Can you invent something from scraps?

Recently I watched the semi-final week of BBC’s Masterchef. The challenge was to make something innovative from scraps and leftovers including cod’s head, scallops, salmon bones, pig’s ear and leftover fruit and vegetables. This invention test resulted in dishes such as cods cheek and scallop dumplings, salmon and scallop ravioli, coquilles St. Jacques and banofee pie using a leftover banana. For the best dishes, the judges commented, “who would have known these came from scraps?”

Use your intuition for better decisions in uncertain situations

Have you recently had to make a big decision such as taking a new job, hiring a new employee, starting or ending a business or deciding where to invest? Did you feel you had enough information? How did you go about it?

Warm yourself up for better results

“Bundle up, it’s cold outside.” These were frequent words from my mother, as I dressed for school on cold winter mornings. Sometimes bundling up meant putting on warm but ugly clothes. When I let my vanity get the better of me, I suffered on the way to and from school and outside on the playground. Over time I learned the value of staying warm, in spite of outward appearances.

Express your appreciation and share your stories

December is one of the busiest months of the year. We are rushing to finish projects, going to holiday parties and buying gifts – all with one less week in the month for getting things done before the end of the year.

Why then, when time is so precious, do we make time to send holiday cards?

Commit to an extracurricular organization for greater benefit

In a recent discussion about networking, a friend asked me what value “networking” organizations bring, i.e. Lions Club, Rotary Club, Executives International or Professional Women’s Network. This list also could include university alumni clubs, volunteer organizations and religious organizations. For simplicity, let’s call these extracurricular organizations.

Define 2-3 rocks each quarter to stay focused and gain traction

Recently I attended a workshop hosted by Agility 3 that reminded me of the importance of “rocks”. The idea from EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) is to break down the planning process into 90-day blocks and for each quarter have 2-3 rocks to focus on during that period to gain traction toward your goals.

It takes 50 hours for an acquaintance to become a friend. How will you carve out that time?

As summer comes to a close, perhaps you are preparing new goals for the rest of the year.

Meeting new people and building relationships may be one of these goals.

Keeping your nerve in the face of chronically anxious people and organizations

Recently a friend sent me this video link summarizing Friedman’s Theory of Differentiated Leadership. I found it interesting and bought the book A Failure of Nerve to learn more. Friedman says that “leadership is an emotional process of regulating one’s own anxiety.” He refers to this process as “self-differentiation. Or knowing where one ends and the other begins.”

Identifying takers from the start

Do you know anyone with whom these words resonate: energy zapper, taker, victim, drama queen, rescuer, manipulator?

Create a Reciprocity Ring for better innovation and value creation results

Recently I watched the webinar Creating a “Giver” Culture by Wayne Baker. He suggested that innovators, producers and value creators both provide help often and request help often, as shown in the diagram below.