3 Benefits of Scenario-Based Innovation
Scenario-based innovation takes mega trends and industry-specific trends and translates them into future scenarios. These scenarios define future states – for example, over the next five to eight years – to identify potential long-term ideas. Those ideas are then typically used to create a concrete business model and a tangible action plan.
The Future of Work Is Not That Far Away
If you read through the litany of commentators who wax extemporaneously about what workplaces will be like in years to come, you hear about things like “open concepts” and “remote workers.” You also hear a lot about creating effective workplace culture and crafting maximized organizational structures. And of course, you hear a lot about the benefits of AI. These are buzzwords, and if I had a nickel for every buzzword that gets thrown at me on a daily basis, I would have retired many years ago. That said, if you peel away the buzzwords, you uncover some truly impactful trends that are driving the workplace of the future.
No Matter What Business You’re In, You Are In The Business of Selling
Kendrick Shope: I coach a lot of entrepreneurs, many of whom are brilliant at what they do, have excellent people skills, and should be setting the world on fire. Unfortunately, they’re stuck trying to make ends meet when they should be doing seven figures in a year because they haven’t mastered the art of selling. It’s a skill like any other, and once you learn it and become really good at it, your business is going to change forever. If you really want to up your sales game this year, focus on these five selling strategies.
Street Culture: A Culture of Growth at PacketZoom
“Introducing [new employees] to the culture has been very important; it’s important that the people we hire are growth-oriented,” PacketZoom co-founder Chetan Ahuja says. “We want them to already be useful to the business, but their main goal is to grow and to grow with the company. They’re much more valuable that way.”
Street Culture: mParticle CEO on Appreciating People and the Founder’s Journey
“We want people who have historically been lucky. People who have demonstrated the ability to go out and create their own luck,” CEO Michael Katz says. “People who are curious, who engage and ask questions and generally listen, [who are] not just waiting for a pause in the conversation. “
Street Culture: Choozle’s Culture Attracts a New CTO and a New Dialogue
Getting rid of job titles and helping people detach from job titles are two of the biggest challenges around refocusing a company on its culture and its values, CTO John Schnipkoweit says. At Choozle, the culture is focused around the product it is creating, and allowing that product to drive the company.
Street Culture: Life at Boxed Means “Do The Right Thing”
Wholesale ecommerce retailer Boxed is taking its position as team leader seriously. The company pays for its employees’ kids to go to college. It looked at the industry-wide “pink tax” and started a campaign against the higher prices. It even started contributing $20,000 to pay for employees’ weddings.
At Liftoff, a Classic Formula for Company Culture
It’s never too early to be intentional about establishing and promoting the key values you want your team to emulate, says Liftoff’s CEO Mark Ellis. It provides a set of criteria against which to assess candidates from a cultural fit perspective, as well as a rationale for promoting certain employee behaviors and discouraging others.
Street Culture: Metrics for a Global Community
While some company founders sit down and write out their core values and identify what their company’s culture should be before they even find the people who will help them, others just go with their gut. For Pete Gombert, founder of local marketing company Balihoo, his gut feeling about culture has turned into a whole new company.
Street Culture: Balancing Structure and Exploration in Company Culture
Environment, talent, and process all encourage the growth of innovation, according to IT research firm CEB, which was recently acquired by Gartner. But there’s a balancing act that must take place between structure and exploration — especially for smaller companies on a fast upward growth curve.
The 3 C’s at the Foundation of Successful Agencies
Here are three C’s (and no, we’re not talking about third-party cookies!) to focus on to position your agency for long-term success.