 am
I was working on a rather mundane project last week when suddenly I was struck with a brilliant idea that stopped my work dead in its tracks. I love it when this happens, even if it sidetracks the work at hand for a few hours. But sparking your creativity is easier said than done. It is usually a serendipitous phenomenon, but I believe there are a few techniques you can use to trigger that creative impulse. Here are over 13 ways I get the creative juices flowing. 1. Doodle. You’ve heard of brainstorming and stream-of-consciousness writing to free your mind and unleash your creativity. But even those activities are limited by conforming your boundless imagination to language. Instead, just take out a blank piece of paper and a pen and doodle away. Draw whatever comes to mind. Just scribble anything and see what appears. 2. Challenge Yourself. People under pressure tend to surprise themselves. Try giving yourself a deadline, say, coming up with 10 great ideas by the end of the week. If your mind understands that there is a deadline to meet, it starts to work extra hard to ensure you meet it. 3. Join with Fellow Creatives. Creative [...]
My buddy Luke is having trouble collecting from a client of his. The client wants him to continue doing work, but has not paid him for the work he has already done. As a freelancer, every single dollar means the world to him. Like many small business owners, Luke has to feed his family at the end of the day. Has this ever happened to you? Does it still. Well, you are absolutely not alone. Most of the entrepreneurs that I know deal with this in one form or another. Even me. So, when you’re trying to do the right thing by your client and still keep yourself in business, where is the line drawn? What could you have done even before the work began? Mike Monteiro doesn’t mess around when it comes to collecting payment. In his Creative Mornings video, “F*ck You. Pay Me” he shares some hilarious insight into his strategies for collective payment for creative service industries. Check it out: 2011/03 Mike Monteiro | F*ck You. Pay Me. from SanFrancisco/CreativeMornings on Vimeo. Here are some familiar and irrational excuses he’s heard from clients. Do any of them sound familiar: “We ended up not using the work” “Really [...]
April 11, 2011 – 10:06 am
This morning, I spoke to a group of women entrepreneurs over breakfast. After the talk, one of them came up to me and asked how I assess risk. She disclosed that she had a few businesses and they have never really taken off the way she thought they would. She asked me what I would do if I was in her situation. That’s easy for me to answer, because I’ve been in that situation many times! There are a ton of ideas that I thought would be good project and ventures – and they just weren’t. I’ve had ideas crash and burn just like everyone. It’s all part of the process and it led and led to a lot of trial and error (and a loss of money). Fortunately, I have learned from these experiences and developed a system for what businesses I start and how I invest in them. And now you can benefit from my mistakes and experience by following my rules: 1. Less is More. When I am assessing a new product or service, I determine the value of the minimum product or service I can create to shop around. How can I bundle the most minimal version [...]
Organizing people around a common goal and empowering them to act is no easy feat. However, Obama’s presidential campaign was a fantastic example of how it could be done using technology and social platforms. It is why he is one of the example in my upcoming book, “How to Create a Revolution: A Step-by-Step Guide from History’s Social Influencers.” So, when Obama announced his campaign for re-election, it started my wheels on how he could do things differently-really create an empowered experience for his supporters through transmedia storytelling. In the video below, I give three suggestions. Take a look. What storytelling ideas do you have for this re-election campaign, or any campaign for that matter? We would love to hear from you. Related Posts: Social Marketing, Metrics and the Relationships They’re Built On Why I Started Our Revolution How Leaders Can Be Great By Asking The Hard Questions
