May 15, 2012
To stay competitive, organizations need to continually find opportunities for innovation in key processes such as customer service and product development, and adoption of a new process almost always requires the implementation of new information technology. In his 1990 classic HBR article "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate," Michael Hammer argued that IT must drive radical process innovation...
The higher up in the organization you get, the less likely you'll receive constructive feedback on your ideas, performance, or strategy. No one wants to offend the boss, right? But without input, your development will suffer, you may become isolated, and you're likely to miss out on hearing some great ideas. So, what can you do to get people to tell you what you may not want to hear?
What the Experts Say
Most people have good reasons for keeping their opinions...
May 14, 2012
In the spirit of reverse innovation, and reverse mentoring, I submit to you that the next trend to watch out for in leadership is, you guessed it — reverse leadership.
You've likely seen reverse leadership in action. It happens when someone not in a formal leadership role demonstrates great leadership ability: when...
May 11, 2012
Diversity is the crucial element for group creativity. Innovation teams tasked with creating new products or technologies or iterating existing ones need tension to produce breakthroughs, and tension comes from diverse points of view. This is the opposite of groupthink, the creativity-killing phenomenon of too much agreement and too similar perspectives that often paralyzes otherwise great teams. We've all been on these teams. Everyone is just like us — say, marketers or engineers....
May 9, 2012
As the online waters rose, executives at the Susan G. Komen Foundation huddled behind their fortress walls like first-class passengers on the Titanic. The AP broke the story of Komen de-funding Planned Parenthood Federation of America on Monday, January 30th. As the online world took them to task, according to marketing blogger,...
May 2, 2012
Consider the following: Works long hours. Carries wireless device everywhere. On the phone at kid's soccer game. Checks in frequently over vacation.
Does this describe your life? If you're like the hundreds of executive education students I teach each year at the Harvard Business School, you point to the hours you work, the places from which you work (even on vacation), the times at which you work (even when supposed to be spending time with family and friends), the fact that...
May 1, 2012
Many years ago, I watched a most unusual puppet show at the Surajkund Mela, one of India's most popular crafts fairs. Puppeteers usually conceal themselves behind a screen, as we all know, and the puppets take center stage. At the Surajkund show, though, the puppeteers were entirely visible, and the audience could see them talk, sing, and emote along with their puppets.
When the show ended to rapturous...
April 26, 2012
In a famous experiment, researchers ran a lottery with a twist. Half the participants were randomly assigned a lottery number. The remaining half were given a blank piece of paper and a pen and asked to write down any number they would like as their lottery number. Just before drawing the winning number, the researchers offered to buy back the...
