“The pursuit of shibumi in business, work and life is guided by several key concepts, seven of which fit neatly under the heading of creativity.”
The Zen of Business: 7 Habits of the Highly Creative – Matthew E. May
February 14th, 2011 · No Comments · Creativity, Marketing
Tags:Creativity·Ideas·Marketing
Games Can Make the World a Better Place
February 10th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Business Models, Ideas, Marketing, Sustainability, trends
Game dynamics are invading real life and they have big influences on how we buy and behave. A key psychological catch is essential to making these new business models work. In games, we behave as the best versions of ourselves. We need to make real life more like a game. Games are helping to solve real world problems like oil shortages and environmental degradation.
Tags:Business Models·Games·Ideas·Marketing·Social Good·trends
An Amazing Example of Curated Content: Free as a Business Model
February 9th, 2011 · No Comments · Business Models, Ideas, trends
1) There are numerous examples of companies prospering by giving away their product for free. Can a free business model transform your business? 2) In a world of information overload, quality curated content is highly needed. Can you create evergreen content that your customers will search for and bookmark?
Tags:Business Models·free·Ideas·trends
Is it Unethical to Gouge our Best Customers?
February 8th, 2011 · No Comments · Business Models, Ideas, Marketing
The people most likely to buy your premium products and services are also likely to be your biggest fans. It always struck me at wrong to charge these people high prices for ebooks and membership programs. Shouldn’t you be rewarding your best supporters rather than trying to squeeze as much profits as you can out of them?
Share Office Space to Lower Costs and Increase Collaboration
February 7th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Collaboration, Creativity, Ideas, trends
I love the idea of co-working type environments where freelancers and smaller businesses can minimize some of the costs of having an office, yet still get the benefits of a shared work space. There is a buzz and energy when you work around other creative entrepreneurs that is near impossible to duplicate when in cafes or at home. These benefits can be amplified if you take time to find a company that you might work together with or for. ShareYourOffice is a fantastic idea that I hope is really successful.
Tags:Collaboration·Creativity·Ideas·trends
Is Social Media Making us Less Human?
January 24th, 2011 · No Comments · Ideas, social media
“Technology is threatening to dominate our lives and make us less human. Under the illusion of allowing us to communicate better, it is actually isolating us from real human interactions in a cyber-reality that is a poor imitation of the real world.”
Tags:Ideas·social media·trends
Gamestorming (Games + Brainstorming) – Fun, Creativity Techniques by Dave Gray
January 18th, 2011 · No Comments · Business Models, Collaboration, Creativity, Ideas, trends
In this video, Dave Gray shares some of the ideas and techniques of his latest book Gamestorming (combines games with brainstorming). Gray explains that most corporations are designed like factories with a focus on efficiency rather than creativity. He suggests that we need to move from “factories to collaboratories or environments for collaboration.”
Tags:Creativity·Design·Ideas·trends
Do you Run a Business or a Company?
January 12th, 2011 · No Comments · Business Models, Entrepreneurship, Ideas
“Apple Computer started life as a business, not a company.” The differences between a business and company offer some intriguing insights and might be a worthwhile business planning exercise for entrepreneurs.
Tags:Business Models·Entrepreneurship·Ideas·venture capital
What 7 Billion People Means – Great Animated Video from National Geographic
January 10th, 2011 · No Comments · Ideas, trends
The population of our planet will reach 7 billion people this year. National Geographic created this fantastic video outlining some key facts about what 7 billion people mean to the world.
Tags:Animations·Ideas·trends
Do Businesses Understand Collaboration?
January 7th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Collaboration, Creativity
Despite the wide spread use of social media and collaboration tools like Google Docs, I still see many people working with email processes. Email works, but for most work, online collaboration is much more effective. Here is a very simple comparison of two ways to work together on the creation of a single document. Real collaborative efforts unleash creativity that is difficult to realize with linear processes like emailing back and forth.

