I am constantly humbled by the energy, passion, and drive that people with ideas can muster. I saw half-baked ideas turned into viable concepts in a matter of seven weeks, with the final being a 10-minute venture pitch to judges and fellow classmates.

What Leads to Entrepreneurial Success

What really makes the class stand out is a combination of three things:

1) Students had to pass a basic filter before getting into the class, and brought their passion and thirst for learning. They were teachable, and they made tremendous progress and effort during the class.

2) Experienced entrepreneurs served as coaches and provided focused, one-on-one guidance to each team. The level of experience in the coaching cadre keeps me coming back because I love being around these folks. One of the coaches, for example, is listed in the Inc. 500 for the third year in a row with more than 100% growth each year. With guidance from such high-caliber coaches, students are bound to improve their concepts.

3) The instructors had real-world experience that they brought out in the teaching. I taught with two others – Patrick Vernon, who’s been teaching at UNC for several years, and Kevin Bowles, who is also a new instructor and a serial entrepreneur.

As I lo0ok through the lens of experience, I realize that only a handful of the companies will make it. But they all learned critical thinking skills to assess their ideas, their markets, and the willingness of customers to pay for their solutions. These are all aspects of what each innovator must learn and apply.

When companies get bigger, say around 100+ people, the day-to-day interaction between staff and the senior leadership begins to decrease, and many ideas get squashed in the trenches or at the first level of management. It’s no longer okay to let that happen. With companies in trouble all over the world, NOW is the time to kick up the innovation. To seek out new ideas for new and expanded revenue streams.

When companies settle for small or no growth, the CEO is always to blame. It is his or her job to use the available resources to make their companies thrive. Creating an innovative culture is not easy, but it is possible. Moving from a curmudgeonly culture to an innovative culture is harder than starting from scratch to build an innovative culture. You must overcome inertia and staff that may not be prone to innovation.

Keys to Business Transformation

The keys to transformation are similar to those found in the classroom:

1) You must have people who are willing to move the ball forward. To take bold actions and challenge ideas. Even their own.

2) You need coaches who can guide innovators to morph their ideas and build commercial viability from a kernel of thought.

3) You need champions who will spearhead the innovation within your company to see that ideas get developed and presented to senior management.

Senior managers are the ones who need to see the ideas because they have the broader perspective of how business opportunities can connect to other initiatives and ideas.

For more thoughts on innovation in your business, check out the upcoming seminar: The New ROI: Return on Innovation.

3 Perspectives.
1 Goal: Increased Innovation

Companies like Apple, Amazon, and Netflix have taken the world by storm. They have a differentiated brand, a cult-like following, and the ability to make millions on new ideas.

Their success can be yours.





The New ROI is all about driving more profits to your bottom line.
Three speakers will provide different but complimentary perspectives on innovation and how to drive it into your organization.

Find your next
million dollar ideas

Uncover ideas in your organization that will drive profitable growth.

Big Think finds the ideas in your company that will turn into new products and businesses for continued growth. It takes innovative thinking, business acumen, and the ability to connect dots—which is what Big Think is all about. ]]> http://www.bigthinkresults.com/front-page/feed/ 0 http://www.bigthinkresults.com/innovation-requires-capability-above-role/ http://www.bigthinkresults.com/innovation-requires-capability-above-role/#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2011 22:57:55 +0000 Craig Mathews http://www.bigthinkresults.com/?p=923 In working with PeopleFit, one of my clients, I have come to learn about Requisite Organization, a body of knowledge that every manager needs to know about.

The basics of Requisite Organization (RO):

1. Work occurs in distinct layers of complexity.
2. The capacity of people to deal with complexity can also be stratified. (This is separate from knowledge, skills, experience, or personality preferences.)
3. There is a one-for-one relationship between the layers of work and the capacity of people.

Why some people fail

Now that we have the definitions out of the way, the key take-away from this is that peoples’ capability must be matched to the needs of their role, or they will fail. If a person is less capable than what a role demands, they will not be able to do the work, no matter how much training and time you give them.

What drives execution

When people are properly “fit” to their role in terms of capability, they are more engaged, and can do the work effectively. This is the essence of building a high-performing organization.

What drives innovation

People who have capability above the needs of their role can innovate. Innovation requires a broader perspective, and more complex thinking. The person who designs a course, for example, needs to have greater intellectual capability than the person just delivering the content. Operating a division and positioning a division for ansformative change to be a market leader in several years require different levels of thought.

How can I apply this?

Getting to know Requisite Organization is the first step. Once you understand the basic building blocks of organizational design, you can then fine-tune your organization So that it can execute your strategy. You can define which roles require execution and which ones require innovation, and then fill the roles accordingly using RO principles.

A great way to learn about Requisite Organization is to view the articles on the PeopleFit website, and take their course in Managerial Diagnostics, which is the introductory course for RO.

Happy Innovating!

Jobs stands out as one of the most innovative leaders of our generation. Reportedly a fiery manager at times, his vision and insight into the possibilities of technology is his legacy. Apple, with fewer than 20 core products, has managed to garner about $100 billion in sales over the past 12 months.

How can you apply Steve Jobs’ innovation practices to your firm?

Big Think has broken down the key principles of market domination that Apple used to rise to the top.

Differentiation focuses on standing for something, which makes you stand out. Apple focused on its vision of a computer for everyone, which required simplicity of use. Perfect for education. When you get it right, your ideal prospects will experience love at first sight. You capture their hearts.

Innovation focuses on the product, service, and experience that customers buy. When you innovate around your offerings and create a unique experience for your customers, they are captivated. Apple’s products look different, they’re packaged differently, and they are incredibly easy to use. When you get it right, your ideal prospects will say, “Wow!” You capture their minds.

Communication focuses on the way that you communicate your message to your customers. Steve Jobs is a master communicator, and learned to communicate from the heart first – starting with WHY Apple does things, then getting into WHAT they sell. Simon Sinek calls this the Golden Circle. Apple starts with their desire to challenge the status quo, to create easy to use and beautifully designed products, and then tells what they’re selling. When you get it right, you drive ideal prospects to action. You capture their wallets.

Think like Apple

Put an end to commodity thinking.

Become a market leader.

We believe most companies have an opportunity to redefine their businesses and become market leaders – like Apple. It takes innovative thinking and the ability to connect dots, which is what Big Think is all about.

Big Think moves clients from undifferentiated commodities to distinctive market leaders. We target a 6-12 month ROI.

What If…You could see inside other industries?


We
cross-pollinate ideas from multiple industries to deliver results. ]]> http://www.bigthinkresults.com/rokstories47/feed/ 0 http://www.bigthinkresults.com/rokstories21/ http://www.bigthinkresults.com/rokstories21/#comments Wed, 15 Dec 2010 07:24:42 +0000 Craig Mathews http://www.bigthinkresults.com/?p=523 What If…It’s a powerful question.

Are you ready to start
your revolution? ]]> http://www.bigthinkresults.com/rokstories21/feed/ 0 http://www.bigthinkresults.com/rokstories88/ http://www.bigthinkresults.com/rokstories88/#comments Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:35:40 +0000 Craig Mathews http://www.bigthinkresults.com/?p=498 What If…you stood    apart    from your competition?

We can find your sweet spot. ]]> http://www.bigthinkresults.com/rokstories88/feed/ 0 http://www.bigthinkresults.com/rokstories81/ http://www.bigthinkresults.com/rokstories81/#comments Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:49:48 +0000 Craig Mathews http://www.bigthinkresults.com/?p=460 What If…you could dominate your market?


We make that a reality for our clients.

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