Androids, cyber criminals, and ingenious scientists who push the limits of knowledge are mainstays of science fiction. But little by little, they've been moving from the imaginations of writers into the real world, and they're changing it – for better and for worse. Most of us can't stop the march of innovation, and perhaps we […]
Have you ever experienced the sting of someone stealing your idea, passing it off as their own, and enjoying more success from it than you did? Admittedly, this happens rarely in everyday adult life, where the imitators are often easy to identify and moral obligations and politeness tend to get in the way. For example, […]
Until I recently stumbled upon an unfamiliar term – intrapreneur – I considered myself a typical Mind Tools’ blogger who keeps up with the business world’s latest trends and lingo. Imagine my shock when I then learned that it was coined 30 years ago by Gifford Pinchot (Gifford, P. (1985). “Who is the Intrapreneur?” Intrapreneuring: […]
All Posts, Career Skills, Creativity, Strategy, Uncategorized
What has Leonardo da Vinci got to do with creating an engaging marketing campaign or reducing your company's carbon footprint? Quite a lot, if you ask Rowan Gibson, author of a new book called "The 4 Lenses of Innovation: A Power Tool for Creative Thinking." Leonardo da Vinci epitomizes the idea of the Renaissance man. […]
All Posts, Creativity, Decision Making, Problem Solving, Team Management
Stop and think about some of the incredible innovations we rely on today. Most of these products were invented decades ago and are now such a part of our society that we don't even think about the innovation behind them. But we'd find it hard to function without them. For instance, consider electronic communication. Before […]
Since leaving my job as a news reporter for Thomson Reuters and going freelance some years ago, I've had to come to terms with failure like never before. Pitching articles to magazines and newspapers can be tough. Sometimes I get a great response but, other times, my emails are met with radio silence or a […]
I can honestly say that writing this blog is the best part of my job. As an editor, I spend much of my time tinkering about with other people’s words to make sure that they’re true to the Mind Tools style. But the blog is my time to write, and a chance to bring a […]
All Posts, Career Skills, Creativity, Decision Making, Learning Skills, Problem Solving
I am full of good ideas… honestly, I am! I’m always coming up with grand schemes and plans for new businesses, inventions and projects. There was the time I wanted to start a business writing memoirs, as other people's lives fascinate me. And then the parking-aid invention – essentially a set of wheels that drop down […]
It’s a sobering thought that, according to Scott D. Anthony, less than one percent of ideas launched by big companies have any real impact. Anthony recently talked to Mind Tools about his new book, The First Mile, in which he shares lessons from his many years of experience as an innovation adviser and investor. In it, he offers […]
All Posts, Expert Interview, Problem Solving, Project Management, Strategy
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