I wrote the following article to lend both inspiration and pragmatism to the current economic conditions. The evidence speaks for itself: there is no better time to innovate than now. If you’d like to learn what great innovators do in times of economic turbulence, I think you may enjoy the piece.
I had the great pleasure of giving the keynote address for Switzerland’s “Vacation Day” in beautiful Lugano, Switzerland. This event was produced for the tourism industry of Switzerland and was attended by over 1,000 professionals in the travel and tourism industry as well as representatives of the Swiss government. If you’d like to see the talk, here it is.
Also, if you are interested in learning about the unique challenges of “innovating” in the context of positioning a nation for growth, you may wish to read this interview with Jean-François Roth, former Swiss parliamentarian and senator (published by Swissinfo).
If you’d like to learn more about our discussions at the event - including tricks used by those in attendance to inspire Eureka moments (including why we tend to have our best ideas while taking a shower, stuck in traffic, and daydreaming) - click over to Sid Shaw’s blog at Rawthink.
p.s. photo courtesy of inventiveparent.com…a great idea: a shower head for kids!
James Kouzes, Chairman Emeritus of The Tom Peters Company, may have said it best, “John Maxwell is a phenomenon!”
Very few people have done for the field of leadership (say nothing of book publishing) what Dr. John Maxwell has done. The greatest testament to his contributions are these: 1) he’s sold over 12 million books on leadership-related topics and 2) through his companies, he has trained over 1 million leaders worldwide. So, when one discovers (as I did this Labor Day weekend) that John has read, enjoyed, and reviewed your book…well, it is humbling to say the least. Thanks John! Read John’s review of HOPE. And, while you’re there, sign-up for his newsletter. It’s a breathe of fresh air that hits your inbox twice a month. Read the rest of this entry »
For all of you who purchased books at the HOPE launch party a few weeks ago in downtown Chicago, thank you! If you recall, all proceeds were donated to The Children’s Memorial Foundation for Education and Research. The foundation has recently found a home for the signed telescope displayed at the party. It has been recently donated to the Page Nicole White Pediatric Cancer Foundation. It will be auctioned off at the “Hearts of Hope” gala.
Here are a few of the folks who contributed signatures to the telescope - who are also profiled in the book.
Today, corporate America reached a new low. The headline reads: Radio Shack uses email to fire employees. Although it may sound like a headline commonly-found in The Onion or Dilbert, in fact, it ran in The Chicago Tribune. And the email it references: “The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately, your position is one that has been eliminated.” What’s next - email divorce notices? “Sorry honey. Please wire transfer 50% of our liquid assets to my new bank account in the Caymans.”
The question I have is this: where have all the leaders gone?
In this age of what have you done for me lately, press releases such as this one can be avoided. It takes two things to fix this problem: Read the rest of this entry »
For many internationally renowned speakers, it is common to feel lonely when speaking at seminars in China. The Chinese audiences sit quietly and listen. Seldom do people interrupt or ask questions. Andrew Razeghi had this experience when talking about innovation and growth strategy to a group of company executives in Shanghai and Wuhan last month.
“But if you think they don’t have any ideas, you are wrong,” says Razeghi, adjunct associate professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.