Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.
Babatunde Olatunji
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
It is time to innovate
The economic crisis signals that more of the same will not be enough. The obvious response is to cut cost by reducing head count, cutting down on training, research and development and put the company on pause and hoping for the best.
Meanwhile companies seeks bailout from the government so that they can further extend their inefficiency and obsolete business model. Bail out is of course critical to safeguards jobs and the economy. However I believe the company being bailed out must not be allowed run business as usual and must be forced to renew and innovate themselves to prepare for the next growth cycle.
As for the rest, without a luxury being bailed out by the government, its is indeed time to rest from the routine and explore how to take advantage of the downturn. This includes:
1) hire cheaper talents/interns (part time/full time)
2) take time to learn and experiment
3) reflect and re-energize to prepare for growth
4) use the web 2.0 to innovate
5) collaborate with new partners
6) do barter trading of services
7) explore new markets
8) learn to use less resources
Meanwhile companies seeks bailout from the government so that they can further extend their inefficiency and obsolete business model. Bail out is of course critical to safeguards jobs and the economy. However I believe the company being bailed out must not be allowed run business as usual and must be forced to renew and innovate themselves to prepare for the next growth cycle.
As for the rest, without a luxury being bailed out by the government, its is indeed time to rest from the routine and explore how to take advantage of the downturn. This includes:
1) hire cheaper talents/interns (part time/full time)
2) take time to learn and experiment
3) reflect and re-energize to prepare for growth
4) use the web 2.0 to innovate
5) collaborate with new partners
6) do barter trading of services
7) explore new markets
8) learn to use less resources
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Why is it difficult for us to decide?
Everyday we are faced with the biggest challenge ... decision time.
Why is it so difficult for us to decide?
Which is the best route?
What should we eat?
Where should we go?
When do we stop?
Which is the best?
Sometimes its best to go with the flow and let the emerging circumstances decide.
Throw away the map.
Throw away the travel guide.
Throw away the business plan and let nature takes it course.
Why is it so difficult for us to decide?
Which is the best route?
What should we eat?
Where should we go?
When do we stop?
Which is the best?
Sometimes its best to go with the flow and let the emerging circumstances decide.
Throw away the map.
Throw away the travel guide.
Throw away the business plan and let nature takes it course.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Innovation Phobia
I discovered this phobia in the course of work of exploring and communicating on the virtues of innovation. The very word Innovation conjures fears, unwillingness to probe deeper into its meaning and quickly dismissing that innovation is not for me. Its for the technology people. We don't need innovation here. Our focus is on efficiency.
Why is this the case?
Do we fear uncertainty?
Do we fear chaos?
Or a we stuck in our routine that anything different will render us immobilized!!!
Why is this the case?
Do we fear uncertainty?
Do we fear chaos?
Or a we stuck in our routine that anything different will render us immobilized!!!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Contextual Awarenesess
How aware are we of our surroundings?
The context that we exist in; the past, the present and the possible future.
Only when we are aware of these three elements, are we able to move with the flow.
Act from the core.
In the Japanese martial art Aikido, there is a concept called sen (anticipation) that is crucial to achieve victory. It is the essence of anticipation and control.In Aikido, sen emerges from a mind that is unbound, where one has no preconceived notion.
In the old days, anticipation was categorized into three levels:
Sen - To anticipate and seize the initiative to overcome an opponent.
Sensen no sen - to control the opponent's mind and use that opening to win.
Go no sen - to respond to your opponent's attack by reading them as they occur.
Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate - Chuang Tzu.
Creativity Flow And The Psychology of Discovery and Invention - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
This a great book on the concept of flow and facilitation.
The context that we exist in; the past, the present and the possible future.
Only when we are aware of these three elements, are we able to move with the flow.
Act from the core.
In the Japanese martial art Aikido, there is a concept called sen (anticipation) that is crucial to achieve victory. It is the essence of anticipation and control.In Aikido, sen emerges from a mind that is unbound, where one has no preconceived notion.
In the old days, anticipation was categorized into three levels:
Sen - To anticipate and seize the initiative to overcome an opponent.
Sensen no sen - to control the opponent's mind and use that opening to win.
Go no sen - to respond to your opponent's attack by reading them as they occur.
Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate - Chuang Tzu.
Creativity Flow And The Psychology of Discovery and Invention - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
This a great book on the concept of flow and facilitation.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Courage - Irimi(Enter)
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult - Seneca
Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it- safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary - Cecil Beaton
To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong - Joseph Chilton Pearce
Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it- safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary - Cecil Beaton
To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong - Joseph Chilton Pearce
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Innovation 3.0 - CK Prahalad
A must see video by the global innovation guru on the new age of innovation.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Innovation to the Core
This is a great book by Peter Skarzynski and Rowan Gibson on the fundamentals of innovation. Gary Hamel's influence on this book is very obvious. The book looks at:
- How to rapidly enlarge and enhance your innovation pipeline with breakthrough ideas
- How to systematically innovate across all the components of your business model
- How to dramatically improve the efficiency of your innovation spending
- How to use the power of IT to enable and manage innovation across the enterprise
- How to balance the tension between day-to-day operations and radical innovation
- How to put systems and processes in place, that make innovation self-sustaining
Pause
As things get faster and faster,
More chaos than certainty,
The only choice left is to slow down,
Some time to Pause......
Lets things happen naturally - Azim Pawanchik
It takes a lot of time to be a genius;
You have to sit around so much doing nothing,
Really doing nothing - Gertrude Stein
Every now and then go away, even briefly,
Have a little relaxation,
For when you come back to your work your judgment will be clearer;
Since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power - Leonardo Da Vinci
More chaos than certainty,
The only choice left is to slow down,
Some time to Pause......
Lets things happen naturally - Azim Pawanchik
It takes a lot of time to be a genius;
You have to sit around so much doing nothing,
Really doing nothing - Gertrude Stein
Every now and then go away, even briefly,
Have a little relaxation,
For when you come back to your work your judgment will be clearer;
Since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power - Leonardo Da Vinci
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Blend!Blend!Blend
How do we blend perspectives?
How do we blend needs?
How do we blend ideas?
How do we blend solutions?
How do we be impactful? - Azim Pawanchik
There is nothing new expect what has been forgotten - Marie Antoinette
Creativity seems to emerge from multiple experiences, coupled with a well-supported development of personal resources, including a sense of freedom to venture beyond the known - Loris Malaguzzi
Our life is composed greatly from dreams, from the unconscious, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together - Antonin Artaud
Cinema, radio, television, magazines are school of inattention: people look without seeing, listen in without hearing - Robert Bresson
Thus, the task is not so much to see
what no one yet has seen,
but to think what nobody yet has thought
about that which everybody sees - Schopenhauer
The Medici Effect
Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts & Cultures
- Frans Johansson
This is an excellent book on blending
How do we blend needs?
How do we blend ideas?
How do we blend solutions?
How do we be impactful? - Azim Pawanchik
There is nothing new expect what has been forgotten - Marie Antoinette
Creativity seems to emerge from multiple experiences, coupled with a well-supported development of personal resources, including a sense of freedom to venture beyond the known - Loris Malaguzzi
Our life is composed greatly from dreams, from the unconscious, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together - Antonin Artaud
Cinema, radio, television, magazines are school of inattention: people look without seeing, listen in without hearing - Robert Bresson
Thus, the task is not so much to see
what no one yet has seen,
but to think what nobody yet has thought
about that which everybody sees - Schopenhauer
The Medici Effect
Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts & Cultures
- Frans Johansson
This is an excellent book on blending
Learning to learn
Do we know how to learn?
Do we know how to remember?
Do we know how to use what we know?
Do we know how to find out what we need to know?
Do we do it if we don't know how?
BUILD to LEARN!
The only competitive advantage the company of the future will have is its manager
s' ability to learn faster than the competitors - Arie de Geus
The Learning Organization
In an uncertain world, where all we know for sure is that nothing is sure, we are going to need organizations that are continually renewing themselves, reinventing themselves, reinvigorating themselves. These are learning organizations, the ones with the learning habit.
Without that habit of learning, they will not dream the dream, let alone have any hope of managing it - Charles Handy, Managing the Dream
Do we know how to remember?
Do we know how to use what we know?
Do we know how to find out what we need to know?
Do we do it if we don't know how?
BUILD to LEARN!
The only competitive advantage the company of the future will have is its manager
s' ability to learn faster than the competitors - Arie de GeusThe Learning Organization
In an uncertain world, where all we know for sure is that nothing is sure, we are going to need organizations that are continually renewing themselves, reinventing themselves, reinvigorating themselves. These are learning organizations, the ones with the learning habit.
Without that habit of learning, they will not dream the dream, let alone have any hope of managing it - Charles Handy, Managing the Dream
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Climate Change
How much longer can we continue burning and destroying without thinking of the consequences. We need to learn from nature to use our natural resources wisely - Azim Pawanchik
Nature's Law
Nature runs on sunlight
Nature only uses the energy it needs
Nature fits form to function
Nature recycles everything
Nature rewards cooperation
Nature banks on diversity
Nature demands local expertise
Nature curbs excess from within
Nature taps the power of limits - Janine M. Benyus, Biomimicry
Man is endowed with creativity in order to multiply that which has been given to him; he has not created, but destroyed. There are fewer and fewer forests, rivers are drying up, wildlife has become extinct, the climate is ruined, and the earth is becoming ever poorer and uglier - Anton Chekhov
Nature's Law
Nature runs on sunlight
Nature only uses the energy it needs
Nature fits form to function
Nature recycles everything
Nature rewards cooperation
Nature banks on diversity
Nature demands local expertise
Nature curbs excess from within
Nature taps the power of limits - Janine M. Benyus, Biomimicry
Man is endowed with creativity in order to multiply that which has been given to him; he has not created, but destroyed. There are fewer and fewer forests, rivers are drying up, wildlife has become extinct, the climate is ruined, and the earth is becoming ever poorer and uglier - Anton Chekhov
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Irimi
'Irimi' means enter in Japanese.
- When an attack comes head on, in Aikido we instantaneously slide to the side, enter the opponent's dead angle and avoid the blow.
Go into the unknown, where we are not clear where is the beginning or where is the ending.
What is clear is our intention,
Though we know not how to achieve it yet - Azim Pawanchik
As soon as
The enemy before me
Attacks with his sword
I am already
Standing behind him
When enemies
Rush in to strike
Take one step in
To the side,
And cut deeply! - Morihei Ueshiba
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