There was a great article in Forbes, “An Innovation Leadership Revolution is Brewing,” by Henry Doss. He starts it off with a great quote by T.S. Eliot, “If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” That is awesome. It really says how limiting we can be as leaders… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Trust
Unleash the employees…let them fly!
Employees are great idea generators, and innovators – but only when freed by management. I get this because I am right in the middle of it as we continue to find more ways to be innovative and more ways to “re-invent” ourselves for the future. One thing I have found to be for sure –… Continue Reading
The Road to Innovation at EJ Bartells – part two…
So the last time we left off in Part One of our story, we had just left the management team of the Mountain States Region in a room for two days to work as a team to come up with innovative and creative ways to surpass what we were forecasting for growth. They were stumped… Continue Reading
Are you “Leading” or “Managing” Innovation?
As the CEO of a company and now blogger in the area of innovation, I struggle with this question when I talk with people our own employees. Innovation is fun. Innovation is exciting. Innovation is challenging…and it is being on the forefront of something new or improved. Who wouldn’t want to be involved in innovation?… Continue Reading
Two reasons to Innovate…maybe only ONE
At EJ Bartells, we have always taken pride in being a very “customer centric” or “customer focused” company. It has been a big part of who we are and what has helped make us successful over the past several decades. But as we have embarked on blogging about innovative ideas, processes, and solutions, something hit… Continue Reading
Does Innovation “Scare” or “Motivate” your employees?
Innovation is a complex word – not because it’s hard to understand, but because of the extra “baggage” that goes along with the word. When people hear the word, it can send shivers down their back for one of two reasons – either they fear what will happen or they are excited about what will… Continue Reading
“Collaborative Consumption” – created out of opportunity
The term “Collaborative Consumption” may be unfamiliar to many of you today but it won’t tomorrow. Innovation and creativity are born out of need in many cases but our of leveraging something new in others. Today we have social media (you are experiencing it right now if you are reading this blog) and many advances… Continue Reading
Four key “ingredients” to being Innovative
Over the years I have seen a lot of great innovative people and leaders in a variety of organizations – many of them being customers, employees, and other CEOs. I learned some very basic and key points over the years when dealing with people and thought it would be helpful to share these with you.… Continue Reading