InnovatorsDigest

New "Plan-a-Date-to-Innovate" Calendar with Over 100 Innovation Events

Innovators seeking unique opportunities to learn at workshops, webinars, conferences and experiences should check out our new calendar by clicking HERE.

Find out the dates of leading-edge conferences such as the World Future Society's Conference, Pine & Gilmore's thinkAbout, a 2-day/4-webinar series called Accelerate-to-Innovate,  plus convenient low-cost Questionate-to-Innovate & Decorate-to-Innovate webinars.

Additionally, you will find dates for webinars, networking events, training workshops and certifications for innovation trainers, facilitators and coaches. Click HERE to link to the calendar. Bookmark this page to review the calendar often as it is updated weekly. Download a PDF of the calendar by clicking HERE.

NEW Innovation Tool of the Month Club.com Provides Innovation Stimulus

CLICK to Learn About a New Club for Innovators!

www.InnovationToolOfTheMonthClub.com

Affiliate-to-Innovate: 60,000 LinkedIn Innovators in Groups Can Use NEW Discussion Forums

 LinkedIn just released a valuable new feature that allows Group members to engage in discussions about innovation, creativity and other interesting topics. Articles from Innovator's Digest will be linked to some provocative questions in Group Discussion areas. 
Get ThinkedIn by joining in our innovation conversations via the LinkedIn Groups that now include over 60,000 innovative minds.

Click Below to Join Our Top 24 LinkedIn
Innovation Groups & Join the Discussions!

1. InnovationPeople Network Group
2. Marketing, PR, Word of Mouth & Buzz Innovators Group
3. Green & Sustainability Innovators Group
4. Sales & Selling Innovators Group
5. New Product & Service Innovators Group
6. Meeting & Event Design Professionals Group
7. Experience Economy "Pine & Gilmore" Innovators Group
8. Fundraising & Philanthropic Innovators Group
9. Learning & Education Innovators Group
10. HealthCare, Medical, Pharma & Biotech Group
11. Brand Innovators & Branding Leadership Group
12. Technology & Mobility Innovators Group
13. Communication Innovators Group
14. Innovation Idols Group
15. Futurists & Anticipatory Scientists Group
16. TRIZ Innovation Tool Group
17. Portfolio Magazine's ThinkTank Panelist Group
18. Leadership & Change Management Innovators Group
19. Chicagovators Group of Chicagoland Innovation Leaders
20. SolutionPeople Innovators Group
21. Thinkubator Creative Meeting Environment Innovators
22. David Allen's "Getting Things Done" Group
23. illumination.com Innovators Group
24. InnovatorsDigest.com Innovation Network

Do you want your free subscription to Innovator'sDigest? Click HERE to subscribe and receive innovation news that includes questions used for LinkedIn Innovation Group Discussions.

Invite to Join David Allen at GTD Summit on Getting Things Done – Save 35%

There have been very few times when the improved productivity of organizations and the people within them has been so critical, or when own personal focus and control been so challenged as today. As we have to think about "doing more with less" and working "smarter not harder," the use of productivity methods that really work has never been so crucial.

Join best-selling author and executive coach David Allen at the GTD Summit in San Francisco on March 11-13, 2009.  David is the author of "Getting Things Done", often referred to as "GTD", which has sold more than one million copies in a hundred countries.

The GTD methodology is in high demand.  It is being replicated in more than a hundred software applications, buzzed about in hundreds of blogs, and incorporated into the professional development curricula of dozens of global corporations. You are invited to learn and apply what David Allen and other business leaders have to say about "Getting Things Done" in challenging times.

The Summit that will inspire, motivate, and advance your ability to stay focused and clear in a potentially overwhelming and uncertain world. You'll be able to network, explore more options, and get "out of the weeds" with some elevated perspectives.

Innovators Digest has been authorized to extend to you a special discount of 35% (more than $800) off the Summit fee. To register, go to http://www.gtdsummit.com/node/11 and enter the coupon code: SOLUTIONMAN

Communicate-to-Innovate Using 21 Persuasive Words That Work

Innovators know how to "communicate-to-innovate" by using persuasive language that engages people to support their ideas. Presidential speech-writer Frank Luntz wrote Words That Work, a book that contains his recommended list of persuasive words. Consider using his recommended words when preparing your next presentation or communication.

21 Words & Phrases
for 21^st Century Innovators
1. Imagine
2. Hassle-free
3. Lifestyle
4. Accountability
5. Results / Can-Do Spirit
6. Innovation
7. Renew, Revitalize, Rejuvenate, Restore,
   Rekindle, Reinvent
8. Efficient, Efficiency
9. The Right to
10. Patient-Centered
11. Investment
12. Casual Elegance
13. Independent
14. Peace of Mind
15. Certified
16. All-American
17. Prosperity
18. Spirituality
19. Financial Security
20. Balanced Approach
21. Culture of

Notice that "imagine" is first, "innovation" is number sixth, and the six "R" words came raml as number seven on the list.  If you are looking for more words that may be especially appealing to some people, check out Solutionman's Politicator List and Worksheet that was inspired by the persuasive language of American presidential candidates.

Click to Order Frank Luntz Words that Work Book at Amazon.com 

Getting Innovation Done

 

One of the greatest inhibitions to being innovative is fear of making a mistake. However, highly successful innovators make hundreds of mistakes on their way to creating great products. For example, James Dyson—known for his innovative vacuum cleaners—went through over 5,000 prototypes before hitting on the design that propelled him to the success he enjoys today. When it comes to innovation, you have to invite failure, and then relentlessly learn from it.

One of the best tools for leveraging failure into innovation is the humble lab notebook. Just by capturing what you tried, how it worked, and what to do next, you can make huge strides toward solving any problem, no matter how large or complicated. Building a capture habit will do more than spur on innovation and creativity; it can streamline your life at both work and home. One way to get into the habit is to become proficient at GTD (Getting Things Done).  GTD is a system of managing workflow created by David Allen. In short, GTD supplies a method for capturing what you want to get done into a trusted system, then engaging with your lists to act at the right time and in the right place.

Click to Order GTD Book from Amazon.com
GTD helps people to be more creative and innovative in two ways. First, GTD encourages you to stop carrying things around in your head. Instead of trying to remember what you want to do, you'll capture it to a trusted place—a tool that's either paper or electronic—where you know you'll be able to find it later. When you're no longer worried about forgetting important information, you start to relax. Relaxation encourages creativity. Second, GTD has creativity built right in. Part of the weekly review—looking over your lists, calendars, and the like—is "getting creative and courageous." In effect, GTD encourages you to imagine a great future for yourself, then gives you the tools to work toward getting it DONE.  Click to Order GTD Book from Amazon.com 

By Tara Rodden Robinson
Tara is a member of the LinkedIn Getting Things Done Group. Join this group by Clicking Here.

Success is Dangerous

It's that time of the year again. Dan and his senior management team are at their annual strategic business meeting. They're feeling pretty good having just come off of a few years of success. As they get into the their planning discussion, a sinking feeling starts to come over the team. Where's the 2008, 2009, 2010 growth going to come from? Do they have enough in the pipeline? Has success inadvertently led them into the danger zone? Have they taken their eye off the "innovation ball?"

Hit it out of the park, by infusing an innovation culture into your organization. Below is a Part I excerpt of the "LEADING INNOVATION Question Bank" covering process (based on SolutionPeople's Accelerated Innovation Process) and designed for leaders who want to enable, inspire and drive innovation. Stay tuned for excerpts from Parts II & III covering the other aspects of culture such as strategy, communication, reward & recognition, structure, learning & development, and work environment.

LEAD-to-INVESTIGATE

1. What mechanisms, processes & methods are we using to determine what is needed, wanted or wished by our customers?
2. What percent of our strategy should be focused on incremental innovation versus breakthrough innovation?
3. How should we fund, resource and organize our innovation strategy?

LEAD-to-CREATE

1. How might we collaborate with customers, suppliers, partners, employees, academia, or competitors?
2. How might we form whole-brain teams for diversity of thought?
3. What innovation tools might we provide?

LEAD-to-EVALUATE

1. How could we evaluate ideas, prototypes, and concepts?
2. Who could be on the evaluation team?
3. How could we nurture ideas, but know when to stop developing them if necessary?

LEAD-to-ACTIVATE

1. What internal and external networks must be created & leveraged to bring our product or service to the desired market?
2. Who from the "investigate, create or evaluation team" must be included?
3. What roadblocks must I, as a leader, work to eliminate? 

Corinne Miller - Innovation Consultant, Facilitator, Trainer & Coach at SolutionPeople
Email Corinne

7 Improvements in the NEW KnowBrainer 4.0 Innovation & Creativity Tool

In 1989, Gerald "Solutionman" Haman released the Pocket Innovator, a tool FORTUNE magazine called "The World's First Creativity Tool." Tools created by Solutionman are now being used by over 100,000 people in 30 countries. The experience has paid off. Solutionman has released the NEW version 4.0 of the KnowBrainer Innovation & Creativity Tool.

Order KnowBrainer 4.0 tools for $98 at the SolutionStore and give them to your employees, families and friends. One company ordered 500 tools to distribute at a company meeting and everyone found the tool to be much more valuable than the traditional meeting handouts. The KnowBrainer's compact card-deck fan format puts the gift of inspiration for innovation in the palm your hand! Award-winning inventor, Solutionman, will be happy to include an autographed note card with tools ordered as a gift!

If people have an iPod, then they will enjoy getting the world's first innovation application for the iPod and iPhones – the PodBrainer. Computer users will appreciate the new FlashBrainer™ software also available at the SolutionStore.

What is "New and Improved" in Version 4.0?

1. Improved Content - 20% of cards were changed
2. Better Questions - Applied Questionation™ methods to formulate more provocative questions and added "Think" to popular "Be, Know, Feel, Have, Do" question cards
3. Clearer Directions - Instructional design facilitates better thinking and transition between Stages
4. Enhanced graphics - Improved color coding system
5. Innovation™ Process "Steps" are Renamed "Stages" - Provides opportunities to include "steps" within each Stage and integrates better with product development "Stage-Gate" models
6. Integrated with Software & iPod & iPhone eTools - Identical content to new FlashBrainer™ software and PodBrainer™ for iPods
7. Packaging Contains New ISBN# and Bar Codes - Convenient for distribution via book stores and Amazon.com