Posts Tagged ‘intentionality’

An innovation wildcard is a team member who is there to add a unique perspective that the rest of the team may not have. This person can be within the organization or pulled from outside. They may have deep expertise in other areas, or they may be new and more likely to question everything. Innovation […]

When you hear the word “constraints,” what creative images and stories does your mind conjure up? The word often leads people toward negative thoughts of confinement, limitations, obstacles, or not getting what you want. With this article, though, I want to talk about useful constraints and how they can encourage creativity and innovation. Common Views […]

People are funny. We reason with ourselves that we want the truth, but we prove time and again that we prefer being lied to. If your gut reaction to that statement is defiance, there is a strong chance that you’re lying to yourself about your own emotions. This article isn’t about the psychology of our […]

The psychology of innovation is like any other area of life where our brains and emotions simply get in the way of our progress. Even when we are aware of the pitfalls, they are unavoidable. Our brains are wired to fall into these traps. I recently wrote a blog post about harmful innovation myths, and […]

It was 2002 when I landed what I considered to be my first real professional job. I was hired by a small advertising agency as a graphic designer, though I mainly got the offer because I also knew how to build websites. At the time, I had not created any principles and would still often […]

“We Should” is Said a Lot I’ve worked at a handful of companies throughout my career. If you split the years out, half of my time has been working within an agency and the other half has been in-house. The agency work has allowed me to see dozens of other companies as well. I’ve been […]

I’ve been using the Eisenhower Quadrants of Productivity with my teams for many years now. You may also hear it called the “Eisenhower Decision Matrix” or the “Eisenhower Box”. It is a method that helps people understand the differences between “urgent” and “important” tasks. You can use it to create principles on how to best […]

The Road to Managing Corporate Innovation I started out at an ad agency in southern Indiana in 2002. Our clients were interested in technology and our agency helped them find their way. At the same time, I was building the web development and digital strategy team within the agency. We began doing things intentionally with […]

Most are familiar with the Five Ws for information gathering: Who, What, When, Where, and Why – adding in How for good measure (making it the Six Ws). Fewer are aware of the Five Whys which is a simplistic method of root cause analysis (RCA). This article explains the Five Whys, also known as a […]

Goal Setting Options Abound There are many ways that businesses set goals, choose priorities, and ensure that their teams are rowing in the same direction. You’ve probably created SMART goals, been asked to use OKRs, watched KPIs, laid out Vision Boards, or updated Kanban Boards. These are all great tools to help keep team alignment. […]

Have you ever said, “We should do this,” …and then you don’t? That is a lack of intentionality. Being Intentional Comes Easy to Some, Hard for Others The differences in people are beautiful – life would be boring otherwise. If you’ve read results from a personality test, you know each personality has its benefits (things […]

So, you’re not the creative type? I have good news! In 4 Harmful Innovation Myths, I explain that creativity isn’t what most people think it is. In this post, I’ll show you how to use simple lateral thinking tools to break your mental block and get fresh ideas flowing again. Intentionality can force important things […]