The Art of Innovation with Guy Kawasaki

I'm here at Innovate in beautiful Granger, IN, listening to Guy Kawasaki speak on innovation. I'll try to jot down my notes as we go and blog them as soon as I can. Hopefully those of you who weren't able to be here will be able to get some good stuff out of it...

The Art of Innovation:

1.  Make meaning.  Innovation starts with the desire to make meaning.  (Most feel that innovation starts with the desire to make money)

2.  Make a mantra.  Not a mission statement. Mission statements don’t create innovation.  A mantra is a short phrase that tells you exactly what you do:

Wendys:  “Healthy Fast Food”
Nike:  “Authentic Athletic Performance”
Fed Ex:  “Peace of Mind”
eBay:  “Democratize Commerce”

Your mantra is two or three words that tell people why you exist.

3.  Jump to the next curve.  If you want to be innovative, it’s not about doing things 20 or 30% better; but 20 or 30 times better.  Jumping to the next curve.

4.  Roll the Dicee:

D eep:  Fanning (Reef)—This is the example of a sandal that also serves as a bottle opener (for your beer).  This doubles the functionality of the sandal.  They also produce a model with a 3 oz.  container to grab your rum.  Another example is the BF-104 Flashlight by Panasonic.  It’s a regular flashlight that will take up to 3 different kinds of batteries.  This takes care of the problem people have not having the right size battery for all their flashlights; thus giving the regular flashlight into a useful tool.

C omplete:  Example:  Lexus.  When you buy a Lexus, you get a complete product.

E legant:  Example:  Nano (Apple).  It’s good looking

E motive:  Example:  Harley Davidson.  It brings on strong emotions.

5.  Don’t worry, be crappy.  Innovations are often put out there before all the bugs are worked out.  The bugs will be worked out later many times.

6.  Polarize People.  Don’t be afraid to polarize people.  Innovation will polarize people, even (especially) in churches.  Some people will love what you do.  Some people will hate what you do.  The big problem is when nobody cares what you do.  Good example:  The Toyota Scion.  You either love them or hate them.  It’s ok to polarize people.  If you’re not upsetting a few people, you’re probably not doing your job.

7.  Let a hundred flowers blossom.  The people we intend to reach, sometimes don’t get it.  Sometimes the people we aren’t trying to reach, love our message. That’s ok. 

8.  Churn, baby, churn.  You’ve got to keep mixing it up.  You’ve got to keep improving.

9.  Niche Thyself.  (Marketing).  This is an art.  The ability to provide a unique service is directly in relation to the value of your service to your target.  You want to ideally produce a unique service that is unique in a way that people find valuable.

10.  Follow the 10/20/30 Rule.  10:  The optimal number of slides in a powerpoint presentation.  20:  You should be able to give your presentation in 20 minutes.  30:  The optimal size font in a powerpoing presentation.

11.  Don’t let the Bozos gring you down.  “It can’t be don’t” “It won’t be done.” “It shouldn’t be done.” Not everyone will buy into your vision.  (See point #6).

Hopefully some of these make sense.  I’m sure Granger will be posting audio and video of the conference soon to fill in the blanks…

Todd

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This post has been viewed 404 times and was added on September 27, 2007 by Todd Rhoades.
Filed under: Leadership Issues  Leadership Development  
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My name is Todd Rhoades, the 'behind the scenes' guy here at MMI. I'm also on the team at Leadership Network (although that doesn't mean that they endorse everything I write here). In my past life, I was the developer of a website called ChurchStaffing.com. I hope you'll enjoy your time here and tell all your colleagues about MMI!

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