Almost 20 years ago, I interviewed Procter & Gamble (PG) Chief Executive Officer A.G. Lafley at company headquarters in Cincinnati for a book project focused on what it takes to become a great global leader. I was looking forward to talking with Lafley because former Chairman John Pepper had endorsed him as one of the most effective global leaders at P&G.… Read more
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.insead.edu/2013/06/a-g-lafleys-innovation-skills-will-weather-pgs-storm/
Charles Dow, the American journalist who, in the late 19th century, first popularized the stock market index, always chose the most stable and reliable companies to be part of his index. Yet, of the first 100 corporations ever listed in the Dow-Jones index , only one still remains today– General Electric.… Read more
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.insead.edu/2013/02/the-challenge-of-innovation-how-companies-can-stay-at-the-top-in-the-21st-century/
Recently Thomas Friedman in the New York Timesargued for “the rise of popularism,” and the Wall Street Journal… Read more touted the same with its headline, “Who’s the boss? There isn’t one.” After reading these articles, my mind raced back 25 years to my first encounter with a few maverick companies attempting to manage without managers and a subsequent Saturday morning conversation while watching Yogi Bear cartoons with my three-year old son.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.insead.edu/2012/07/what-do-managers-do-at-work/
Pop quiz: How do you define an entrepreneur? The typical answer—which is technically correct—is that an entrepreneur is anyone who starts a business. That includes folks who start lawn care businesses, dry cleaners, and yogurt shops. However, these aren’t the kinds of businesses that are the true growth engines of our economy. … Read more
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.insead.edu/2012/06/are-you-an-innovative-entrepreneur/
If “the quickest way to make a millionaire out of billionaire is to buy an airline,” as Sir Richard Branson once remarked, then what does that mean for billionaires who build commercial space airlines? Ask Branson or Jeff Bezos, because they are the crazy ones: They not only dream; they dream big.… Read more
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.insead.edu/2012/05/heres-to-the-crazy-ones/
Did you know that if you think you are creative, you’re more likely to actually be creative? This surprising fact pops up again and again in our research. In our database of over 6,000 professionals who have taken the Innovator’s DNA self & 360 assessments, people (entrepreneurs and managers alike) who “agree” with the survey statement “I am creative” consistently deliver disruptive solutions — by creating new businesses, products, services, and processes that no one has done before.… Read more
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.insead.edu/2012/05/crush-the-im-not-creative-barrier/
Disruptive innovators ask the right questions, observe the world like anthropologists, network for novel ideas, and experiment to make things work. (For a more detailed look at these skills, see The Innovator’s DNA… Read more).
Applying the skills disruptive innovators use to your job search can help you unearth more, and better, opportunities.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.insead.edu/2012/04/find-a-job-using-disruptive-innovation/
In 1978, engineers at Sony successfully married a compact playback device with lightweight headphones to create the prototype for a product that would become a worldwide hit. In 1979, the ‘Walkman’ was introduced in the Japanese market, selling out its entire stock of 30,000 units within the first three months.… Read more
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.insead.edu/2012/03/innovation-success-how-the-apple-ipod-broke-all-sonys-walkman-rules/
