business

Jul 6, 2011

How to identify innovation opportunities

Innovation is a process that stymies many companies. They’re so eager to find their next big breakthrough that they don’t realize that innovation is a simple process that anyone can learn.

It’s not a matter of waiting and waiting till you hit a home run. Successful innovation is all about getting the basics right every day, and hitting lots of singles.

One innovative-thinking technique we use at Spyder Works is the “Rule or Guideline?” game. We ask clients to write down a list of all the rules at their businesses that they know they mustn’t break. These lists invariably include laws, safety rules and industry regulations, but also lots of conventions, rules of thumbs, best practices and bad habits. We then ask the clients to cross off all the rules that have been legislatively imposed – the rules where an authority can actually punish you for violating. You don’t want to break those rules.

By Ken Tencer Blog, business, business strategy, Entrepreneurial Thinking, entrepreneurship, Innovation No comments Tags: business, Entrepreneur, Innovation, strategy, The 90 percent rule, The 90% Rule

Dec 17, 2010

Son Proves Worth in Family Business

Originally published by The Globe and Mail Online on December 10, 2010.

We often read about companies that endure bumpy, life-threatening transitions as they pass from one generation to another. While they make good stories, they mask the fact that if you plan your succession process properly, there’s no need for things to go bad.

Case in point: Mississauga-based McLoughlin Promotions Ltd., a promotions-marketing company founded by Don and Lee McLoughlin in 1988.

By Ken Tencer Blog, branding, business, business strategy No comments Tags: branding, business, business strategy, Entrepreneur, Innovation, planning, strategy, succession planning

Dec 8, 2010

Is distance learning innovative or regressive?

I recently had the opportunity to guest lecture at a major university. The topic was new media. In the middle of the lecture, it dawned on me that here I was talking about a trend in media that heightened the opportunities for interaction, communication and discussion … but I was talking to a half-empty lecture hall! The other half of the class was either watching me from home or taping me to watch at some later date when they had a minute (I know this because an exam question was going to be based on my lecture).

Huh?

By Ken Tencer Blog, business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurial Thinking, entrepreneurship, Innovation, The 90% Rule No comments Tags: 90% Rule, brand, business, Entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Innovation, Ken Tencer, social media, strategy, The 90% Rule