20Feb 2012 by aryask@gmail.com

Just curious

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Curiosity is the medium of play and how we create meaning in life. As children, there are no bounds to our curiosity. We are wired for play and exploration. From the very beginning, the human qualities that drive innovation are breaded within our bones. As we grow older, society kicks in and our thinking gets tinkered by what is socially acceptable, what would get noticed, or what would make money. Sometimes we see the passion for meaning and happiness dry out in people because they are stuck in thoughts of comparison and reputation. Extraordinary artists, like Steve Jobs or Picasso, live with the passion they were born with and think in their own terms to make what they want to make. We are all born leaders with the same capacity…
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01Feb 2012 by aryask@gmail.com

Making the strategic leap for innovation

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Innovation is the seed of growth and involves a dynamic interplay between social creativity and business strategy. In order to build a strong team or organization these two forces must be complimentary otherwise innovation will fail no matter how many books you read or people you consult with to help you innovate. You must make space for your people’s ingenuity to shine and give them freedom to be entrepreneurial within the organization. In essence, the leadership work is to create the environment where new ideas can take off, no matter where they emerge in the organization. Strategy shapes the work environment so take a look at your own framework and determine if there is room for breakthrough thinking. 3M dedicates 30% of sales revenues in its four year projections to…
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02Jan 2012 by aryask@gmail.com

Innovation for dummies

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Innovation is fuzzy language. It’s an abstract concept for most people. In basic terms, it is an act of exploration and discovery. It is a daily practice of courage and mindfulness to see the world as it is, take imaginative leaps into the future, and take smart risks for implementing appropriate solutions. In The Innovator’s DNA, Clayton Christenson and his colleagues conducted research on innovative people and firms (Amazon, Google, Apple, etc.) and concluded that the top skills for mastering disruptive innovation are observing, questioning, associating, experimenting, and networking. Anyone looking to create any sort of change would be engaged in these activities to some degree. This is basic sense. As children we do these things naturally, it is ingrained into who we are, but as we grow older we…
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29Dec 2011 by aryask@gmail.com

Innovation starts in the trenches

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Change is an inherent quality of innovation, but is also about appreciating the complexity of what is without the incessant need to change it. IDEO, a global innovation firm, applies a technique called design thinking which begins any innovation effort by empathizing with people and asking them questions. Designers do not jump the gun on gathering ideas too soon, but rather they explore the reality of what people are seeing and how they are feeling, and then defining the scope of the problem that they want to tackle. Paul Polak, inventor and author of End of Poverty, suggests that in order to alleviate poverty we must go to where the action is, talk to the people who are affected, and really understand the root cause of the situation. Otherwise wanting…
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