Monthly Innovation Insights that help you turn more ideas into more results more often…
Latest Blog Posts
Happy Mother’s Day
Did you celebrate Mother’s Day this past weekend?
Our family did. Ger and the kids planned a wonderful day for me with just the perfect balance of activity and relaxation.
Truth be told, for reasons that will become clearer as you read on, Mother’s Day has always been a bit of a mixed bag for me. Continue reading ‘Happy Mother’s Day’
Are you kidding me?
Rant about an insipid but unfortunately prevalent trend that is out there in customer experience and to be honest, it is a trend that is really starting to bug me.
It’s called Personalization – the attempt to create connections with customers by appearing to personalize communications and offers.
PANDORA’s Box
There it was! The mega-hyped brand new Pandora jewelry store located smack dab in the middle of Soho, New York City. My friend and I had been waiting for this moment for months.
Continue reading ‘PANDORA’s Box’
Four Innovative Ways to Eavesdrop on Your Customers
As she passed in front of us and continued down the aisle, I leaned over and shared a passing thought with my traveling companion.
In what seemed like no time at all, she reappeared at our side. ”Oh my, I did forget your tea.”, the extremely apologetic stewardess said. ”I’m so sorry. I’ll be right back.”
Continue reading ‘Four Innovative Ways to Eavesdrop on Your Customers’
The Five S’s of Unexpected Encounters™
Diamond or Square?
Which do you prefer? If you are like most Canadians, you know exactly what I’m referring to and, perhaps more astonishingly, you may even know that most people prefer Diamond Shreddies (62%) over Square Shreddies (38%). What many of you may not know, however, is that the incredibly simple and yet incredibly innovative Diamond Shreddies strategy managed to drive radical growth for what, just a short time ago, was a seriously struggling brand.
Continue reading ‘The Five S’s of Unexpected Encounters™’
Innovation that can double your revenue
Would you like to double your revenue?
Better still, what if you could double your revenue simply by optimizing pre-existing customer behavior? Would that be of value to you and your business?
Continue reading ‘Innovation that can double your revenue’
Meet Larry
Recently Ger and I found ourselves staying at the same hotel as a unique group of people who build and fly their own Ultralight planes. You know, those tiny little two seater planes with the propeller in the back just behind the very small cockpit? Ouf. I get nervous just thinking about it.
Well, one evening we had the privilege of meeting Larry and his wife Janet. The conversation would have been interesting enough even if we had just stayed focused on the fact that the plane that Larry flies had been delivered to him in pieces with instructions – something like a model car – and that he had then proceeded to assemble it in his garage. Imagine the looks on his neighbors’ faces when they looked out their windows one day to see Larry removing the entire front of his garage so that he could take off for the day in his new plane!
Continue reading ‘Meet Larry’
Missed Opportunities
It’s an early Sunday morning at Starbucks and I’m here to catch a few quiet moments and to organize my thoughts for the week. There’s something about the Sunday morning mood at Starbucks. It’s peaceful, reflective and a good place to be.
There’s an older gentleman sitting to my right. I’ve walked past him a couple of times as I picked up my coffee. Caught his eye … smiled… got a small but hesitant smile in return. Not sure how to describe him. Fragile maybe. Yes, fragile would be the right word.
Continue reading ‘Missed Opportunities’
The Curiosity Commitment
Are you the curious type?
I know I am. Like surfing on the web, I love the adrenalin rush I get when I allow my mind to surf from one idea to another. I often don’t know where I’ll end up but I am always amazed that I usually end up somewhere that I actually need to be. Continue reading ‘The Curiosity Commitment’
Plant some Innovation Trees
Have you heard this?
Raise your hand if you have ever heard someone say, “We don’t have an idea problem. We have an execution problem.”
Perhaps you’ve even heard someone within your own organization say that.
Perhaps you have said that. (You can put your hand down now.)
Well, if you haven’t heard it, I have. Over and over and over again. “We have so many ideas that we don’t know what to do with them. The problem is not ideas. The problem is execution.” Continue reading ‘Plant some Innovation Trees’
