Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation
    CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation
    CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation
    Ebook176 pages2 hours

    CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation

    By Stephen C. Lundin

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    It's time to let the CATS out of the bag . . .

    Curiosity might have killed the proverbial cat, but without it very real achievements would never occur. With this book as your guide, you’ll learn how to spark your innate curiosity, pounce on problems in ways you never imagined, and enjoy greater success and satisfaction at work—and in your personal life.

    Playful, profound, and positively upbeat, CATS provides what you need to tap into your power of innovation—and then unleash it in every member of your organization. While most business thinkers view this challenge from the top down, Stephen Lundin sees the subject from a CAT's-eye view, explaining how to get every employee--no matter what level--to think and act in innovative ways. Inside, he examines the four challenges to innovation and offers practical measures aimed at conquering them. You'll learn how to:

  • Be brave ('fraidy cats never innovate)
  • Stop being “normal” (make your own rules!)
  • Embrace failure (it's the only way to learn)
  • Foster creativity (don't be a control freak)

    Lundin then describes the Nine Lives of Innovation, each of which is a step toward realizing your inner CAT and becoming a fully contributing member of an innovative organization.

    Prowling inside every employee is a questioner, a creator, an innovator--claws out and ready to pounce. Become a CAT and you may fi nd yourself springing on ideas in a way that surprises you—and everyone around you.

    • LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMcGraw-Hill Education
    Release dateJan 14, 2009
    ISBN9780071602228
    CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation

    Related to CATS

    Related ebooks

    Business For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      Dealing with CAVE People

      May 1, 2019

      What is a CAVE person? The acronym stands for Citizens Against Virtually Everything. It’s a term I first heard in the 1990s while consulting with a group of supervisors at a manufacturing plant. Metaphorically, it refers to people who resist any kind

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      EAT Your Way To HEALTH

      May 13, 2021

      EAT Your Way To HEALTH
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Cultivating FLOW

      Dec 21, 2020

      Cultivating FLOW
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Dave Asprey

      Aug 4, 2020

      Dave Asprey
      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      An Evolution of Wisdom

      Aug 31, 2020

      An Evolution of Wisdom
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Tone Your Tummy

      Nov 3, 2021

      Tone Your Tummy
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Foods That Boost Energy

      Nov 13, 2019

      Foods That Boost Energy
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Ask The Expert…

      Dec 1, 2020

      Author Pete Mosley works with introverts and quiet or shy people who lack the self-belief to promote themselves or grab life with both hands Q I used to love travelling in Europe, with its different cultures and food. Before the pandemic, I began

      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Word Of Mouth

      Sep 15, 2019

      Word Of Mouth
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Smile PLEASE!

      Apr 1, 2021

      Smile PLEASE!
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Getting Mouth Fit

      Aug 14, 2019

      Getting Mouth Fit
      10 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      How to Win on 'Shark Tank'

      Oct 1, 2016

      How to Win on 'Shark Tank'
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Decode Your Cravings

      Oct 11, 2017

      Words STEPHANIE OSFIELD When you’re hit by a powerful food craving, do you reach for something that’s salty, sweet or high in fat? Your choice may not be as random as you think. In fact, the tastes you prefer and the foods you crave can provide impor

      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Q&A

      Jan 1, 2024

      Think about a start-up, but at scale. An archetypal tech start-up is an egalitarian band of people on a mission. It’s not terribly hierarchical — people do whatever needs to be done, but they’re all pointed in the same direction. They keep iterating

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Innovation Amidst a Pandemic

      Jan 1, 2021

      So much has changed in recent months. How is the pandemic affecting AI and machine learning innovation? Most machine learning is used to make predictions about the future and to help business leaders make better decisions today. Fortunately, the type

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Don't Like It? Change It

      Mar 23, 2020

      Don't Like It? Change It
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      MOVERS & SHAPERS

      Apr 6, 2021

      MOVERS & SHAPERS
      15 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The New Asia

      Mar 9, 2020

      The New Asia
      52 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The New Asia

      Mar 10, 2020

      The New Asia
      53 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for CATS

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      CATS - Stephen C. Lundin

      CATS

      PART ONE

      Innovation Turned Upside Down

      It is really quite simple: Innovative organizations are places with innovative people. The strategy question has to be, How do we develop the capacity to innovate residing in our employees?

      Much of what is written about innovation describes the view from 30,000 feet. My point of view is at sea level. Most of what is written about innovation is geared to the top of the organization. It makes more sense to me to turn the organization upside down. It is my view that employees are the primary source of innovation in an organization.

      I believe that all innovation is personal, and to focus exclusively on abstractions such as the organization, strategy, and culture takes our attention away from the true source of all innovation, you and me.

      High-altitude articles, books, and white papers often identify a technique or practice found inside a company and suggest that the success of the company is a direct result of that technique or practice. Company X is innovative because it promotes self-managed teams. Company Y is innovative because it hires a diverse workforce. Company Q is not innovative because it has implemented Six Sigma. Company Z is innovative because specific individuals are assigned the role of sponsor. Company J is innovative because the CEO understands discontinuities. Company HR is innovative because it rewards innovation.

      Don’t misunderstand; the body of high-altitude work is useful and important. As a student of innovation, I read these articles and books with relish. I simply want to make one thing perfectly clear: I believe that we have devoted far too much attention to top executives and an organization’s strategy and far too little attention to the primary source of innovation. We have let the CAT out of the bag!

      CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation has a personal focus. I assume that any organization is better off if it has innovative people to populate the strategies, structures, and systems. This is a book about developing the capacity to innovate at all levels of the organization. It is time to turn things upside down.

      One recent book, Innovation to the Core, comes close to echoing this same view. The authors draw a parallel between the quality movement and the approach to innovation they prescribe. In the quality movement, the early efforts focused on developing specialists in quality. Soon, a massive quality industry emerged that provided quality consulting, quality gurus, quality mouse pads, and quality training. Eventually, it became that an effective quality effort had to involve each member of the organization as a primary source for quality. It became standard practice to view each employee as someone who had a role in quality. In other words, quality was driven to the core of the organization, the individual. Quality was turned upside down.

      The case made in Innovation to the Core is that innovation, like quality, must be driven to the core and become a responsibility of every employee. For this reason, organizations need to train employees to innovate. I agree.

      However, the authors of Innovation to the Core stop short of describing what innovation looks like at the personal level and how we should develop the capacity to innovate in individual employees. And that is precisely why I wrote CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation. I wrote it to describe what innovation looks like at the personal level and to provide a curriculum for training individuals in the tools, concepts, and practices of personal innovation. This is a book for any person who wants to develop her* ability to innovate.

      CHAPTER 1

      All Innovation Is Personal

      Fundamentally, We Are the Source of All Innovation

      This is a book about innovation. I’ll pause while you cover that yawn. Don’t be embarrassed, I understand. Okay? Let me start again. This is a book about innovation, but the perspective of the book is personal, and the potential results are both personal and organizational. Is there a little more energy in that?

      This is about you, a you that has the potential to be more productive than the present you. This is about a you that can have more vitality at work and greater satisfaction with life. Do I have your full attention now? You see, personal innovation produces the natural energy of life. And natural energy is what gives life its juice. It makes you want to howl.

      If you wish to create a vital life, one that is meaningful and deeply satisfying, innovation can help you to get there. Just think about the parts of your life that give you the greatest sense of satisfaction right now. It is often the everyday tasks that provide opportunities for us to innovate. Think about the parts of your life that have energy for you. Aren’t they the places where you are engaged in the act of creation? Use the list below to stimulate your memory.

      Organizing a successful fund-raiser for charity

      Mentoring another person and finding ways to help him or her grow

      Finding a faster way to wash the dishes

      Responding to the uniqueness in another

      Doing something routine in a new way

      Trying a new route to work and discovering a new favorite restaurant

      Establishing a family night in a way that engages all ages

      Writing a book, article, or important e-mail in a way that is authentic and original

      Creating a poem, song, or dynamite ditty in the car

      Building a sand castle with your grandchildren

      Building a sand castle without your grandchildren

      Finding a novel way to say I love you

      Starting a business

      Starting another business

      Securing a big order

      Having an idea in the shower that solves a problem

      Rearranging the furniture in the family room

      Reinventing your work life

      Building a second revenue

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1