Failing by Design
Whether you're launching a new business, creating a new product, or developing a new technology, one of the best tools for learning is failure. This isn't to suggest that failure is a good thing. Failure can waste money, destroy morale, infuriate customers, damage reputations, harm careers, and sometimes lead to tragedy. Failure is inevitable in uncertain environments, and, if managed well, it...
Read MoreThe Innovator's Way: Essential Practices for Successful Innovation
The Innovator's Way: Essential Practices for Successful Innovation Peter J. Denning and Robert Dunham The ruling buzzword in business today is innovation. Technology companies invest billions in developing new gadgets. Business leaders see innovation as a key to gaining a competitive edge. And policymakers craft regulations to foster a climate of innovation. And yet, businesses report a...
Read MoreInnovating on the Cheap
Everyone knows that innovation is essential to a company's long-term success. But even in the best of times, innovation investments can be painful. Typically, success rates are low, and returns on investment are far from assured. That makes spending money on innovation hard to justify in a down economy. Even when cash is tight, businesses don't have to stop innovating. Fortunately, it is...
Read MoreLittle Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries
Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries Peter Sims Most creative professionals and entrepreneurs have one trait in common: They make a series of little bets about what might be a good direction, and then learn from minor failures and small wins that allow them to arrive at extraordinary outcomes. By contrast, the majority of people believe they have to...
Read MoreHow Companies Win: Profiting From Demand-Driven Business Models No Matter What Business You're In
How Companies Win: Profiting From Demand-Driven Business Models No Matter What Business You're In Rick Kash & David Calhoun For the past 20 years, the growth formula for business has been to increase revenues by expanding product offerings and streamlining supply. But today, in a time of recession and digitization, the new challenge is to locate and capture "pools of high-profit demand." How...
Read More