Confusion about when to praise, when to probe, and when to argue with an idea is killing creativity in business. And the scary thing is some of the most innovative tools being put in place to increase the flow of ideas are just as effective at killing the spirit as in the old days of [...]
Posts under ‘Strategic Fire’
Fear, Banking and Bring On The Wolves
Could the current financial crises be explained by a lack of lions, tigers and bears? Could real fear be the key attribute that drives your next success? Ideas from strange places: I found myself asking these questions as I read “Where the Wild Things Were,” a gripping account of predator/prey dynamics.
What Doorways Have You Bricked Over?
Part II: The $20 Million Hurdle.
Rules of thumb often have unintended consequences. Several large organizations I’ve worked for instituted a $20 million in revenue hurdle. (The $ figure was sometimes higher, sometimes lower — but always a significant percentage of existing revenue.) The thought process is pretty straight forward: Why bother with an idea if it can’t make a meaningful [...]
Open Source Banking – Dutch Widening The Crack?
I like the idea of open source banking. Today’s roiling financial markets are creating opportunities for technology and new capital sources to rewrite how money flows. By pushing for an open source model we could end up with advantages driven by transparency, networking, and robust testing of business models. So what happens when banks actually bid on [...]
Are Most Customers Simply Not Cool Enough
For Your Advertising Agency?
Infomercials are the bane of most advertising agencies. We can’t believe the things work. They make the skin crawl with their crass, carnival like sales pitch. …And they work like gangbusters. Years ago, local markets were covered with terrible, grating ads for local car dealerships. Pitches that embarrassed Detroit and Madison Avenue alike. Took the [...]
