BLOG INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Innovation Conundrum
As business leaders, we seek growth and competitive advantage. Innovation is a key lever to help us get there. Unfortunately, I often hear executives frame it this way: “We need more innovation across the organization. And, of course, failure is not an option.” There is a conflict inherent in that statement.
Top 10 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs
For more than a decade, I have maintained a list of the top 10 traits that define the mindset of successful entrepreneurs: How they think, how they are wired, where they set priorities.
"The Entrepreneurial Mindset" (cover article for Strive Magazine)
How do entrepreneurs think? What distinguishes the best entrepreneurs and innovators from the rest? Originally published as the cover article for Strive Magazine, January 2019 For the past 30 years, I’ve pursued the answer to this question: “What distinguishes the best entrepreneurs and innovators from the rest of us?”
Winners and Losers in the Age of Automation (Video)
The so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us. Computers make decisions on their own and their logic now evolves and improves without human intervention. Robots operate independently. Our homes and cars and cities are increasingly connected and automated. The definition of “reality” blurs when we add the suffixes “virtual” or ‘augmented.”
Innovation and Entrepreneurship in... Austria
Several months back I was invited by the Austrian Foreign Ministry to join a group of innovators and entrepreneurs from around the world for a week-long program in Vienna.
“The Trump Effect” and Impacts on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Whatever your political orientation or where you are in the world, 2017 in the USA has certainly gotten off to a most interesting start. Since the election of Donald Trump, almost every executive, entrepreneur, official and policy group I’ve met with has asked my view on the business and economic implications of the new administration.
"Act like entrepreneurs, but not like the brave ones."
Scott Adams, my friend and former classmate - and a current great mentor and supporter of startups - at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, nails it again. His comic strip Dilbert is spot on when it comes to the manner in which so many corporate pronouncements are handed down and received, and how dysfunctional so many corporate cultures become.
How Innovative Leaders Operate With a Startup Mindset (video)
I recently sat down with our Thought Leadership team at Haas and discussed the concept - and state of being - of having an entrepreneurial mindset. What does that mean for entrepreneurs, as well as leaders inside large enterprises who are seeking to drive innovation, growth and change? How do these types of leaders think and act? In this podcast I delve into these issues in some depth. And - as you might expect - I also address the role of failure and how leaders deal with it as a key element.
How to Be an Entrepreneur in a Big Enterprise - and Succeed!
I often give talks about - and recently led a series of discussions on - how to "Develop a Startup Mindset." Coming out of those are several articles, including the below piece from our Center for Executive Education at UC Berkeley Haas, and an executive education course called The Start-Up Mindset (register by February 2, 2017).
My WSJ "C-Suite Strategies" article how great CEOs drive innovation and growth
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article I wrote with my UC Berkeley and Princeton colleague John Danner. The article is entitled: "How Not to Flunk at Failure" and builds on the work we did for our recent book: “The Other “F” Word: How Smart Leaders, Teams and Entrepreneurs Put Failure to Work”
Changing the "Static Quo" in Your Organization - a recipe for leaders and teams
Instead of calling the work reality we each deal with every day the “status quo,” perhaps it would be better referred to as the “static quo.” That’s because change is hard, and many organizations seem to be set up to stifle innovation and hinder change wherever possible. All this despite the loud and frequent proclamations of organization leaders about driving innovation and growth.
Failure-Savvy Leadership
What is failure-savvy leadership?
It’s the recognition that some leaders and organizations have the ability create more productive relationships with failures when they do happen. These enlightened leaders and their teams extract insights from failures to drive more innovation and faster growth, and to create more engaged employees and team members.
"Entrepreneurship is a team sport," and other launch tips in Entrepreneur Magazine
Entrepreneurship is a team sport. Here's an excerpt from the full article entitled 5 Things You Must Do to Successfully Launch a Business , which ran in both print and online at Entrepreneur Magazine: