Save this link to download

Show Outline:

• Its all about the “pivot point” in entrepreneurship. That is the point when the model is revealed, the niche is understood, and the organization shifts to match, followed by powerful growth.
• Most first time entrepreneurs experience this and many “serial” ones as well.  All organizations experience small pivot points, often regularly.
• Discussed Groupon.com and their pivot point to the “coupon” business that is creating overwhelming results.

Keep it up and check out other posts and articles regarding this concept!! Let me know what you think, share examples, and give feedback!

Why do you do what you do? Don’t think just ‘what’ or ‘how’ but WHY!! This is a great talk that discusses the importance of purpose in motive (and sorry, profit is not purpose but result). This is a great way to start the conversation about your business’ mission, vision, and values. I hesitate to even use those buzz words as they’ve been so prostituted out they’re nearly worthless (thanks in large to monotonous academia, sorry you crazy academics but its true). If these concepts can penetrate to the core of who you are and who your organization is, THEN they become powerful enough to overcome all odds, just as the Wright brothers example given in the vid. Ensure you check out the last post here to continue the conversation of “why”. Check it out and let me know what you think!

This is a great little video from bNet regarding an approach to innovation. Its a slick 3 step process that is pretty open. I dig it…

One organization that embodies innovation and open thinking as a private organization is a company called Innocentive. So far, I am very impressed with their goals and purpose as a company and the business model they are employing. The following is from their website “about us” page:

Founded in 2001, InnoCentive built the first global web community for open innovation, enabling scientists, engineers, professionals and entrepreneurs to collaborate to deliver breakthrough solutions for innovative R&D-driven organizations. InnoCentive Seekers, who collectively spend billions of dollars on R&D, submit Challenges to the InnoCentive Marketplace where more than 200,000 engineers, scientists, inventors, business people, and research organizations in more than 200 countries are invited to solve them. Solvers who deliver the most innovative solutions receive financial awards ranging up to US$1,000,000. InnoCentive’s Seekers include commercial, government and non-profit organizations such as Procter & Gamble, Avery Dennison, Pendulum, SAP, Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen, Solvay, GlobalGiving and The Rockefeller Foundation.

The concept is based on a community that harbors the connection of “Seekers” and “Solvers” or crowd-sourcing.  The organizations that participate as seekers are essentially inviting outside participation into the R&D process which exponentially expands the reach and capability of their R&D efforts by engaging minds from around the world and rewarding them accordingly.  This is a cooperative effort to solve the worlds problems, find solutions to needs, and develop improvements to civilization and society.  All as a for-profit, free enterprise! The profit motive and market forces will guide the organization to create many of the most important and practical innovations and I look forward to following and participating.  Check them out here!

As any regular reader will know, two of my most popular topics or themes are entrepreneurship and congruent with that, innovation.  Well, I want to share a theory of mine regarding innovation.  I don’t know if “theory” is the right word but it works for me.  It is a concept that I think a fair amount about.  It is the solution to many of our society’s and planet’s problems. And, guess what… it includes innovation!!

Common discussions in today’s society include efficiency, uses of limited resources, care of the environment, and related topics.  This are concerning and critical issues but one piece of the discussion that is often missing is the opportunities that lie ahead.  This includes innovation, technology, and more.  Many of the discussions are in a closed box as though we will never innovate or improve again and are left to find improved efficiency with what we have.  The result is always lackluster performance with incremental influence and essentially no solution to today’s issues.  Take examples such as cap & trade.  Scientific evidence suggests little, if any, measurable improvement by such enacted measures.  So why do we, as a society, interest ourselves in the wasted resources (in this case, increased economic costs), for little result? Again, the discussion and solution are discovered within the closed box and the supporting groups and individuals feel doing something is better than nothing, even without favorable result.  So what happens when we up top the box? Welcome to the key of societal development.