Kill the Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution has been named by global consulting leader Booz&Co  as one of the Best Business Books of 2012.

Written by futurethink as CEO, Lisa Bodell, the book offers straightforward, practical tools to transform company cultures and make innovation happen. Thought leaders such as Seth Godin, Tony Hsieh, and Marshall Goldsmith have praised Kill the Company for guiding organizations toward revolutionary change through simplifying and eliminating complexity and complacency.

Awaken your ability to think, innovate, and grow. Get Kill the Company today!

I am convinced that revolutionary leaders bent on innovation will take over the universe. With the status quo in just about every industry sucking wind, there is a new book out there that is kicking in teeth and helping business leaders – and marketers – take it to the next level.

Recently, I wrote in the Harvard Business Review digital edition a piece entitled “Marketing in Revolutionary Times.” I asked “how does a smart business respond in a time of heightened passions and greater activism?” And suggested that you run the risk of being out of step with your customers, if you fail to respond to this shift in the culture, with your company looking like a status quo brand in a revolutionary world.

Let’s talk innovation. Let’s ... Read More »]]> Author Scott Goodson reviews Kill the Company on Forbes.

I am convinced that revolutionary leaders bent on innovation will take over the universe. With the status quo in just about every industry sucking wind, there is a new book out there that is kicking in teeth and helping business leaders – and marketers – take it to the next level.

Recently, I wrote in the Harvard Business Review digital edition a piece entitled “Marketing in Revolutionary Times.” I asked “how does a smart business respond in a time of heightened passions and greater activism?” And suggested that you run the risk of being out of step with your customers, if you fail to respond to this shift in the culture, with your company looking like a status quo brand in a revolutionary world.

Let’s talk innovation. Let’s talk colliding worlds – business leadership + marketing. It’s happening in the C-Suite, and it’s the topic of discussion in boardrooms and on the golf course. Last week, I picked up and read Lisa Bodell’s wonderful and inspiring new book entitled “Kill The Company”. This book rocked my world. The content is more about leadership than marketing overall, but several themes pop and nicely align with the thinking above.

It’s not hyperbole to suggest that “Kill The Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution?” is changing the thinking of business leadership and is creating leaders wanting to drive marketing innovation. Well, you would, wouldn’t you?

Read the entire article on Forbes here.

We’ve developed a comprehensive tool called Questions for Hiring Innovators that has over 60 questions you can use to get at key capabilities around innovation. Some of those are things like Strategic Imagination, Provocative Inquiry, Creative Problem Solving, Agility, and Resilience. The probing questions are asked in interesting and open-ended ways to show you how people think and solve problems. For example:

- You have 5 minutes with the CEO. What question would you ask to get him/her thinking differently about the business?

- You’ve solved a problem in a totally different way. Explain how you did it and what the result ... Read More »]]> How can you tell when someone is really innovative? These days, this question is on a lot of people’s minds as they look to expand their team and bring in people who have capabilities that will drive them forward with innovation.

We’ve developed a comprehensive tool called Questions for Hiring Innovators that has over 60 questions you can use to get at key capabilities around innovation. Some of those are things like Strategic Imagination, Provocative Inquiry, Creative Problem Solving, Agility, and Resilience. The probing questions are asked in interesting and open-ended ways to show you how people think and solve problems. For example:

- You have 5 minutes with the CEO. What question would you ask to get him/her thinking differently about the business?

- You’ve solved a problem in a totally different way. Explain how you did it and what the result was.

- Management isn’t buying your idea. What do you do? How do you still move it forward without making barriers your excuse?

For these and other questions that can get you going beyond the ordinary in an interview, visit us at www.killthecompany.com.

Let me give you some examples: they might visit Shell’s website and look in the area on scenarios for the future to find alternative visions around energy. Or they might visit Long Bets, a site where visionaries of today place bets on what they think will happen tomorrow.

For this and other suggestions of how you can find the future, visit www.killthecompany.com

How can killing the company help you create the company of tomorrow? Tweet to download your free ... Read More »]]> What do you do to keep your antenna up? How do you and your teams look for what’s next? At futurethink, we use something called Futurist Sources. Futurists are people that know how to find possible, probable, and preferable futures for tomorrow. They use a mix of both mainstream and offbeat resources to help them figure it out.

Let me give you some examples: they might visit Shell’s website and look in the area on scenarios for the future to find alternative visions around energy. Or they might visit Long Bets, a site where visionaries of today place bets on what they think will happen tomorrow.

For this and other suggestions of how you can find the future, visit www.killthecompany.com

Get everybody together and give them a similar aspirational challenge. For example, what if we had to be the most innovative product team, or service team, or company in the next 12 months? We have unlimited funds, timing, resources… how would we do it? Let them brainstorm, give them 10 minutes. But at 7 minutes, stop them, catch them off-guard and call “Wild Card.” You can do this verbally or you ... Read More »]]> Often, teams feel that by going to a contingency plan or Plan B, it’s bad. In fact, with innovation things rarely go to plan, so being able to teach your teams to plan for change is probably the best thing you can do. One technique that we use with companies is called Wild Cards. It helps them prepare for change by thinking in more creative ways. Here’s how it works:

Get everybody together and give them a similar aspirational challenge. For example, what if we had to be the most innovative product team, or service team, or company in the next 12 months? We have unlimited funds, timing, resources… how would we do it? Let them brainstorm, give them 10 minutes. But at 7 minutes, stop them, catch them off-guard and call “Wild Card.” You can do this verbally or you could put the Wild Card in an envelope in the middle of the table for a more dramatic effect. For example, one of the Wild Cards we use is:

You now have to reach your goal, but you have no time. In fact, you have to do the same thing within 6 months. How can you accomplish your goal more quickly?

Wild Cards is a great tool to help people learn that things can still happen when Wild Cards are thrown their way. For this and other tools, visit us at www.killthecompany.com.

Let me give an example. Let’s pretend you’re the owner of a movie theater business. You might be having a hard time right now with new entertainment options, on-demand video, and things that are taking people places other than your theater. What do you do? Using 40 New Opportunities, you can analyze your business in new ways.

Maybe one of the things you look at ... Read More »]]> A powerful technique that we use with companies to help them get more value out of their existing intellectual property, products, or services is called 40 New Opportunities. It’s based on a technique called TRIZ, which is a Russian acronym that stands for “the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving.” 40 New Opportunities takes 40 new ways that you can look at your product, service, or business, and come up with new ideas you hadn’t thought of before.

Let me give an example. Let’s pretend you’re the owner of a movie theater business. You might be having a hard time right now with new entertainment options, on-demand video, and things that are taking people places other than your theater. What do you do? Using 40 New Opportunities, you can analyze your business in new ways.

Maybe one of the things you look at is Nested Doll: what can you nest inside the theater to draw people in, in new and different ways? Is it a dry cleaning service? An offbeat restaurant? An Apple store?

Maybe it’s Empower: think of new ways to empower your customers to choose their own seat or get their own food, giving them the option that they find valuable and creating more value for your business at the same time.

For techniques Like 40 New Opportunities, and other ways to get more out of your existing business, visit us at www.killthecompany.com

Let’s assume you’re coming up with new ideas for a restaurant. First, list all the things you assume have to go into a restaurant. You’ll say things like “it has to have food,” “it has to have a chef,” “it has to have a menu,” “it has to have tables.” The key to success is taking those assumptions and turning them on their head—maybe you ... Read More »]]> An effective technique that we use with organizations to stretch their thinking further is called Assumption Reversal. Too often, when we brainstorm we make assumptions around how something has to work or what has to be included in it for it to be a success. Those assumptions can often be wrong. Assumption Reversal allows you to take your assumptions and turn them on their head to create something totally new and different. Here’s how it works:

Let’s assume you’re coming up with new ideas for a restaurant. First, list all the things you assume have to go into a restaurant. You’ll say things like “it has to have food,” “it has to have a chef,” “it has to have a menu,” “it has to have tables.” The key to success is taking those assumptions and turning them on their head—maybe you don’t need food, tables, or a chef. Then, come up with ideas based on those reversals and you’ll be surprised at how you can really stretch your ideas. Maybe you come up with a restaurant that’s in the park, where people sit in hammocks, grow their own food, and serve themselves. You get the idea.

For this and other tools that can stretch your company even further, visit us at killthecompany.com.

Let’s say you’re brainstorming ideas for a table and you’ve run out of steam. What we ask you to do is to find a stimulus in the room. Maybe it’s a marker, the exit sign or, in this instance, we’ll use popcorn.

Think of the characteristics that popcorn puts in your head. I’ll come up with 3 right now: let’s say popcorn is fun, it’s light, and it’s natural. What does that make you think of, related back to the table? Well, I can make a table more fun by giving it legs that stretch to outrageous lengths. ... Read More »]]> One technique that we use with companies when they’re running out of new ideas in brainstorms is called Forced Connections. It helps you come up with more new and novel ideas around products, services, or a challenge that you have. Here’s how it works:

Let’s say you’re brainstorming ideas for a table and you’ve run out of steam. What we ask you to do is to find a stimulus in the room. Maybe it’s a marker, the exit sign or, in this instance, we’ll use popcorn.

Think of the characteristics that popcorn puts in your head. I’ll come up with 3 right now: let’s say popcorn is fun, it’s light, and it’s natural. What does that make you think of, related back to the table? Well, I can make a table more fun by giving it legs that stretch to outrageous lengths. What if we used “light?” Maybe our table will float. What about “natural?” Maybe this will be made of all-natural materials and be totally green.

Forced Connections can take the everyday and turn it into new and novel ideas by stretching you further with off-beat stimuli. For this and other techniques to help you push your business forward, visit us at www.killthecompany.com.

You might be surprised that you’re more resistant to new and novel ideas than you think. It’s a natural reaction, but we use a technique called PPCO with organizations to help them get in the mindset of possibilities versus being professional skeptics. PPCO is a technique that allows you to open your mind to something that’s new and different. Here’s how it works:

“P” is Pluses: what’s good about the idea that you’re evaluating?

The next “P” is Potential: what future benefits might result if we actually did something like this?

“C” is Concerns, ideally expressed as an open-ended question: how might we solve this problem? How might we think about overcoming the ... Read More »]]> Ask yourself this question: are you open to big ideas? Most people I ask, whether it’s in executive settings or in large conferences with hundreds of people, tend to say yes.

You might be surprised that you’re more resistant to new and novel ideas than you think. It’s a natural reaction, but we use a technique called PPCO with organizations to help them get in the mindset of possibilities versus being professional skeptics. PPCO is a technique that allows you to open your mind to something that’s new and different. Here’s how it works:

“P” is Pluses: what’s good about the idea that you’re evaluating?

The next “P” is Potential: what future benefits might result if we actually did something like this?

“C” is Concerns, ideally expressed as an open-ended question: how might we solve this problem? How might we think about overcoming the challenge I see in your idea?

Finally, “O” is Overcome: what suggestions can you give to help people overcome some of the nuances in their idea and make it better?

To get your teams started on this technique, try using a hypothetical example first. For example, one thing we use in our workshops is colored tires. We ask people: would you actually produce a colored tire? Most people say they wouldn’t do it, but when we put the idea through PPCO, they start to see the potential. Colored tires could make you more visible on the road, or they could open you up to a new market that you may not have explored before. By the way, colored tires are real, did you know that? Somebody actually did it.

PPCO is a great technique that allows you to overcome your natural resistance to new ideas so that you can move forward and be more innovative. For this and other techniques, visit us at www.killthecompany.com.

Get your teams together and have them think about this simple exercise: imagine that you’re in an airport and it’s five or ten years from now. You see your company on the front of a magazine or an e-zine. What does that magazine cover say?

Let me show you some examples of what a pharmaceutical company came up with. For example, here on the cover ... Read More »]]> Getting your teams to envision the future is a really important exercise, but it can be very difficult. We’re constantly focused on what’s going to happen tomorrow, next month, or even next quarter, to the detriment of thinking about what’s going to happen in three, five, or ten years. I use a technique called Picture the Future to help teams think more long-term and be able to concentrate on what’s driving the business in the first place.

Get your teams together and have them think about this simple exercise: imagine that you’re in an airport and it’s five or ten years from now. You see your company on the front of a magazine or an e-zine. What does that magazine cover say?

Let me show you some examples of what a pharmaceutical company came up with. For example, here on the cover of China Daily, we were talking about manufacturing in a complex world. In another example, in the Financial Times, we talked about blockbuster drugs, which is how we got to be the most innovative company. Finally, there’s the CEO talking at TED about how they became the most innovative company through culture change.

Being able to picture the future by drawing it helps people understand  what’s in your head and is much better than using PowerPoint jargon and bullet points to think about the long-term vision.

For Picture the Future and other tools just like this, visit us at www.killthecompany.com.