Category: ‘Innovation’

Social media: are businesses finally growing up, sort of?

September 29th, 2009 by Sam Smith

Ever since the Internet began gaining popular awareness in the mid-1990s, the topic of how businesses can productively use various new media technologies has been a subject of ongoing interest. Along the way we've had a series of innovations to consider: first it was the Net, and the current tool of the moment is Twitter. In between we had, in no particular order, Facebook (not that Facebook has gone away, of course), CRM, mobile (SMS, ... (Read the rest of this entry)

Filed under: Corporate Communications, General Business, Innovation, Marketing, Technology

Harvard Business Publishing: checklist for innovation

June 8th, 2009 by Sam Smith

We've been talking about this very subject lately (Brent's "lemonade" post, my "desperate times" post, last week's note on Balaya, etc.) Now Harvard Business Press has a new book from Scott Anthony that outlines the "innovation checklist."

Does your organization: 1. Recognize today's transformation imperative? 2. Have a handle on the future potential of innovation? 3. Have a process to prudently prune its innovation portfolio on a regular basis 4. Have clear consensus on the 1-3 top growth opportunities? 5. Always
... (Read the rest of this entry)

Filed under: General Business, Innovation

Balaya: a nice success story in innovation marketing

June 5th, 2009 by Sam Smith

It's great to see your friends succeed. It's even greater to see your former students succeed. But it's unbeatable when a friend who happens to be a former student knocks one out of the park. I can't take much credit for Seth Michalak's success, because he was pretty bright long before he became my student a few years ago. But as his friend, I can sure as heck take pleasure when his hard work and innovation ... (Read the rest of this entry)

Filed under: General Business, Innovation

Lemons, lemonade and generating big ideas in tough times

May 5th, 2009 by Brent Abrahm

You've heard the saying: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. If it's true, then there have been very few moments in our lifetimes better suited for building lemonade stands. The media often avoids the term "recession," but we are certainly in the midst of one. For those of you who remember the downturn in the late '70s and early '80s, some pundits are saying this is not as deep a recession as we faced ... (Read the rest of this entry)

Filed under: General Business, Innovation