Diana Kander, New York Times Bestselling Author and Renowned Innovation Keynote Speaker
Three years ago, I was coaching a successful company that was very confused about the failure of a recent product launch. When I was first hired, they told me they were convinced they had done everything by the book. Before developing the product, the company held five focus groups with potential customers to make sure … Read more
Many of our daily actions are habitual, meaning they are performed automatically and without conscious thought. It’s a useful way for us to save mental energy and streamline tasks that are performed frequently. These automatic actions are often based on our learning mental models, which are the assumptions, beliefs, and frameworks that we use to … Read more
In my journey from a 2.5 to a 4.5 tennis player, I’ve learned a profound lesson that goes beyondthe boundaries of the tennis court: The immense value of deliberate practice. It would be easy for me to spend hours on the court, hitting ball after ball, hoping to improve.In fact, that’s how I spent my … Read more
Human beings hate change. All of us. When Zoom has to update right before an important call, I’m not thinking “yay! an update! I’mthinking, ah. I don’t have time for this. I just want to do my call.” And I’m an innovation expert. When Midwest express stopped serving cookies or Southwest Airlines stopped serving peanuts,I … Read more
This kind of strategic decision making is one of the top skills innovators must master. Here’s how I make the decision without letting my pride take over: Data-Driven DecisionsI insist that every project measure what I call Pivot Indicators. These are pre-defined metricsthat answer two important questions: “When will we know if it’s not working?” … Read more
When I walked into a local car dealership in Columbia, Mo. earlier this year, I knew which car I wanted and I had a plan to get it at a great price. Within thirty seconds of walking onto the showroom floor, a sales rep named Chad asked me to step into his cubicle with promises … Read more
Launching new products and services is the only way to stay competitive in the new economy. Unfortunately, most companies have a process in place that stifles innovation. I recently gave a TEDx talk titled “Our Approach to Innovation is Dead Wrong” about why our traditional thinking with regard to launching new products or initiatives is actually killing those new ideas … Read more
Corporate innovation is all the rage these days. With plenty of money and time at their disposal, employees have ample resources to create the next big thing. But before they commit too many resources to an idea, these intrapreneurs can learn a lot from successful entrepreneurs who operate with fewer resources. Innovation within a corporation … Read more
No innovator fails because they couldn’t build their product. They fail because no one found value in what they built. Here’s what usually happens when someone gets a new idea: Their mind starts racing with all the possibilities of what it could turn into, the impact it could have on the world, and all the … Read more
(Note: This is the second installment of a multipart series on conducting customer interviews and discovering true migraine problems. And check out the first article in the series.) Ok, you’re on the bandwagon. You understand that you need to a get to a new level when it comes to understanding your customers and finding their migraine … Read more