Category Archives: Innovation

Examples of small wins innovation.

What do leaders think of small wins innovation?

I gave a half-day workshop yesterday to a future leaders group on small wins innovation. Their reaction was overwhelmingly positive (I know it is self-serving but it was true). The brief from the HR director was to make innovation more accessible and to reinforce the idea that innovation comes in all shapes and sizes. For example, trying to reduce waiting time for a check-out. The problem they face with innovation was two-fold. Firstly they believed that innovation by definition had to be ... Read more

What is a key innovative behaviour?

Creative thinking and innovation success depends on being able to think in a different way. But it is also about behaving in a different way. And one of the key small wins innovative behaviors is searching for new ideas or solutions. Innovation is not a passive process. It is not about hoping for inspiration to strike. Applied creativity and innovation in a commercial setting has time restrictions. In short — you and your team need to search in new places for new solutions. It could ... Read more

What are the differences between incremental & small wins innovation?

I was asked yesterday in a workshop I gave to an Executive MBA group, what are the key differences between incremental and small wins innovation? Here is what I said: How the 2 concepts are similar: – Both deal with small changes – Continuous journey – Quick – Cheaper than big disruptive innovation projects – Frequent But the 2 concepts differ significantly in these areas: – Small wins innovation has a broader scope — the aim of small wins is to ... Read more

What is ‘win – win’ innovation?

My passion (other than world peace) is a concept that I have developed which I call small wins innovation. It’s the idea that innovative thinking can be learned and applied by every leader and team to a series of small challenges across an organisation. By doing so the organisation itself will become a better place to work for the employees and more adaptable and successful. Note the word ‘and.’ Small wins innovation benefits leaders, teams and the business. As I explore ... Read more

How to transfer ideas across different categories or industries?

Many people ask me how can I generate so many ideas? It’s not because I am that clever or creative. I use a tool or framework that i have developed. It’s called — Thinking on 2 levels: Whenever I see a new idea or something that catches my interest I ask myself: What is the core or essence of this idea? And what is the expression of this idea? For example: I took this photo above at a book store whilst I was away on holidays. The core of this idea is that customers might ... Read more

What are the 4 C’s of small wins innovation?

Marketing is built around a framework of 4 P’s (i.e. price, place, product, promotion). Small wins innovation on the other hand is built around what I call the 4 C’s. 1. Capability Small wins has as its starting point the idea that everyone can and should exercise their innovative capability. We adopt the view that this is an organisational-wide capability that can be learned, practiced and improved. And that it can be applied to any activity, by anyone at anytime. 2. Continuous ... Read more

What is ‘Big I’ innovation & ‘little i’ innovation?

Some writers and academics have differentiated between Big C – creativity and little c types. For example, Csikszentmihalyi differentiates between big-C creativity and little-c creativity. ‘The big-C creative person is eminent, a person whose work is well known by people in a particular field. The little-c creative person is not. Big-C creativity leads to the transformation of a domain. Little-c creativity is used in everyday life, as in problem solving.’ This is also a ... Read more

What is Mark Zuckerberg’s small wins goal?

One of the starting points for small wins innovation is for every individual leader to regularly set themselves small goals. Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has just started doing something similar. His goal (after consultation with a Facebook community) is to: “My challenge for 2015 is to read a new book every other week — with an emphasis on learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies.” He has embraced other similar smaller goals such ... Read more

Why surfing is an insightful metaphor for innovation

Surfing! Here’s why. 1. Freedom within limits With surfing there is an almost unlimited scope on a wave to do anything you want. There are no rules. But there are limits. You must have a board, some fitness, arm strength and ideally know how to swim for example. The same with innovation – groups and teams can create almost anything but there are limits in terms of money, time, people, brand values etc. 2. It’s continuous Waves never stop. Nor does our imagination. Leaders ... Read more

How to see new ideas everywhere

I have changed. I used to be on the hunt for and speak glowingly about the need for big ideas. But i had been ignoring the numerous, small, appetising ideas that are all around. So now that I look for and value smaller ideas – I see them everywhere. Experience it for yourself. Walk into into any store or business or organisation and ask yourself – what is one thing these guys do well? What is one small idea I can borrow, adapt or learn from? If you do this every working day you ... Read more