Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney

Resuming our Best of Killer Innovation Series, we hone in on six categories of essential KPIs that will help you successfully predict and keep track of crucial details that will allow you to run your organization smoothly. This episode addresses questions from listeners on innovation KPIs.  After clocking 12,000 miles in the mobile Innovators Studio, I'm back in Colorado.  On the road, I talked with interesting innovators and analysts. Taking a break from interviews, I'd like to answer your questions on measuring innovation success. There are hundreds of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure innovation success. What are the right innovation KPIs to use?  What KPIs will give insight into the innovation process?   KPIs should be unique to your organization.  Think through what KPIs will measure and how that can guide innovations and your organization. KPI Building Blocks I've broken innovation KPIs into categories, like building blocks.  Build up the blocks to get a complete perspective on your innovation effort. Six categories for Innovation KPIs: Idea process /managing the idea funnel What's done to get ideas, put them in a funnel, review, manage and analyze them? Raw ideas Raw ideas validated Ideas prototyped Age of ideas Idea commercialization Innovation idea brought to market. Innovations that became a product Innovations that make a profit Are early customers willing to pay a margin premium? Innovations purchased resources in the organization aligning to make the product a reality? Financial impact Tough to measure – long lag from the time of investment to product launch in the market Revenue from new innovations Profit from innovations Revenue protected by patents Revenue from patent licensing Customer impact Customer success compared from old products to new innovation What has the latest product allowed customers to achieve? How many customers have shifted to new ones? Market share trend for innovation – grabbing from competitors? Organizational impact New products/services have an impact Can pull organization into the new category of focus The ratio of sales from old versus new – sales ramping up for further/declining for old? The ratio of profit from old versus new Investments – Is investment shifting from old to new? Rate of return on innovation investment Has it driven brand awareness? Pure Innovation KPIs Catch-all Staff trained for innovation Use of formal creativity tool Implementation and use of Idea Management System Structured problem-solving tools Committed resources to innovation Patents/year Guidance Pick three to five essential KPIs from each category that work for your organization. Ensure you can measure them. Validate KPIs that drive the correct behaviorand achieve the desired outcome. Test/adjust KPIs as needed. Share with the community. We'd love your feedback.  What do you think about the five-minute focus in the last segment of today's show? Like what you hear?  Leave us a comment or review where you listen to the show. We post on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.  Follow us on your favorite social media site. To learn more about KPIs, listen to this week's show: The Best of Killer Innovations: Essential KPIs. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

Sometimes, life surprises us with moments of reflection. I remember vividly having a captivating conversation with a taxi driver. While stuck in traffic on my way to the airport after hosting a South by Southwest meet-up on neural diversity hiring, he curiously asked about the key to my success. His question inspired me to jot down my 7 rules to live by. Continuing with the Best of Killer Innovations, I share them with you in the hope that they'll assist you in achieving personal and professional triumphs. My 7 Rules to Live By Stay connected to the people who matter most. Keep in touch personally, not just electronically. Nurture deep relationships with loved ones. Listen more, talk less. Be genuinely interested in others, actively listen, and ask questions—end conversations by offering help. Make commitments you're genuinely committed to. Don't make false promises. If you can't deliver, be honest and find alternative solutions. Don't get caught up in credit. Credit will find its rightful owner. Embrace teamwork and acknowledge others' contributions. Acknowledge and encourage others. Success is a result of collective effort. Express gratitude and provide words of encouragement. Handle criticism with compassion. Pause before responding. Count to ten or wait a day. Choose compassion over rudeness. Seek advice before reacting. Set priorities based on the “5 Fs.” Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness, and Finance. Filter demands based on these priorities. Now that you have my 7 rules to live by, create your own set to achieve personal and professional success. Before you start, let me just tell you one thing: success is personal, so your set of rules should be, too. Think about what matters to you, what principles guide you, what values you hold dear. Create a set of rules that aligns with them. And don't forget to make them actionable, measurable, and realistic. Remember, these rules to live by are not a one-time thing. They're a continuous practice that helps you grow, learn, and become a better version of yourself. To learn more about rules to live by, listen to this week's show: The Best of Killer Innovations: 7 Rules to Live By. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

Picking up with our Best of Killer Innovation Series, we delve deeper into the art of making ideas reality by following a proper execution plan. In this episode, we wrap up a series of shows we did on the innovation framework known as FIRE. We will discuss the part of the innovation framework known as execution. Execution is composed of making your best ideas into something tangible. Execution I have used the FIRE (Focus, Ideation, Ranking, Execution) framework for over 20 years, and thousands of organizations use it. Focus is defining where your problem area is. Ideation is the process of creating ideas to address your problem areas. The process consists of individual and team ideation, which, when combined, generates 30% more ideas than when done individually. Ranking is where you prioritize your ideas. This process is through dot/wow voting and criteria ranking. Execution, the last element of the FIRE framework, is how one turns ideas into innovation—done through two phases: testing and validation and launching the MVP (Minimum viable product). Execution is not easy. 92% of CEOs say innovation is critical to their organization, but only 35% have confidence in executing these ideas. What to Expect In my opinion, innovation consists of ideas made real. I constantly repeat one quote: “Ideas without execution are a hobby, and I'm not in the hobby business.” At this point, you've ranked your ideas, but need to figure out how to make these ideas a real innovation. Going into this, you won't know all of the answers. Expect a very messy process because there might not be a clear path from point A to point B. It would help if you were adaptable and ready to learn things. It would be best if you innovated around the idea frequently. Be okay with an unexpected outcome, as the process is an experiment. Innovation projects have to be measured differently than a typical product development project. One of the measurements of success is learning throughout the process. Stay away from innovation antibodies. Innovation causes conflict, prompting these antibodies to come out. These include ego response (stepping on someone's toes), fatigue (people who have tried and failed at it before), no risk response (CFO or legal counsel), and comfort response (we don't need to change). Steps of Execution The first step to making an idea real is creating the pitch. The pitch is your way of telling the story around your idea, also known as strategic storytelling. The key is to tell your idea's story so that others see what life will be like when your idea is delivered. The second step is to create the funnel. There are four funnel gates: market validation, customer validation, limited launch, and global launch. The key here is to convey that not all ideas will go forward. Market validation is where you ask if the problem exists. One way to do this is through gorilla idea validation. Talk to people you don't know to get brutally honest feedback rather than people you know who might tell you what you want to hear. Customer validation is where you see if your idea solves the customer's problem. I use the Michelle test. I would take a product we built at HP, bring it home, and leave it on the counter for my wife. She would take it out of the box and use it, giving it her honest evaluation. Because my wife is not a technology person, I would receive some solid feedback from a different perspective. A limited launch is where you launch in a limited space. I use the buy test to build and advertise a product, putting it into retail stores like a launch. When people try to buy it, you give it to them for free in return for their feedback. Global launch is where you put your pedal to the metal and push the product out. At this point, you've gone through all of the steps and should have confidence in your product's success. Making Ideas: Reality This week's show focused on taking all of your ideas and making them a reality. Many innovators have great ideas but struggle to find funding. There could be an issue with their pitch. Learn and readjust the pitch and understand all the elements that go into it. When Steve Jobs and Apple worked on the iPhone, the product was ready three years before the launch. They knew they needed to wait for a faster processor and another generation of touch screens. They had the discipline and patience to stay, which paid off in the long run. I used the lean canvas to help my team stay on track and focused. The innovation lean canvas is in place of a typical plan. It is an overview of the critical areas at a glance, which frequently updates as the product evolves. Check out the Disruptive Ideation Workshop here to teach your team the FIRE framework. If you are interested in learning more about execution or want information from previous shows, check out all the free downloadable material I put together here. To learn more about the art of making ideas reality, listen to this week's show: The Best of Killer Innovations: The Art of Making Ideas Reality. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

Returning to our Best of Killer Innovations series, we kick this week off with a look back at vital innovation skills. This foundation can help beginner and seasoned innovators stay ahead in an evolving world. What innovation skills are needed to create new ideas and products successfully? Many people often find themselves void of creativity in the innovation world. This stems from a deeper issue. We dive into more detail to discover what innovation skills separate those with limited success from those with continual success. The skill sets that can allow you to be successful no matter your organization type, size, or geographical location all have the same foundational elements. Self-Confidence in Creativity The number one skill set I have discussed is self-confidence in your creativity. We were all born highly creative. From an early age, the education system drives creativity out of us. Grade school through college teach children conformity, instilling the belief that acting the same is crucial to relevance. Then, in our professional careers, we are expected to think differently, be more creative, and generate solutions despite sixteen or more years of being drilled in conformity. It's no myth that CEOs recruit creativity. Creativity drives innovation. It's a catalyst for growth in a business. If you are not exercising your creativity and unlocking its potential, you could become irrelevant because of conformity. Bravery Another essential skill set is bravery. The opposite of innovation bravery is conformity. You need to go out and apply your creativity. Share your thoughts and ideas. Take some risks. Try something you haven't done before. The fear and feeling of failure a detrimental mind block because it holds us back and kills our bravery. You have to get over the fear of failure to be brave. Step out, get permission, or permit to go, and fail. Go out, experiment, test the limits, break the norm, and be brave. Seeing with Fresh Eyes One vital skill set that gets harder to use as you get more experienced and set in your ways is your perspective. Seeing with fresh eyes and having a beginner's mind will guide you to develop breakout products and services. Don't let your area of expertise cloud your vision but come into every new project with an attitude of openness. Every year of experience in your area of expertise can enable you to become more and more closed off to different approaches or new opportunities if you are not careful. By adopting an open-minded approach, you can avoid getting caught up in a limiting cycle of repetitive groupthink. Ability to Craft & Ask Great Questions How does one get creative thoughts and ideas flowing? The answer is by asking questions. Questions hold great power. They get people thinking. There are simple ‘yes' or ‘no' questions, leading questions, and questions you craft to discover. The power of creating and collecting your questions is critical in the innovation world. It will help you develop new ideas and eliminate problems. Coming in as a new leader, I crafted four questions to gain a unique insight. Creating these questions is vital to deriving input from your team, vendors, partners, leaders, and potential beneficiaries of your idea. Continually developing different ways of asking a question can generate unique discoveries. For instance, if I ask you, “What is half of thirteen?” and you respond, “Six and a half,” I would give you an ‘A' on a math test, but in innovation, I would give you a ‘C.' Why? The reason is that you stopped at the first obvious answer. What if I craft the question slightly differently and ask how many ways you can convey half of thirteen? There are more ways than one, and how creative you can get would surprise you. To help, I've crafted a card deck that asks questions from various angles to challenge you to think differently. Learning how to reword questions and uniquely ask them will give you a skill that generates new insights. The power of questions is critical in the innovation game. Begin creating, crafting, and collecting your questions today. Dealing with Innovation Antibodies One skill we need, but tend to overlook, is the ability to deal with innovation antibodies. When operating in the world of innovation, opposition often occurs. People may feel threatened by your idea for one reason or another. These people act as innovation antibodies, attacking your idea. How do you deal with this issue? No matter where you are in innovation, you will encounter different responses and have to learn to work through them. Here are the types of responses you will need to work through: Ego Response– The jealousy of your idea comes from an authority position. Share some of the idea/give credit to get around these people Fatigue Response– “I've tried that before.” Treat them as an adviser to help your idea No-Risk Response – “That's too risky.” Empathize with them and take risks seriously Comfort Response –”We don't need change. We're doing good.” Show them that things will not be good forever Have you dealt with an innovation antibody in your organization? What category would you put them in? Do others call you an innovation antibody? If so, what type are you? Innovation Attitude An essential skill set vital to success is an innovation attitude permeating your culture. I use the following easy-to-remember acronym CARE to keep an innovative outlook. C – Candor – freely share your creative thoughts and ideas with others. Be respectful but be honest and encourage openness among yourselves and others. Invite them to act as an innovation antibody, even on your ideas. If you don't share your thoughts and ideas, they don't become genuine innovations—they have zero value. A – Action – Act on ideas that will impact your organization. Take charge to enable progress and lean in. Provide solutions to issues both big and small regardless of if it is your idea. Don't let good ideas become stale simply because it wasn't your idea. Instead, please take action to drive them forward. R – Risk – Understand the uncertainty and risk of trying new ideas. Take calculated risks or act on perceived threats. Get rid of perceived risks—many are not real risks. Learn from experiments and calculated risks. Understand how to manage risks and push forward. E – Empower – Trust yourself and others to make a difference. Feel like you are empowered and have permission. Empower others and encourage leaders to empower—enable permission. Let's connect; I am on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. If we do connect, drop me a note and let me know. The email address is feedback@philmckinney.com, or you can go to PhilMcKinney.com and drop me a message there. If you are looking for innovation support, go to TheInnovators.Network or want to be challenged to develop the next big idea? Check out our Disruptive Ideation Workshops. Don't forget to join our Innovators Community to enjoy more conversations around innovation. To learn more about the ingredients for innovation success, listen to this week's show: The Best of Killer Innovations: Six Vital Innovation Skills. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

Resuming our Best of Killer Innovation series, we look at key ingredients to build innovation success for organizations. The Innovation Success Formula Innovation is about translating ideas into products, services, and solutions. Ideas without execution are a hobby.  Is your organization in the business of Innovation? This episode boils it down to a simple equation. Ideas + Innovation Culture = Innovation Success.  The process starts with ideas and the management of them.  But ideas won't develop and thrive without the right culture.  Core Attributes are about setting the basis for Innovation Culture.  When you set up a good system of gathering ideas and lay a foundation for an innovation culture, innovation success ensues. Creating Order from the Brainstorm of Ideas The process starts with ideas coming from many sources.  Then comes the question of how to manage your ideas.  How do you log, track and rank them?  Where are your ideas today in the innovation lifecycle?  What about all the brainstorming sessions over the last few years… could you quickly put your hand on the list of those ideas?  Ideas have value over time. The Idea Management System, Step By Step If you believe ideas are the economy's currency, you need to manage ideas as a valued asset for innovation success.  Treat ideas as valuable asset. What's needed in an idea management system? Idea capture and tracking It is an easy way to put ideas in the system, track them over time, evaluate them, and link them to other ideas that could grow into something significant. Done by people on the innovation team but also open to other people in the organization who can submit an idea easily – have one place to look for all assets Idea evaluation – some form of an idea evaluation tool that allows management to assess and look at ideas more closely Does everyone in the organization look at it and vote Use a ranking process like F-Focus, I-Ideation, R-Ranking, E-Execution Crowdsource feedback The system must allow for Ad Hoc Team Collaboration As people submit an idea, people can search the system to see if someone has a similar idea across the organization – can team up, combine efforts and areas of expertise Social hub of Innovation within an organization Get better ideas – cross-organizational efforts – collaborations that generate exciting ideas Supports whatever your organization's process is for Innovation The tool needs to match today's and even tomorrow's process Track ideas through the gating process your organization uses Follows phases of Innovation used A lot of tools out there that force you to follow their process – be careful – you need a tool that follows your process. Needs to support pausing ideas The difference between a good idea and a great idea is not about the idea.  It's about the timing. Market, customer, organization, and government regulations are not ready for many reasons. The key is you always need the ability to pause the idea – capture it so that you can pause and pull out an idea later when the timing is right Ability to issue challenges Don't run an idea management system like an electronic suggestion box – ideas will become incremental For breakthrough ideas, issue challenges: carefully worded questions, problems, and areas of interest put out to the general population with some form of incentive for spending time thinking about ideas/approaches that will answer or solve that in the form of ideas Well-constructed challenges (problem statement) generate a wealth of good ideas Gets org thinking – signaling where the org is going, what the direction of org is My Experience With These Tools Without a system or tool, you are lost You have to treat them as a valuable asset Don't restrict access to the tool Open it up to 100 percent of your organization You have to trust your employees Promote your tool Get people to engage on the tool providing their feedback This becomes the mechanism by which ideas are trained and tracked Promote constantly and consistently Close the loop with the idea submitters If someone submits an idea, they need to hear back Give them feedback Think about applying some form of gamification Make it fun Please give them a point or scoring system Core Attributes When I took over a new role as CEO, I set out a hundred-day plan looking at the organization and figuring out what made it tick.  I spent a significant amount of time doing one on one interviews with all the key stakeholders.  I asked them four questions: What should we preserve? What should we stop doing? What is it that you most hope I do? What do you expect I do not do? Ninety-five percent of employees feared that the new CEO would not change anything.  They understood that some things needed to be changed for the company to flourish.  I realized that I had to build the core attributes from scratch. So, how do you do that?  The key is to help everyone understand why core attributes are so important.  What is it the team wants the organization to become?  Core attributes articulate what you stand for.  The ones we came up with are: We need to be passionate We think big and bold We are fast and agile We are a team We unlock individual potential We lead by example We are resourceful Once you have captured this, you are ready to start the process.  Having the list is the beginning of the process. The senior executives must own this; the senior executives must always control this. We must manage the process to get everyone on board with the innovation culture.  It communicates the process and displays the core attributes.  Instead of telling people these are the core attributes, we published them and invited people to come in as part of group sessions. Core Attributes Impact Innovation Success We collected a list of core attributes employees liked and helped brainstorm recommendations for the executive team about how we could live it.  We have included core attributes in our performance management.  Employees are assessed on those core attributes at the end of the year.  The impact on the organization was beyond anything I expected.  It is not a static and never-ending process but develops a practical framework for an innovation culture that drives success. To learn more about the ingredients for innovation success, listen to this week's show: The Best of Killer Innovations: Key Ingredients for Innovation Success. 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Continuing our Best of Killer Innovations series, we focus on finding creative inspiration and incorporating creativity into all aspects of life. Creativity is a state of mind that can be achieved with practice, enabling you to stand out as an innovator. Everyone is creative.  Yet some people seem more creative than others.  What do those people have that others might lack?  What's the secret to creativity? This week we talk about finding creative inspiration outside of work.  I'll share my thoughts on what makes people creative. We'll also hear Kym McNicholas interview Tania Katan.  Tania has just come out with a book called Creative Trespassing: How to Put the Spark and Joy into Your Work and Life. Finding Inspiration Humans use creativity every day to solve complex issues.  Some people are more creative than others in problem-solving.  How do these people manage to stay ahead of everyone else creatively?  First, these people are inspired. Find something piques your interest and drives you to go above and beyond, experiment, and learn.  You can find creative inspiration even at work. If you are passionate about your work, you are feeding your creativity. Practicing Creativity Another common denominator of creative people is that they practice creativity.  People do not just wake up already skilled at something. They have to practice it until they have mastered it.  Practice can be defined as two things: To do repeated exercises for proficiency To pursue a profession actively There is a myth that you can't practice creativity and innovation.  You can practice and become proficient. There are many ways to exercise your creative abilities.  There are exercises for the daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly practice of creative skills. Talking Creative Inspiration with Tania Katan Tania Katan shares with Kym McNicholas how people's creativity in their personal life can enhance their work.  Her book, Creative Trespassing: How to Put the Spark and Joy Back into Your Work and Life, examines the impact of bringing personal creative exercise into the workplace. Tania wrote this book because she saw a disconnect between people's creativity and what they did at their jobs during the day. Tania says that if you are looking for innovation, you must bring your creativity to your job.  We could solve problems with innovation if we put our creativity to work. The book contains exercises called “Productive Disruptions” throughout. These are creativity breaks. Stanford's study was called the “Walking Creativity Study.” This proved that people who went for walks experiencing creative blocks experienced 60 percent higher creativity afterward.  Disruptions and breaks are scientifically proven to help improve creativity. Many people don't enhance creativity because they don't have the right experience or training.  We must break through that barrier and ask “what if” questions. Stop trying to solve problems the same way and try creativity. Some of the most significant takeaways from the book are: Our job does not have to be uniquely creative for us actually to be creative. We must feel free at the workplace to create a creative revolution inside our bodies, minds, and cubicles. One of the biggest roadblocks to creativity is the fear of thinking and doing things differently. The best way to get through that obstacle is to face it. To learn more about finding creative inspiration, listen to this week's show: The Best of Killer Innovations: Finding Creative Inspiration. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

Picking up our Best of Killer Innovations series, we examine in detail FOBO and how to overcome mental barriers that can hinder innovation. The fear of a better option (FOBO) can paralyze decision-making. It is also the enemy of innovation.  In this episode, I share four ways to deal with FOBO. FOBO versus FOMO What is it that causes that hesitation at decision time? Patrick McGinnis calls it FOBO: the Fear of a Better Option. Patrick describes it as “paralyzed at the prospect of actually committing to something, out of fear that we might choose something that was not the perfect option.” The result is that you get stuck in analysis paralysis and never decide. The sister term to FOBO is FOMO, the Fear of Missing Out. If you miss out, you will not have that one magic piece of data that will give you perfect information. So, our fear of missing out feeds our fear of a better option. The result is saying “yes” to everything. I used to say “yes” to every request to speak or teach, no matter the impact on myself or my family. When you combine FOBO with FOMO, you can be afraid of doing anything. That is FODA, the paralysis that turns into a fear of doing anything. What I had to learn was to say “no.” Breakthrough came when a newspaper article about me forced me to go public with a secret that fed my imposter syndrome. I deal with FOMO by creating criteria for myself that help me prioritize the requests for my time and attention. FOBO in Innovation For innovation, deciding to move forward on an idea to commit to resources, such as people and money, is ripe for FOBO. A leader has hesitated to give a team the green light on a project because they are not yet convinced it is the best/perfect idea. No idea is a perfect idea. FOBO could mask a more general fear of failure. But not deciding means zero chance of an innovative idea. The primary objective is to innovate and to do that. It would be best if you tried your ideas. Come to terms with the fact that most of your ideas will fail.  FOBO, fearing a better option, is the enemy of innovation. It is the tool antibodies will use to brush off your ideas. FODA (the Fear of Doing Anything) When you combine FOBO and FOMO, you can find yourself paralyzed, not wanting to commit to anything. This is FODA, the Fear of Doing Anything. It would be best if you learned to be decisive. Here are four ways to deal with FOBO and not get caught in the trap of FODA: The Ask and Watch method. Patrick McGinnis says to whittle your decision to two options. Assign each item to either the left or right side of your watch. Look down and see where the second hand is at the moment. Taking the final decision when you have two good options out of your control releases you from doubt. Criteria method. Create a clear criterion that works for you. Mine are the Five F’s: Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness, and Finances. Score requests on your time against your list of criteria. The Innovation = Ranking method. With innovation, use your funnel and ranking process to create a list of “next best ideas.” These are the ideas based on their ranking score from the FIRE framework. With the ranked lists of your ideas, force a decision that says something like each quarter, and we will fund the idea with the highest score. The Trust but Verify method. Apply the old Ronald Reagan maxim, “Trust your decision but verify.” If the decision is not delivering the result you expected, then adjust. These four ways to deal with FOBO will help you be aware of your FODA and change.  We will never have perfect information and, therefore, will never make the ideal decision.  So, make your decision and move on. To learn more about the fear of a better option, listen to this week's show: The Best of Killer Innovations: Dealing with FOBO (Fear of A Better Option). RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

Returning to our best of Killer Innovations series, we dive into the importance of reading for the innovator and some stimulating books to stir up your creativity. Building a library of inspiration in your innovation studio ensures you have a ready source of ideas. This inspiration library can come in the form of a collection of innovative books. I am a visual learner, so reading books is where I often find my inspiration. I will walk you through some essential books and explain why I value them. My Design Innovation Books The first book is “Frank Lloyd Wright: A Visual Encyclopedia.” I grew up in Chicago, where the author started and became famous. Personally, this book reminds me to create my style. Frank Lloyd Wright separated himself from others. He developed his style and put a different spin on the design of his buildings. The next book is called “A Pattern Language” by a professor at UC Berkeley, Christopher Alexander. Used by the original Sims game developers, the author breaks down patterns found by building houses, cities, and other buildings. While you can't apply what is in this book and apply it directly to a product or service, the book teaches an important idea. You can generate a certain feeling or experience through your patterns and designs. “Designing Interactions” by Bill Moggridge is the third innovation book in my library of inspiration. The author focuses on designing experiences and offers important insights into the origins of Google and others. The fourth book on my list touches on what to do with design, where problems can occur, and how to avoid them. It is “The Universal Principles of Design” by William Lidwell. My Creative Innovation Books The fifth book is “Thinker Toys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques” by Michael Michalko. In my opinion, this is a book that every innovator should have. The book brings together tools, approaches, ways to brainstorm, uses of SCAMPER, etc., that are very useful for innovators. Pretty much anything that Michael puts out, I buy. Another book is “Six Thinking Hats” by Dr. Edward de Bono.” His TV show on PBS introduced me to the innovation and creativity space when I was a kid. Over six or seven shows, Dr. de Bono, taught viewers about unleashing their creativity, which sparked something inside me. The book is a great reminder to change your perspective and keep a fresh mind and is a great piece to have in your library of inspiration. Fun Books I Keep Now I will share with you some fun books I keep that make me laugh. The first is “The World's Worst Inventions: The Craziest Gadgets and Machines Ever Made” by Jack Watkins. This book discusses some inventions that have been deemed stupid by many. Ironically, some of these inventions have gone on to be successful after this book was published. The next book is “Fail Harder: Ridiculous Illustrations of Epic Fails” by Failblog.org Community. This book humorously discusses human failings and reminds us of our human nature. To learn more about creating your inspiration library, listen to this week's show: The Best of Killer Innovations: My Innovation Library. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

Resuming our best of Killer Innovation series, we take a deeper look at the contrasting characteristics of coaching and mentoring. The topic is one that I have touched on over the years in various ways. People reach out to me all the time, asking about this.  Coaching, as well as mentoring, often get placed in the same category. In reality, they are different. We will discuss the differences between innovation coaching and mentoring and run through some application scenarios. Innovation Coaching Many people often find themselves confused when it comes to coaching and mentoring. They don’t understand that innovation coaching and innovation mentoring are different. Coaching is the most common activity when it comes to innovation. In general, coaching and mentoring are two of the top five most popular jobs out there. Innovation coaching is kind of like a sports coach. In baseball, a pitching coach trains pitchers to improve their craft. Pitching coaching is just like innovation coaching, as it seeks to help one improve in a specific area based on an assessment. It tends to be limited in duration. Also, it only works best with measurable and tangible improvement opportunities. A good innovation coach will offer clear direction for improvement based on assessing one’s needs. Coaching can be on the individual level, team level, or for an entire organization. An innovation coach should be able to evaluate and tell you what area you need to improve. They should plan to improve and be more successful in a specific area. Innovation Mentoring Mentoring is a less specific and tangible area that looks at the big picture, such as your career. An innovation mentor is a trusted advisor that crosses personal and professional lines and might be with you for many years. They help craft broader goals and the skills and experiences to achieve them. When looking for an innovation mentor, choose someone you can learn from. You want one that has achieved innovation success in their career. Usually focused on the individual, I have also done long-term mentoring for innovation teams. Mentoring sessions are less formal than coaching sessions and are on an as-needed basis. Fees for mentoring most likely come from the individual. A successful mentoring role should last many years and stay constant, no matter if your organization changes. No fees may be required in rare cases if you become close to the mentor. Don’t expect mentoring to be free just because some mentors might typically do it out of the kindness of the heart. Remember, mentoring relationships require time and transparency to be successful. A mentor can’t do their job if you are not honest with them, and vice versa. Coaching vs. Mentoring One of the best ways to show the differences between an innovation coach and a mentor is to run through some scenarios. First scenario: Your team is struggling to create a pitch for an idea to secure funding from your organization. You must determine the best way to structure your pitch to secure funding. Is innovation coaching or mentoring the best way to aid you?  You could hire an innovation coach in this situation because it is a specific issue you are trying to resolve. You want to find a coach with an excellent track record of helping teams craft pitches. Pay the coach for their work rather than saying you’ll pay them upon success. Second scenario: Your CEO has asked you to develop innovation leaders within your existing staff. Would this be innovation coaching or mentoring? With a longer-term goal that is not tangible, so in this case, it would be innovation mentoring in a team setting. Third scenario: Your team is running up against internal and external innovation antibodies (naysayers), and you need help crafting a strategy to win the organization’s support. You need help with a specific issue within your organization, so this is an innovation coaching opportunity. You need a strategy coach to help deal with the antibodies and win your organization’s support. Fourth scenario: You have decided to improve your innovation abilities and skills to be more successful. This scenario is a textbook case of innovation mentoring. Here you need help establishing your long-range career to succeed in innovation. Summary Today, we talked about the differences between innovation coaching and innovation mentoring. As we discussed, there is a difference between coaching and mentoring. Coaching is about solving communication skills, deliverables, executive presence, etc. Mentoring comes with long-term career advice. My first mentor was my boss at Deltek, Bob Davis. Bob hired me and put me into the first management role of my career. He knew I could be a great software engineer, but as my mentor, he told me I had broader skills than that. I had to put in much extra work to develop myself under Bob’s mentorship. He put me on a career rotation, placing me in finance, marketing, advertising, sales, and IT, which helped me grow. Bob helped me think through my long-term goals and what opportunities I should seek. Today, I do innovation coaching and mentoring and have done small companies up to Fortune 10. I’ve coached and mentored CEOs, CTOs, and CIOs, some lasting up to seven years. Check out the Disruptive Ideation Workshop, a long-term investment for your or your team’s success. To know more about coaching and mentoring,  listen to: The Best of Killer Innovations: Innovation Coaching Versus Innovation Mentoring. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

Continuing our best of Killer Innovations series, we explore the hidden benefits of successful failures. For innovation leaders, it is vital to learn how to turn failures into successes. Innovation is all about seeing opportunities others don't see and seizing them. Successful failures lead to triumphant innovations. The Importance of Failure The experimentation phase is within the innovation process often full of failures. These failures are not always negative. When things are unplanned, failures allow us to see what needs change. Successful innovations require risk and a capacity for productive failures, which reveal something new about the problem you are trying to solve. To experience productive failure, you have to fail successfully. Three characteristics help you figure out if your failures are successful. Three Characteristics of Successful Failures Effort: Firm commitment is a must for innovators, even when others give up hope. Ask yourself, “Did you give your project your 100% best effort?” Perspective: Reflect on what happened during each failure, learn from it, and apply what you learned to future innovations. Ask yourself, “what does the experience teach you about what works and what doesn't?” Inspiration: Experiment failure might lead to lessons about the nature of the problem, inspiring better solutions. They can also teach us something about how we think. Through failures, you can learn how to solve problems better. Ask, “Does this new understanding inspire a new understanding that wasn't there before?” To know more about successful failures,  listen to: The Best of Killer Innovations: Successful Failures. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast