March 22nd, 2009 at 10:18pm
Under Innovation
Decisions, decisions! Here comes another election. You know its getting close when you get the sample ballot in the mail. And of course there are the signs in the yards, the newspaper ads, and direct mailings. Another indication that the election is near is the amount of TV and radio advertising and the intensity of the messages. More of the ads seem to be negative the closer to Election Day.
Those of you who are loyal to one party have no difficulty choosing which candidate to vote for in the election its one party all the way. Other people may be more thoughtful in their choices. The pre-election polls refer to the other people as undecided.
And then there are the numerous propositions to consider. The County Recorder sends out a thick pamphlet with all the information you care or didnt care to know about the proposition and the candidates. The sample ballot makes it easier by summarizing what a vote yes or no for a particular proposition would mean. Even some of the best sounding propositions are so poorly written that it may be best not to vote for them.
If you are someone who doesnt vote and doesnt care, or has firm loyalty to only one party, then this article is not for you, however, one way or another, the decisions that are made for candidates or propositions will affect you.
So how to do cut through the ads and media coverage to make the best decision? Getting information is a good first step. Some of the information thats available may be biased to one view or another. Maybe. its more likely the information is biased.
Most of the time Id say you can trust your intuition or your gut feeling about a candidate or proposition. However the ads that are designed to appeal to the emotions can cloud your reasoning and intuition. So what do you do then? Who do you trust?
What if there was a quick method for asking questions so you could be happy with your voting selections? What if there was a way to determine the level of honesty of a candidate?
Yes, of course its only one vote per candidate or proposition and maybe your vote wasnt or wont be for the winning one. The important thing is for you to feel good about your voting.
Heres one solution. You can use the ancient art of dowsing to find the best candidate for the office or to make the best choice for proposition voting. Why dowsing? Dowsing when done correctly enables you to find the truth about the candidates or propositions.
Heres how you use dowsing appropriately. First you establish a connection with a higher power (be it God, higher self, spirit guides or angels). Then you learn how to use a pendulum, which is quick and easy. Its simple to make one even with a piece of thread and paperclip.
Next you determine that the horizontal swing of the pendulum device would mean no and the vertical would mean yes. Also it is advisable to draw a simple chart that would show the percentage or on a scale of one to ten response. A simple chart can be drawn with a right angle or L shaped lines on a page and mark zero (0) at the top and ten (10) at the bottom. All the numbers in between zero to ten could be marked in hash marks.
Now its time to formulate some simple yes and no response questions. Its always good to start out with test questions on answers you know to be true such as asking your own name or birth date. For example to get a yes response ask the question with the correct information (is my name Fred? if your name is Fred then you would get a yes response). And to get a no response you could ask if you are 10 ft tall or something like that (or something else you know to be false).
Here are some questions you can use for making voting decisions. Is this candidate the best choice for this office? On a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest and ten being the highest, what is the level of honesty of this candidate? What is the level of greed for this candidate? Is this media ad true about this candidate or proposition? What percent of this ad is true? For percentages you could make a similar chart to the one for a scale of one to ten or use a half circle marking the percentage increments by ten. (Hint a protractor like the ones you used in grade school are ideal for drawing a half circle.)
You can also ask questions about the propositions. Is the information in the summary on the sample ballot accurate? Would this proposition benefit me? Is the wording of this proposition clear and easy to interpret so if it does become law it will maintain the propositions intent?
In his book, Improve Your Life Through Dowsing, David Schultz explains his approach to using dowsing to select the best candidate and whether to vote for or against an issue. He had his High Self research from his criteria that included honesty, ethics, knowledge and a willingness to serve the public. He used his sample ballot and his pendulum to point to the name of the candidate that fit those criteria. He also relates that propositions can be confusing and uses his High Self research the pros and cons and whether the propositions are best for the people.
You could even experiment with predicting the outcome of the elections as suggested in Taming the Wild Pendulum by Dr. Tag Powell and Dr. Judith Powell. Their method involved writing the names of the candidates for one particular office on a small piece of paper and turned them over and mixing them up on a table. They then asked which one would become the next (president). They maintained their neutrality with using dowsing to determine the outcome and got it right.
Asking questions and using dowsing to find your answers is a powerful combination.
Lynn Wertheimer has been dowsing for over 20 years. Lynn uses her pendulum and device-less dowsing in all areas of her life including making sure the food she buys is safe to eat (especially important with the reports of E. Coli poisonings). She is the author of the eBook, The Dowsing Advantage. The Dowsing Advantage is offered with 4 bonus reports: How to Guide for Shopping; How to Find and Improve Relationships; Tips on How to Use Dowsing for Feng Shui and Fun Experiments for Kids. You can learn the Secrets to Dowsing fast for making powerful decisions and more by visiting www.thedowsingadvantage.com.
Author: Lynn Wertheimer
Keywords: dowsing, how to dowse, how to learn to use a pendulum, making decisions
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By admin
March 22nd, 2009 at 10:18pm
Under Innovation
Wouldn’t it be great if you could solve problems more easily? You can. Problems you have at home, or problems from science, work, or business - you can use special techniques to help you find solutions to all of them. The following is one of the best.
A Problem Solving Story
I had written an ebook on buying cheap homes, based on our experience buying a house for $17,500. I tried to sell it without much luck. I lowered the price to seven dollars, and it still wasn’t selling. At least I was getting no returns on the ones that sold, so I knew the readers were satisfied with it.
I had previously sold ebooks and given them away. Free ebooks are a way to generate interest in and traffic to websites. Both selling and giving away information are workable business models. Then I realized that I was assuming I had to do one or the other. It seemed like a valid assumption, but when I questioned it, I came up with a new way to solve the problem.
I gave the book away AND sold it. I left the sales page in place, but gave visitors the option to get the book free as well. They just subscribed, and then received a chapter every few days by email. It took over three months to get the whole book this way, and of course I reminded them that they could go buy it right away at any time.
Sales picked up. Nothing spectacular, but I was selling more than before. Apparently many readers like what they saw, and didn’t want to wait to get the rest. I have since used this new model for other ebooks with some success.
Solve Problems By Questioning Assumptions
The hardest part about questioning assumptions is identifying all the assumptions that we so easily and subtly make. Learn to do this, though, and you’ll have some truly creative ideas and effective solutions.
Start with pen and paper, and write a list of assumptions you are making about the situation or problem. Write down even the most obvious truths. Once done, begin questioning each item on the list.
Suppose a man is always arguing with someone at work, and he wants to restore peace in the office. On his list of assumptions, he might write, I need to have a better relationship with this fellow employee, and We need to change our behavior. Questioning these assumptions, he might realize that he can change his own behavior, and that will be enough, or that he really doesn’t need a better relationship. Maybe he can just work away from this other employee.
Suppose you are a bicycle manufacturer, and you want to produce a new type of bicycle. Your assumptions may include that bicycles need wheels and that they have to be made of metal. Challenge the first, and you might imagine a bike with skis that hydroplanes on water when you pedal fast enough. Challenge the second assumption and you find that there are advantages to using fiberglass or plastic instead of metal.
Then you might ask Do we really need a new product? Maybe there is more money to be made marketing existing products in new ways. That would save the cost of retooling. Notice that this challenges the problem itself. Challenging the primary assumption, or the definition of the problem, can often yield the most creative and useful ways to solve problems.
Systematically questioning assumptions is just one technique. There are dozens more you can use. Make it a habit to use several of them, and soon you’ll be able to solve problems more easily and creatively.
Copyright Steve Gillman. Want to learn another 23 Problem Solving Techniques and other useful information? Visit: http://www.99reports.com/problem-solving.html
Author: Steven Gillman
Keywords: solve problems,problem solving,problems
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By admin
March 22nd, 2009 at 10:18pm
Under Innovation
Can a Structured System Be Taught That Results in Innovative Success?
Recently I participated in a meeting to review a new product offering. The presenters were inventors and they had enjoyed a great deal of success as corporate employees working inside a highly structured environment. A number of their creations are currently successfully branded products that any aware consumer would recognize, and probably have in their home. The presentation was unusual in a number of ways. These guys came off as mad scientist types. They had decided it was time for them to profit fully from their creativity and were now self-employed. The product was very well done, commercial, marketable. However, little interest was elicited from the Venture Capital group of which I am a member. I was not sure why I was so unexcited.
After the presentation, I spent time with the would-be entrepreneurs. As I discussed next steps they would need to undertake to improve their prospects, I was pulled into a spirited monologue about a process called TRIZ. They were TRIZ acolytes. I had heard of TRIZ over the years, but never had I seen so much passion being applied to this relatively abstract theory of innovation. They were full comrades in believing that their devotion to TRIZ was the way to fame and fortune as inventors.
TRIZ (translated from Russian Cyrillic) stands for the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving. TRIZ was created in Russia by Genrich Altshuler. Boiled down to an elemental outline, TRIZ assumes that innovation can be achieved by a structured series of Technical Contrasts. No longer would inventors pursue trial and error to find answers to technical problems. Thomas Edison was a fool to waste so much time attempting 1000 tests in trying to perfect the electric light bulb according to the TRIZ enthusiasts. A series of advanced algorithms and applications could have been utilized to solve problems such as Edison so often faced and struggled mightily to overcome. If only Edison had known about TRIZ!
I was dubious but intrigued. My consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, works with entrepreneurs, inventors and small businesses every day. We create guerilla-marketing strategies, write business plans, fund and license a variety of offerings. It is exciting work, but there is no one size fits all process that I was ever aware of for short circuiting the invention process, until I researched TRIZ. I actually decided to attend a TRIZ seminar.
It was interesting and revealing. The attendees were very much like the mad scientist inventors I had met. Incredibly bright, totally immersed in TRIZ, and a bit around the bend in my humble opinion.
The discussion group was particularly interesting. The participants were slavish in their support for the TRIZ process, but they could not identify any successes they had enjoyed. In addition, when I commented that Russia had not exactly been a font of inventiveness in the 20th century, well, I had hit a nerve. Even worse, I was virtually ostracized when I commented that invention and entrepreneurial skills could not be learned from a process.
I lecture, mentor and coach in the area of entrepreneurial studies at several major university business schools. I can teach a student how to write a business plan, create a sales model, customize a marketing strategy, and construct financials. However, I, and I believe no one, can teach a person to become a successful entrepreneur for a simple reason: I cant teach courage.
My brief dalliance with TRIZ was educational. I tried to keep an open mind. I want to believe that anyone can achieve success by following a structured how-to outline. But I know better. Entrepreneurs are not easy to come by. Most people are dreamers. Entrepreneurs are do-ers. Most people can not accept rejection. Entrepreneurs pay no attention to rejection and keep pursuing their goal. Inevitable problems become roadblocks to dreamers. Entrepreneurs adjust and overcome these roadblocks. Dreamers quit. Successful entrepreneurs never quit, they have a laser focus on their task.
The pursuit of success is difficult for many reasons. It is like natural selection, survival of the fittest rules. TRIZ has a growing worldwide following. So did the Luddites and the Shakers in the 1850s. I hope TRIZ avoids historys dustbin unlike the Luddites and Shakers.
I encourage my clients and students to study an array of philosophy in order to increase their scope and knowledge. TRIZ is interesting in theory but flawed in its promise. We can follow a process to assemble widgets but no one has yet figured out how to manufacture the entrepreneur that invents the widgets.
Contact Geoff Ficke, gficke@msn.com , 407 260 1127, to discuss this article or learn how to turn your idea into a product or commercial opportunity.
Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money.
After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.
Geoff Ficke and his consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, Inc. (http://www.duquesamarketing.com) has assisted businesses large and small, domestic and international, entrepreneurs, inventors and students in new product development, capital formation, licensing, marketing, sales and business plans and successful implementation of his customized strategies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
Author: Geoff Ficke
Keywords: entrepreneurs,inventors,small businesses,business plans,marketing strategies,consumer products
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By admin
March 22nd, 2009 at 10:18pm
Under Innovation
Innovation strategy models usually follow this uninspired recipe - let’s encourage employee ideas, throw together a business case,
justify the costs and operating budget, dish-up a marketing strategy and production project plan, hope for the best.
There are other organizations who believe in strategies which heavily depend on setting up and managing arrangements, special relationships or partnerships with their supplier community. I am not trying to find fault with those methods, however, my argument is with those who are supposed to act as the agents of innovative leadership.
What is the purpose of an strategy? We innovate to take advantage of the opportunities caused by change. For example, prayer is a strategy we use to cope with our personal challenges. And prayer, as philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard so aptly observed, does not change God, but it changes him who prays.
Simply stated, it is not the strategy that changes, it is we who change as we employ our strategy and use it to encourage, energize, enlighten and engage ourselves to strive for achieving its objectives. In a word, our strategies can not be expected to change the world, our strategy must compel us to change the ways we think about, react to and perform in the world.
Without change there is no , creativity, or incentive for . Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable. - William Pollard
Innovative Leadership Guide-1: Thinking through your strategy model
Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure. - Albert Einstein
Your strategy model must enable you to execute four essential tasks:
It has to help you recognize the components of a changing landscape [explore,
It must expose you to the needs imposed upon your ecosystems by the change [create
It should usher you through the changes you hope to exploit [ implement,
It must empower you to adapt to the changes in your marketplace and your offering [supervise.
Innovative leadership means finding clearly defined pathways through the territories you operate within - this includes the environments of your organization, partners, markets and end-customers. Innovative leaders channel or direct the shared, received and transmitted energies found in their ecosystems of profound knowledge, work processes and social relationships.
Innovation leadership uses the strategy model as a guide towards:
1) Directing innovative activities;
2) Developing crucial systems, resources and assets;
3) Disciplining the process, purpose and players of
Innovative Leadership Guide-2: Reacting to your strategy model
Your innovative leadership team uses the strategy model to tweak, adjust and maintain its course towards successful outcomes. The most effective strategy models provide leaders with:
Windows on historical, internal and external circumstance [Realities;
Mechanisms to control and adjust to changes [Dynamic Controls
Applications of energy to inspire, relieve and educate [ Leadership;
Metrics which expose exchanges, dependencies and transfers [Ecosystem Management;
Revelations of beliefs, meanings and feelings [ Coordinated Communications;
Relationships between the observed, measured and assumed [Progress Dashboards;
Opportunity areas where the strategy can be executed [ Organic Leveraging.
Cast aside those who liken godliness to whimsy and who try to combine their greed for wealth with their desire for a happy afterlife. - Kahlil Gibran
If your strategy model depends on a kiss from the muse, a bright idea and some similar eureka experience, you’ll have very few and far between s emerging from your organization.
Innovative Leadership Guide-3: Performing on the promises of an strategy model
Never before in history has offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time. - Bill Gates
Back in the Industrial Age, we followed a series of steps, made use of equipment and mechanized systems and relied on prodigious amounts of fiscal and human capital to achieve the promises of success. We may live in a different era, I call it, the Imagination Economy, yet we need the same amounts of effort and focus to realize our goals.
A few years ago, our competitive advantages were based upon our ability to shape raw information into forms of relevant, applicable knowledge. Today, we compete against the imaginations of others - we have to slice and dice knowledge and blend it with universal wisdom, intuitive know-how and meaningful what-ifs to produce sustainable, profitable, productive s.
In the Imagination Age, innovative leadership will be called upon to map-out the complexities, model optimal congruencies and mold evolutionary conceptualizations of our world. Leaders will meet the many challenges of this new Age by seeing people as four dimensional beings - that is, as physical, intellectual, spiritual and developmental entities.
Innovative leadership will use their strategy models to fully exploit and leverage the many strengths of their available human capital assets - intellectual and physical assets [think and do, production and social assets [process and interact, as well as, innovative and developmental assets [learn and imagine.
Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth. - Peter F. Drucker
A model for your strategies is an essential ingredient in your organization’s competitive recipe - without such a model, your business will lack the flavor of innovating. Your customers, constituents and communities may begin to perceive the staleness of your old, crumbling offerings and stop putting your products on their shelves.
You need to mix together all the elements of an strategy model listed above and use these innovative leadership guidelines to manage and energize your strategy. Innovation is industry and it requires persistent, determined effort. And just like the industries of old, can follow a process, it can use capital assets, it can be measured or assessed and it can be led and managed.
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead were there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Copyright 2006, Mustard Seed Investments Inc., All rights reserved.
Bill Thomas develops innovative leaders and helps them design strategy models for success in the Imagination Age - his books, manuals, Executive Briefings, software, speeches and training programs define sustainable processes and empower leaders to produce measurably powerful results! Learn How to Energize Your Innovative Leadership Power and Model Your Winning Innovation Strategy!
http://www.leadership-toolkit.com/.html
Author: Bill Thomas
Keywords: strategy, innovative leadership, strategies, strategy models
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March 22nd, 2009 at 10:18pm
Under Innovation
Critical thinking is a process which takes place in the mind of an individual. It analyzes or evaluates information, which can either be in the form of propositions or statements provided to you as true. But you never easily believe it is true, thus you reflect on it, thoroughly examine the reasons and evidences before you formulate your own judgment about the information.
Every day, there is a lot of information that an individual may learn. For prehistoric man and animals, this information was considered firsthand. It includes the things that they see, touch, hear, smell, and taste. This firsthand information provides an access to secondhand information. Second hand information is another type of information most encountered by today’s generation.
This information is stored in your brain, and later on, being called as memories. If it is combined with cognitive framework, then it becomes a worldview. Worldview can affect every decision that you will make. Thus in different ways, it defines your personality. Take note, the information which created your worldview has an origin.
The information which you have learned is all secondhand. It came from your parents, friends, teachers, books, television, or conversation. This vast majority of data which bombarded you will give you a hard time in identifying its original source. You are then challenged by even a single piece of data in your head. So, you will vehemently argue to justify your side. But then, it will be difficult since you don’t have any idea of its original source. You will then doubt whether the information was correct or not since you have no evidence that will corroborate it. However, it is the usual way that you are going to defend any challenge on the information that you have learned. It is despite your lack of justification.
Compared to the information received by your prehistoric ancestors, information being given today is really very different. Considering the mass media, it has the power to create a virtual disharmony among the minds of many people.
Take for example some of the advertisements. It is very far from unprejudiced information yet many people are letting it to slip in their minds. Then, it will influence future decisions that will change the direction of your life. Be careful, information today is a matter of a shouting game where you immediately tend to believe. If whoever tell you a bit of information in the longest and the loudest way, you may eventually accept it as true regardless of its merit.
This approach seems to be poor. Since all the collaged information in your mind sometimes have no basis at all. So, the created viewpoint might also have a weaker foundation. No matter how important a viewpoint to a person is, where he or she based most of life’s major decisions or even just a single decision is considered to be crafted.
These explanations focus on how critical thinking happens. Critical thinkers gather the information from experience, observation, communication, or reasoning. Then by incorporating critical thinking on the acquired information, the person can extract intellectual values on the subject-matter. They study each division including accuracy, clarity, precision, thoroughness, fairness, and evidence. It is very important because it decreases the risks of believing false ideas which can result to fatal errors.
Critical thinking just responds to various situations and subjects so that connections between them could be found.
Ross Lincoln makes it quicker and easier for you to create profitable business ideas, develop your marketing strategy or start brainstorming on any topic. For a free trial of the ultimate innovation software, please visit http://www.ideacenter.com
Author: Ross Lincoln
Keywords: business ideas,brainstorming,marketing strategy
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March 22nd, 2009 at 10:18pm
Under Innovation
Your initial awareness comes from the five senses. . . as well as, from your reasoning, knowledge and logic.
There is also the awareness you acquire from your experiences in this lifetime.
Beyond your normal awareness is a more subtle awareness, a subtle perception of how things are, what you should do, where you should be, and such.
The promptings of your subtle perception are not necessarily obvious to your conscious mind.
Heres the basics of how it works:
Once youve accepted that you are a part of an Infinite Energy that is all things, you come to realize that you are connected to everything.
Granted, there are varying levels. . . still everything and everyone is connected through this God Force, Infinite Energy.
You now understand that everything, even an inanimate object, emits a feeling. You understand that you are a feeling, as well.
You are not so much what you think, but what you feel and how you feel. Of course, what you think plays a big role in your feelings.
Realizing that everything is an energy with a specific feeling, you can begin to place your awareness into things to discover how they feel. How does the situation at work feel? How does the business proposal feel? How do I feel around this person?
Keep in mind that sometimes your subtle perception can get cluttered with your logic and therefore not perform accurately. However, the more you use your subtle perception, the more acute and sensitive it becomes.
From understanding that you are a feeling and that you are the God Force within, you can grasp the idea that you can mentally direct this God Force.
What this means is that you are a magnet for energy as well as a projector of energy.
You live inside a personal thought form that reflects your words and actions while at the same time reflecting your innermost hidden attitudes and feelings.
So, the first key point in the expanding of your awareness is to discipline your mind and watch what you say and do.
Dont allow your mind to pull you into actions that affirm weakness or that lower your energy and destroy your balance. Pay attention to your actions and make sure that you run your life in a positive and honorable way.
The other thing you need to watch is the hidden nature of your motivation.
When talking with others, notice and become aware of what it is that you are actually saying. Notice what subtle emotions are you experiencing as the conversation progresses.
By discovering your hidden motivation, you see why your life is often laced with unnecessary contradictions and frustration. The conscious part of you is seemingly acting honorably, and the subconscious taking the very opposite stance.
Another key point in the expanding of your awareness is to demand that your mind notice even the most irrelevant information.
In doing so, you heighten your awareness in the five senses. And, in watching your surroundings carefully, you gradually strengthen your sixth sense. . . picking up more and more of what is truly going on.
Heightening your powers of observation in the external world assists you in becoming more aware of your internal, visionary self.
By training your mind to look at the minute details of life you force it to become more perceptive.
The Universe is constantly talking to you and showing you things. . . both about yourself and others.
Ask the God Force to show you something in the next 24 hours, something you have never seen before. . . a perception, an intuition, a different way of looking at things that youve seen a hundred times prior.
Remember. . . everything is energy with a specific feeling.
In concentrating more and more on life and constantly asking yourself how things feel, you can easily and effectively master the process of expanding your awareness.
At Charlsie’s site you can download 7 Free chapters from ‘Our Ultimate Reality’ and a Free 7 part Energy mini-course. Please go to: http://www.manifestinguniverse.com
For over 15 years Charlsie has been consciously on (and off, on and off. . . now back on!) the path to transformation and greater awareness. Much of her time is spent observing nature, exploring metaphysics and pondering on the so-called mysteries of our Universe. Charlse has read extensively about energy and the various modalities of energy work and is certified in all levels of Reiki.
Author: Charlsie Winston
Keywords: energy,awareness,intuition,perception,feeling,universe
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By admin
March 22nd, 2009 at 10:18pm
Under Innovation
You see the ads for those invention submission services on television and in magazines. Getting the help you need to market your invention from a company that knows all the ins and outs - it’s a great idea, isn’t it? Of course, you may have also heard the stories of people who have spent $15,000 and more for these services, and gotten nothing but general advice and form letters sent out to potential buyers.
Frightening? It should be. Not all these companies are entirely ethical, and even the honest ones can take a lot of your money for no result. How do you protect yourself when hiring help for the invention submission process? Start by asking the following questions before you agree to a thing.
1. What is the total number of inventions they have evaluated in the last three years, and how many did they decline to represent? Most inventions out there are not really marketable. If the company accepts 90 percent of potential client’s inventions, they are more interested in quick money for themselves than in helping inventors.
2. Have they ever been investigated by, or in trouble with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), Better Business Bureau, Attorney general’s Office, or any other agencies? What was the result of the investigation?
3. How many customers have made money due to their services? If they refuse to give any answer, or any examples, try the next company.
4. What is the total number of their customers who have received a licensing agreement as a result of their services? If it is less than 5%, try the next company.
5. What up front fees are required, and what do you get for that fee? The more reputable companies will have smaller fees. They plan (or hope) to make their money from royalty agreements they get for you. You want a company that is betting on your invention.
6. Can you get the names and phone numbers of previous customers. Get several that are in your area. If they can’t give you any, be suspicious.
7. Do they provide a written opinion of the marketability of your product? (Note: I paid for this from a company that does only this, and so has no bias. For less than $200, they took a good look at my product, and gave good reasons why it wasn’t very marketable. I suspect many invention submission companies would have gladly told me it was great and taken thousands to promote an invention that in the end wouldn’t sell.)
8. Can you get copies of any contracts and forms before you pay the fee? If not, move on.
9. Who chooses and pays the patent attorney? You should do this, so the attorney is directly representing you.
You may be a great inventor, but know nothing about patenting, selling or licensing an invention. This is why invention submission companies exist. Just be sure you get satisfactory answers to these important questions before you hire one.
Copyright Steve Gillman. For inventions, new product ideas, business ideas, story ideas, political and economic theories, deep thoughts, and a free course on How To Have New Ideas, visit http://www.999ideas.com
Author: Steven Gillman
Keywords: invention submission,invention,ideas
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March 22nd, 2009 at 10:18pm
Under Innovation
Most of us are familiar with the colloquial term keep it simple stupid or KISS. The phrase, often used derisively to pan a complex over-analysis of a problem, is part of the current idiom. The assumption that simplicity is the preferred route to successfully discovering the answer to a particularly complex problem is actually grounded on a 700-year old philosophical theorem: Occams Razor.
William of Occam was a 14th century Franciscan friar from England. His postulation, after intense study of the complex questions pertaining to religion, philosophy and science, was that the route to answering difficult problems lay in shaving away the complicated, dense alternative propositions and staying with the simplest, most obvious answer. The simplest choice amongst a menu of options was usually the best route to understanding and deciding a proper course to take in addressing a problem. Occams Razor, or as we moderns say, keep it simple stupid is a rule that has proven timeless in the pursuit of answers to the great open questions of commerce, science and philosophy.
The great American designer, Raymond Loewe, was once asked: what was the perfect shape for design enhancement? Mr. Loewe, the designer of the Wurlitzer juke box, the Studebaker Avanti and dozens of other trend making consumer products thought for a moment and answered, the egg. He noted, the egg is round, oval, oblong, is spherically variable from one end to the other, remarkably strong and yet fragile. The simple shape of the egg had been invaluable to his creativity when addressing novel design ideas.
Note the lines in the worlds most classic automobiles. The 1963 Jaguar XKE is the only automobile included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Collectors still marvel at the stunning profile of this car, the beauty of the low slung coach, and the simple, almost minimalist lines of its bonnet. Bugatti, Packard, Rolls Royce and Cord are just a few examples of rolling works of art that utilized an understated, simple but elegant approach to presenting timeless beauty in the form of the automobile.
The world is so full of simple solutions to problems that had been previously thought of as difficult that we now take them for granted. The zipper is an excellent example. The ability to quickly dress and undress, construct garments with utility and thrift and style cloth fabrics into more functional clothing designs was impeded for most of history by the question of closures. Bits of leather, strings, crude buttons, stays and various other primitive devices were used to close a jacket coat or pantaloons. Various closures were invented over the centuries, but the perfection and invention of the simple zipper revolutionized the art, and commerce of clothing production.
The Post-It Note, the paper clip, the staple gun, the Bic pen, fire, the wheel, nylon, champagne, chocolate, the printing press and myriad other inventions that seem so simple and logical today were conceived by keeping it simple stupid. Many a millionaire is rich not because of a new algorithm, or advanced spectrometer design, but because they have found a way to improve everyday life.
Occrams Razor does apply equally to advanced scientific and industrial problems. It is utilized, usually unknowingly, to this day in the high tech world. However, for inventors and entrepreneurs seeking to market their idea, the simple assumption contained in this 700-year old postulation provides invaluable guidance. The answer you seek is probably near, almost certainly contained in your lifes experience.
My consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, reviewed over 600 products, services and inventions last year. I remain amazed at the creativity extant today. Very few of the 600 will succeed commercially. Many variables effect potential product success in the market place. Nevertheless, fully a third of these reviews contained exciting creative and marketable elements. Invariably these strong candidates for market acceptance included the tenets of Occams Razor. They provided simple, needed features and/or benefits that address needs.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss the article or a project of interest to you. I am a serial-entrepreneur and love to share creative juices with like- minded inventors. Geoff Ficke, 407 260 1127, gficke@msn.com, www.DuquesaMarketing.com
Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money.
After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.
Geoff Ficke and his consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, Inc. (http://www.duquesamarketing.com) has assisted businesses large and small, domestic and international, entrepreneurs, inventors and students in new product development, capital formation, licensing, marketing, sales and business plans and successful implementation of his customized strategies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
Author: Geoff Ficke
Keywords: entrepreneurs, inventions, product development, problem solving, marketing, consulting, innovations
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March 22nd, 2009 at 10:18pm
Under Innovation
This article came about as a result of a presentation made recently. The aim was to assist business people and entrepreneurs by telling them what would happen when they were innovating, what it would feel like, what the cost would be and what impact there would be on staff, family and friends. This is information not readily given out by consultants and business support organisations. The ideas are all captured in a document entitled ‘How Innovation Works’ which is currently available in PDF format on request.
So what is first? Well, rather like installing a new IKEA kitchen, you need a case for actually doing it. In the case of the kitchen it is simple - we have no room, it is a health hazard etc. In many businesses it is a case of ‘we do this or go bust’ but there are less extreme reasons. Ask yourself:
- Why do I want to do this?
- What will I achieve?
- Am I willing to take the risk?
- Are my stakeholders with me?
- Am I prepared to change?
Note at this stage you might not know what you are going to do but you will know why and that you have given yourself permission to carry on..
Rather like building that kitchen you will need some tools and a map. The first tool is a new brain! Not literally, but you will have to think differently.
"Hallo Rabbit," he said, "is that you?" "Let’s pretend it isn’t," said Rabbit, "and see what happens." (Winnie-the-pooh)
Rather like Pooh and Rabbit we must adopt different modes of thinking. We will need to work with new tools, try out ideas, manage new staff and face new competition. The ideal model to follow is that of a modern terrorist organisation but without the flawed ideology. Think how they are managed and resourced, how they gather intelligence, how their networks are set up. You will need to consider one or all of the following:
- Team working
- Is management too hands on?
- Is there a desire to win?
- Do you know how to win?
- Do you look inwards or outwards?
- How do you manage external relationships?
- Do you have the appropriate culture?
- Do you get the best from your employees?
All of these things can be measured with our Innovation Toolkit.
Once you have the tools you will need some (metaphorical) space to work in. To create this consider:
Is it hard to do? Well if you consider that you will have to come up with ideas, transfer knowledge, think in half a dozen or so different modes simultaneously and ‘herd cats’ then you have some idea of the task ahead. It is all perfectly possible and many have travelled the path.
It is possible to define a methodology to follow and plan both innovation projects and continuous innovation. The ‘How Innovation Works’ document will shed more light on the topic if your are interested.
Derek Cheshire is an expert, speaker, consultant and facilitator in the areas of Business Creativity, Innovation and Idea Generation. He is creator of the Innovation Toolkit, and co creator of workshops such as Creating The Difference, Creativity as a Business Tool, Sticky Strategy and The Idea Factory. Derek is also a director of the PRD Partnership, experts in commercialising ideas.
You can receive regular ideas and updates on Business Creativity and Innovation by visiting http://www.creative4business.co.uk and filling out the simple sign up form. See also http://www.prdpartnership.com
Author: Derek Cheshire
Keywords: innovation, team working, management, culture, structure, learning, risk
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March 22nd, 2009 at 10:18pm
Under Innovation
It came to me in a dream. I was explaining the add-subtract-change problem solving technique to somebody. I had never heard of it before, but while awake I had been working on a book about problem solving. This new technique turned out to be a very useful technique when I tried it. It is an idea that has undoubtedly been thought of by others, but it was unknown to me until that moment.
I have had this happen before. I have had story ideas come to me in a dream, and solutions to problems. When I was younger, I even invented a way to sail my sled on the Lake Michigan ice in my dream. I tried it and it worked.
Maybe you have solved problems and had new ideas in your dreams as well. There is no doubt that it can happen, but how do we make it more likely, and more common? Try the following.
Getting Ideas In A Dream
- Think about it a lot. If a period of intense mental work on a problem precedes sleep, the subconscious mind has been instructed that this is important, and will continue to work on the problem during sleep.
- Write the problem down, and what qualities the solution may have, just before going to sleep. - Practice with simple problems. See if you can get yourself to imagine a new kind of furniture, or a new poem in a dream.
- Keep paper and pen by the side of the bed. Write down any ideas you have when you wake up. The process encourages your mind to have even more ideas. A tape recorder is even better, because you can use it without a light and quickly go back to sleep.
- If you wake up without an alarm, you are more likely to remember your dreams. If you need an alarm for work, try problem solving in dreams over the weekend.
- As soon as you wake up, quickly review any dreams you can recall. This sets them in your mind before you can forget them. Then you can think back on them later, to see if there is anything useful there.
- If you don’t need sound sleep, try sleeping on the floor or in another slightly uncomfortable way. The repeated waking up and going back to sleep gives you more opportunities to remember dreams. I took notes on nine dreams one night in this way, and had two good ideas from them. You can get good ideas in a dream. You can also have good ideas and solutions to problems come to you the next morning after you wake up. Review the problem mentally in the morning to encourage this latter process.
Are these scientifically proven techniques. No. Try to measure the value of an idea scientifically. Try to say what counts as an idea, in order to see if the frequency increases when using these little tricks. Scientific proof in this area is difficult for now, but people have had productive dreams for thousands of years, and there is nothing harmful in trying to find an answer in a dream. Why not give it a try?
Copyright Steve Gillman. For more ways to Solve Problems, and to get the Brain Power Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com
Author: Steven Gillman
Keywords: in a dream,dream,problem solving,solve problems
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