Recently, I was teaching a group of nonprofit executives about Almost Impossible Goals and Innovation. One of them said “How am I supposed to get staff to spend time on this when they are already booked 100% on other things they are doing?” The answer, of course, is that you need to give people time away from their current projects to do this. And it is not a popular … [Read more...] about Give Me Some Slack!
innovation
Leading Innovation
As leaders, we all want to support and lead innovation in our organizations. Unfortunately, we can sometimes get in our own way. According to research reported in Harvard Business Review*, leaders can sometimes fall into five different kinds of traps that “derail” them from effectively leading innovation. Here are the traps and how to avoid them: *Unconscious Neglect … [Read more...] about Leading Innovation
Make an Innovation Attitude Adjustment
Experimentation is a backbone for Innovation, yet many organizations do not have a culture that supports it. Thus, they lose out on important opportunities. This is the conclusion of a recent article in Harvard Business Review*, that success in innovation through experimentation is more about culture than understanding complex methodologies to run experiments. Here are … [Read more...] about Make an Innovation Attitude Adjustment
Roar into the ‘20s with a Growth Mindset!
One of our team members had set up a fun lunch activity just before Halloween – decorating pumpkins! My feeling: “I’m just no good at this.” With this reaction, I was exhibiting my Fixed Mindset about my skills and abilities when it comes to Art. I would have to say that I have probably had that mindset since about first grade! In her excellent book, Mindset, which I … [Read more...] about Roar into the ‘20s with a Growth Mindset!
No Risk Strategy
When I share examples of strategies from other organizations with people, I often hear “that sounds risky.” I respond “Absolutely!” There is no such thing as a “no risk strategy.” Certainly some strategies are riskier than others, and we need to be responsible about the amount of risk we take. However, I think that most organizations err on the side of playing it too … [Read more...] about No Risk Strategy