business

Are Your Employees Getting Happy Feet?

Here’s some interesting news. According to the Department of Labor, unemployment fell for a fourth month in a row. The current rate of 8.5% represents its lowest point at any time in the past three years. Leading indicators also show that the economy continues to grow. Granted, it isn’t creating jobs as quickly as we…

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The Winning Attitude Tipping Point

As business leaders, everything we do should focus on setting our organizations up to win. But we can’t do it all ourselves. Which means we also need to get our employees obsessive and relentless about winning – a task much easier said than done. If you’re struggling to build a winning attitude in your organization,…

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Play to Win!

Did you catch the New Orleans Saints/Detroit Lions game last Saturday? What an exciting game between two high-powered offenses! And once again, the sports world offered a powerful lesson for business leaders. Specifically, I’m referring to Saints coach Sean Payton and how he approaches the game of football. Now there’s a coach who plays to…

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Christmas Dinner Conversation Starters

My Thanksgiving “fun facts” blog was a big hit with readers, generating a lot of buzz (who doesn’t want something that makes life, especially those large family gatherings, easier?). So with the annual visit from the dude in the red suit almost upon us, I thought it would be fun to do another round of…

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Phases of Innovation

When I ask business leaders to identify which part of the innovation process their organizations struggle with the most, I typically get one of three answers: We have a lot of ideas but most of them get judged as impossible or too hard to implement based on changing the way things currently are We have…

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Test Your Innovation IQ

Everyone knows that innovation means coming up with the next great idea in your industry, right? Actually, there’s a lot more to it than that. Test your ability to separate innovation fact from fiction by answering the following questions true or false: Innovation is the act of coming up with new and creative ideas. Innovation…

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Putting On A New Pair of Goggles

A few weeks ago I wrote about a stodgy safety products manufacturer that dramatically increased sales of its goggles by studying fashion trends. I’m not suggesting we all start subscribing to Vogue, Glamour or Elle (although maybe that is not a bad idea). What we do need to do is start looking beyond the walls…

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Conversation Starters for Your Thanksgiving!

Seeking out new and different sources of information can enhance your innovative efforts. It’s also a fun way to recognize and celebrate one of our most cherished holidays.

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Are You Making the Right Connections?

Our ability to see patterns and make connections is one of our mightiest creative assets. Which explains why innovative products sometimes come from the strangest places.

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Bursting My Own Thought Bubbles

I just returned from one of my longer road trips of the year, and it’s great to be home! Believe it or not, I used to enjoy business travel. But now, with all the airport security, flight delays, baggage fees, and surly attitudes of airline employees, it has become the least favorite part of what…

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Slow Down Your Strategic Planning So You Can Go Fast

Bias is defined as “prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.” In the business world, this definition also applies to concepts and ideas. As business leaders we like to think we’re impartial, open-minded and objective in regards to new ideas,…

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The Dangers of Traditional SWOT Analysis

It’s that time of year again. And, no, I’m not referring to Christmas shopping. It’s only September, for gosh sake! I’m talking about strategic planning. This is the time of year to pause for a bit longer than usual and think and about what winning will look like next year. It’s when we peer into…

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