July 31, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
How to Use the Three Horizons for Future Sensemaking
Plenty of pieces talk about the Three Horizons Framework from a 30k-50k ft level. However, this post will close the gaps and explore potential “tabletop” collaboration tips, templates, and examples to anchor this at a ground zero level. Do you have the capabilities to carry out those bets? Where would you invest your time, money, …
July 31, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
How can we prepare people for a future we cannot predict?
As so many of us are aware, we are living in an era of extreme rapid & continuous change, driven largely by the technological leaps of the Digital Age, impacting exponential shifts in customers needs, priorities, preferences & expectations that affect all of us, no matter what business we are in, or what kind of …
July 30, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
To Solve Complex Problems, You Need A Networked Solution
Every leader tries to keep things simple and predictable. You hire good people, treat them well, give them clear objectives and do your best to stay out of their way. If you do your homework, plan things well and your people execute efficiently, everyt…
July 29, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
One Thing All Successful People Have in Common
I was speaking with a good friend recently and she shared with me something that triggered a thought about what makes people successful and happy. If you’re an innovator, pay close attention, this is especially relevant to you. Stick with me because this is perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned about success and which …
July 29, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
3 Problems With Positioning Statements
The concept of positioning statements has been around for decades, however just because you know what positioning is, doesn’t mean you understand how to do it. The classic positioning statement is a fill-in-the blanks exercise where you create a single phrase that encapsulates what your offering is about relative to your competition. It usually looks …
July 28, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Extreme Collaboration
Collaboration, as a concept, can be used by those seeking control of a culture for their own purposes. If collaboration becomes a form of groupthink or censorship, watch out. I’ve seen many different professional cultures version of collaboration—and have left some feeling as if I were in a governmental public input meeting where very little …
July 27, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Innovation & Artificial Intelligence: Right Here, Right Now!
AI/ML is not just for the FANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Netscape, and Google) but is beginning to be a substantial part of new products in unexpected categories, and is helping established business innovate. But even today, it is impacting how we manage teams and projects, enabling teams to be more efficient and creative. A great …
July 26, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Why Jeff Bezos Has Replaced Powerpoint Presentations in His Meetings with Narrative Memos
Here’s something to consider. The richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, has banned powerpoint in all Amazon meetings. In it’s place? Narrative storytelling. Here’s why. Big thanks to Doug Robinson for the heads up.
Learn how to be a better storyteller
July 26, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
West Stringfellow
I would ask for your consideration of my blog for future posts: https://weststringfellow.com . I have taken my 20 years experience leading innovation projects and teams at firms like Amazon, PayPal, Target, Visa and combined it with 15K hours of bespok…
July 26, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Introduction to the 100 Task Startup playbook
Martin Bell is a global startup advisor, angel investor, and Founder & CEO of Bell Ventures. He was previously with Rocket Internet SE, and helped build, scale, and assess ~50 companies. He came up recently with a new tool for startups, the 100 Task Startup playbook. He kindly accepted to us on a tour to the playbook. …
July 25, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
STORYTELLING FOR THE REVOLUTION now a Book-of-the-Month Club Selection
Good news travels fast! The Institute for Management Studies has just chosen my book, Storytelling for the Revolution, to be their Book-of-the-Month selection for July. Whoo hoo!
Here’s how IMS describes itself:
“Since 1974, IMS has provided its …
July 25, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
26 Most Common Traits Of All Great Leaders (A to Z)
While there may be no single formula for great leadership, the ingredients are always the same. There is no single formula for leadership. My mentor, the father of modern management theory Peter Drucker, once said to me, ” The only thing common among all of the great leaders I have known, is that they all …
July 24, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Barriers to Physician Entrepreneurship
Physician entrepreneurship describes physicians, or other health professionals, pursuing opportunity under conditions of uncertainty with the goal of creating user defined value through the deployment of biomedical and clinical innovation. One way to d…
July 23, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
The Power of Problem Exploration
“‘Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” John Swigert’s famous words, delivered in a voice as calm and clear as the mountain air in his native Denver, Colorado. But to the Apollo 13 mission controllers thousands of miles below in Texas, this fired the starting gun in a race against time. At 3:08 a.m. UTC on April …
July 23, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Swiping the Blank Slate: Accelerate Your Career Success by Jumpstarting Innovative Thinking
By Nurit Shmilovitz-Vardi We’ve all been there. Your manager assigns your next project, handing you the relevant materials along with the following demand: “This needs to be big. I want something different, something that stands out, fresh new ideas—something innovative!”…
July 23, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Driving Digital Strategy to Reimagine Your Business
Recently I had the opportunity to interview Sunil Gupta, the Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he is the chair of the General Management Program and co-chair of the executive program on Driving Digi…
July 22, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
One Simple Interview Question for Hiring Innovators
Anyone can claim to be innovative, but this is what separates those who want to be from those who are. Whether you’re hiring a partner, sizing up a colleague, or just trying to get to know someone, asking a very simple question will tell you more about how innovative the person is than virtually anything …
July 22, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Here’s How You Know Your Industry Is About To Be Disrupted
On his hit HBO show Last Week Tonight, John Oliver pointed to the dangers of corporate consolidation. In a variety of industries today, ranging from airlines to healthcare to even buying a coffin for a funeral, a handful of major players dominate, which allows them to raise prices and restrict consumer choice. Anybody who has flown …
July 21, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
The Bigger the Back End, The Stronger the Backlash
Be careful. When innovation gets real, people react in unpredictable ways. People whom you thought were forward thinking recoil in reactionary conservatism. Others are willing to move a step forward but vigilantly cautious. The more concrete you get in…
July 20, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Innovation in the Balkans – Part II – Dalmatia, Istria, and Bosnia-Hercegovina
This is the second article in a two-part series on innovation in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. My previous article focused on innovation in the northern part of the Balkans, including northern Croatia and Slovenia. This article directs its attention towards the south and west includes coastal Croatia (the regions of Istria and Dalmatia) …
July 19, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Design Thinking Grows Up – Welcome to Experience Thinking
Prologue Design Thinking is an incredibly powerful way to approach the design of just about anything that involves an interaction with people (or other intelligent creatures). Its underlying philosophy of Human Centered Design requires that we develop a comprehensive empathic understanding of the customer and their situation in a particular context. This can only happen …
July 18, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Innovation Labs: open innovation, outside and inside the corporation (4/4)
Innovation labs or rapid innovation centers are developing at fast pace. Hereafter, we prolongate the previous review of Innovation Labs, with an industry point of view. Each archetype can inspire the managers in charge of creating an innovation lab, and arm them to compose their own recipe for success. 4 types of Innovation Labs from an …
July 17, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
If You Plan on Asking an Outside Innovation Consultant for Help
If someone from your company’s leadership team asks you to locate an outside consultant to help your organization raise the bar for innovation, stop for a moment and ask the person asking you to locate an outside consultant to answer the following qu…
July 17, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Do you have an innovation strategy?
A recent article by Juruzelski, Loehr and Holman from Booz Consulting (www.strategy-business.com) noted that there is no statistically significant relationship between financial performance and innovation spending. What’s more, they identified that the two primary elements of innovative companies are 1) a focused innovation strategy, and 2) an corporate culture that is wired for innovation. There …
July 16, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Wisdom within Dichotomy
To create future success, you’ve got to outlaw the very thing responsible for your past success. Sometimes slower is faster and sometimes slower is slower. But it’s always a judgement call. We bite the bullet and run expensive experiments because they’re valuable, but we neglect to run the least expensive thought experiments because they’re too …
July 16, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Three Behaviors that will Grow Innovative Teamwork
Innovative teamwork depends first and foremost on the team’s ability to hold constructive conflict. That ability, in turn, depends on each team member having these 3 behaviors. There are three types of arguments you may be using: First is the politically correct argument, in which the biggest issues are not discussed. There is the meeting before the …
July 15, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make
In business and in life there’s a short game and a long game; never confuse the two! You make dozens of decision every day. Some are quick and nearly irrelevant to your success. Others are crucial to it. So, how do you decide which is which and what do you use as a compass setting …
July 15, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
The Platform Fallacy
It seems like every business discussion today is just counting the seconds before the term “platform” comes up. Books and articles are written, pundits swoon and conference audiences nod and exchange glances in knowing agreement. Everyone, it seems, wants to transform their business into a platform. Yet take the argument to its logical conclusion and …
July 14, 2018 | by Chris Kalaboukis
Belly Button Meeting Tips
We get hired to moderate and facilitate a lot of meetings. Sometimes they are annual strategic workshops. Sometimes they are customer co-creations. They range from strategy to innovation and every combination between the two poles. Some of the most tel…