There are bound to be times when we find that the tried and true simply don’t work for us anymore. At these times, it’s important to remember that sampling something new can expose us to new experiences we may have been reluctant to try before. From these new experiences comes a new awareness of what’s [...]
The Best Advice Ever: Never Point at a Problem.
May 10, 2010 By 12 Comments
Several years ago, when I was just a couple years out of college, I strutted into my boss’s office with (what I thought at the time) was a brilliant observation. I declared there were a number of activities going on within our department that were in violation of approved procedures and policies. I laid out [...]
Elephant Biting: Three Tips for Seeing New Combinations.
May 9, 2010 By 14 Comments
Any time we take on a large project, there are always times when we feel like we’re getting stuck. Rather than letting frustration or despair sink in, sometimes we simply need to approach the task from a different perspective. Every process we engage in involves an element of learning. Often, those frustrating periods of apparent [...]
Elephant Biting: Try Not to Eat the Whole Herd.
May 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Even when we manage to convince ourselves that the best approach is to go slow, take little bites, and adjust little by little, there’s a tendency to try and take on too many things in this way once we get used to the process. Personally or professionally, there’s a tendency to simply take on too much. [...]
Elephant Biting: Learn to Make the Bad Parts Taste Better
April 25, 2010 By 4 Comments
If you ever have to do something particularly distasteful, there are a few approaches you can try. You can force yourself to choke it down in big bites, hoping to get the worst of it over with as quickly as possible, and probably making yourself sick in the process. Or, you could procrastinate, work on it [...]
Best of MFP: The Rules are the Problem
April 9, 2010 By 4 Comments
Knowledge Management and competitive advantage
April 1, 2010 By 2 Comments
In an organization where knowledge derived from human capital is poorly managed and returning less than optimal value as a result, developing and instituting best practices for utilizing knowledge is a competitive advantage. As stated by Carlucci, Marr, and Schiuma: “Companies are increasingly looking for ways to become learning organisations, aware of the fact that [...]
Problem Solving and Innovation
March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Innovation Problem solving must be approached not only systematically — but also creatively. Creatively addressing problems is the driving force that inspires innovation. How many different ways do they engage in solving problems? We’ve all been conditioned to expect problems to be tackled according to very inefficient methods: Form a committee, establish rules for [...]
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