In the latest issue of Fast Company, there is an extensive interview with Ed Catmull, President of Pixar, with some good excerpts from his forthcoming book Creativity, Inc. Although this is an excellent must-read article for innovators, the story that really grabbed my attention was actually told by editor Robert Safian in his leadership column, “Confessions of a Reformed Micromanager.” It included a story Catmull tells in his book, that did not make it into the article. Whil

A day care center had a problem. Working parents were occasionally late in picking up their children, creating scheduling issues for teachers and care-givers, and imposing costs on the day care center. On average, there were about eight late pick-ups per week. All problems are an opportunity for innovation, right? This day care center ran an experiment.[i] Call it a pricing innovation, or call it a reverse service innovation, but they spent twelve weeks trying out a fine syst

Try a quick exercise in innovation: Challenge 1) In sixty seconds, think of as many new solutions to existing problems as you can. Go. Challenge 2) In sixty seconds, think of as many new solutions to the problem of sorting paperwork on a desk using a wallet, a rock, and a book of matches. Go. For which challenge did you generate more solutions? For which challenge did you generate higher quality solutions? If you are using a human brain to come up with solutions, the likely a

As I sit and eat my bowl of cereal, hearing and feeling that delightful crunch before the milk saturates the toasted flakes of grain, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes attributed to the original management guru, Peter Drucker: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” [1] As my molars transform the once hardened, well-defined pieces of cereal into a digestible paste, I reflect on just how true that quote can be. Virtually every organization in the known universe trumpet