Part of this may depend on your entrepreneurial tendency and your sense of personal control. As an entrepreneur, I feel a strong sense of ownership of my efforts and ideas. It’s not about money for me, though. It’s about making sure the fruits of my labor and my creative ventures are being put to good use – that they’re helping change lives. It’s about ensuring my ideas and efforts move forward according to my personal mission. I’m curious – does that matter so much for folks who don’t consider themselves entrepreneurial?

For employees for whom the level of purpose described above is also a key motivator, it is your responsibility to align your job choices with your values. Unfortunately that is not always possible given the current job-market challenges, but ultimately, it is a worthy goal.

Companies that have benefited the most from employee-driven innovation exert effort to make sure their employees are engaged in the process. Whether it is through monetary reward or non-financial recognition, they find ways to motivate folks to contribute their creative ideas to forward the company’s mission. For an enlightening view on what motivates people (and it isn’t always what you think!) check out this great TED Talks video featuring Dan Pink.

The bottom line for employers: it is crucial that you keep in mind that different people are driven by different things and value different types of rewards. Just because something drives you, don’t assume it motivates others.

So can work-for-hire stifle innovation? Only if you let it…

Interestingly enough, the “Apple IPad” was originally a not-so-flattering skit that MadTV put on years ago. Just search for iPad on YouTube and you’ll find it.

The biggest question I (and many others have): didn’t someone do their RESEARCH before launching this product? Were there any women on the team? And if so, were they not comfortable enough to speak up? HOW could this have gotten past any level of market testing and scrutiny?

This is a perfect case for why you need diversity on your teams charged with innovation. You need to consider different points of view based on gender, ethnicity, culture, language, and psycho-graphics of whoever constitutes your target demographic. And it would be nice to make sure you’re not offending or isolating an entire population of people. Just PLEASE, Apple, don’t release the new iPad in red….

The E-Myth Revisited

We were talking about her business – a service many people could use – but I was (in my normal boot-in-the-butt form), asking who her target market was. Had she chosen a niche? What was her marketing strategy? The blank but overwhelmed stare told me what I suspected: she didn’t know. Now this is a really smart lady, but she was visibly frustrated by not having answers to questions that apparently nagged at her as well. What she had discovered is a trap many entrepreneurs fall into: shoot first, ask questions later.

I see it all the time. I have an idea/skill/talent/product. I think it is cool, that people need it. My friends and family see the need or the value, but that’s as far as I’ve gone to validate my idea or my fine tune my approach to the market. And when the capital requirements tend to be low, it is tempting to just quickly hang out a shingle and call it a business without doing any serious primary market research. In my experience, this can be deadly.

So my friend is commenting on how hard it is to get things set up while also delivering, and that she doesn’t have time to do any market research. The best advice I could think to give her: just listen. Talk to everyone you know about what you’re doing and then – and here’s the part many entrepreneurs miss – actually listen to the feedback you receive. Now I’m not suggesting you pay attention to the naysayers who tell you that you’re crazy (we all get that at some point). Ignore that, unless those naysayers are also your target customers. Actually going out and sharing your concept/product/service with potential buyers who have no reason to tell you they love it is the best way to get real feedback. You have to be open to what they say and fight the urge to defend or sell something, at least until you’ve fully explored their objective thoughts about it.

Even better than hearing from potential customers is to talk to existing or past customers. I’ve been surprised a number of times when I asked the question “Why did you buy from us?” and didn’t get the exact answer I was expecting. Where do you think the “Boot in the Butt” came from or how I came up with my title Chief Muse? Both originated from my clients and my students.
So many times, your customers can be the ones to provide you with better marketing copy than you could ever come up with because they talk about what they value. You see yourself through their lens, highlighting what is important to them. Their comments are likely to be about the benefits they receive, not the features you’re offering, which can be and often are different.

The more you hear your customers and adapt your products and services to match their needs, the you will come to actually meeting their needs. And if what you offer already provides that benefit they’re looking for, you might find an opportunity to tweak your message so that it is in their words, not yours, giving you insight future customers can relate to.

In today’s Washington Post Magazine, there was a great article on Kevin Plank and Under Armour.  Under Armour in addition to being close to home physically (I live near Baltimore), carries a personal connection. My nephew Kevin Kirk was recruited by CEO Kevin Plank to be an intern. After reading this article, I understand why Mr. Plank took such a shining to my college-age nephew: I think he sees in him the same entrepreneurial spirit he has always exhibited. Based on the article, it seems both Kevins (Plank and Kirk) spent a good deal of their teenage years finding different ways to make some money. For Plank, in college, it was selling flowers. For my nephew (who is still in college) it has been selling girls’ accessories like head bands, pashmina shawls, flip flops, purses – whatever he can get in cheap supply and sell at girls’ and women’s sports tournaments.

One of the things that stood out to me is how Under Armour has engaged in an intense battle to overtake their competition: Nike and Reebok. Sort of a David and Goliath story with multiple Goliaths. What Under Armour has accomplished so far is amazing and I’m sure if you asked someone today about starting up in an industry with such large, established competition they would tell you that you’re nuts. If anyone had told Kevin that, he certainly wasn’t listening. With smart marketing, sheer determination, and maniacal focus, Kevin Plank has beaten the odds and turned the company he started right out of college into a force to be reckoned with approaching $1B in revenues. Impressive indeed.

Given the sports/competition mentality of this company and having been to their offices a couple times, I’m certain the unifying mission to take on the giants in their industry is a powerful motivator and could be the catalyst for the innovation they’re going to need to overcome such formidable opponents. They have a young, smart workforce so I’m anxious to see what they come up with, but to materialize the kind of  innovation needed requires more than just an idea or two. You have to uncover and recognize the right opportunities (yes, there is a difference between IDEA and OPPORTUNITY) and then execute flawlessly. Kevin and UA have done this before, but will what got them here get them where they want to go next? Time will tell.

When I see their most recent approaches and new products, they seem to be taking a head-to-head approach with the Big Guys. They appear to be asking “How can we do that, too?” I wonder if they might be asking the wrong questions.  Hmmm. Maybe I’ll drop them a line and see if they could use a Muse. I just might know one.

ACTiVATE(R) Class of 2009

incredible women from the ACTiVATE® at UMBC’s Class of 2009. I am sad because we have spent every Monday night of the last year together (OK – we took the summer off!). As with classes before, it’s been a great experience. I felt privileged to witness incredible growth in already strong, accomplished women. Just goes to show – we all have room to grow no matter WHAT stage we’re at!

Dr. Kimberly Brown, ACTiVATE® @ UMBC Class of 2007, did an excellent job at delivering the keynote speech. She talked about what motivates people to make the leap into entrepreneurship – to move from the finite realm of job descriptions to the infinite possibilities entrepreneurship brings. ACTiVATE®, she said, made a difference for her by making the impossible indeed VERY possible. When she joined the program, she was negotiating to buy a business but at a standstill. Some simple advice she received at her interview provided her with the information she needed to move the talks along and purchased a government contract just 2 days into the class. Her company, Amethyst Technologies was born. What started as a 2 person company with 1 client has now grown 20 people with 9 clients, purely through word-of-mouth marketing. Incredible.Getting to know Kimberly through the program and outside of it, I am confident Amethyst is posed for even greater growth and impact under her leadership. Her opportunities are infinite.

Among the benefits Kim talked about receiving from the program, one that stood out in my mind as hard to find elsewhere was the support of and connections with other women like her. ACTiVATE® provided not only a community of smart, successful women focused on the same goal (starting a company), but we were able to provide her with numerous role models and connections to inspire, motivate, and assist her on her path. Emlyn Stancill, one of our current graduates, reiterated Kim’s sentiment at the end of the night. She said she’s so busy with

motherhood and work that she never has the opportunity to meet other women who so ‘get’ what

she’s trying to do. Through the other women in the ACTiVATE® program who get and support her, she’s found her people. And we SO get her because we are just like her!

As with the 4 years prior, another group of women are added to the impressive list of ACTiVATE® graduates. I recommend that you watch out for them…you’ll be seeing their businesses making headlines in no time!

“Last year was a tough one for many organizations, with smaller workforces required to do more with less. The new year looks to be more of the same. How can leaders of such organizations motivate their people as they head into 2010?”

Besides this being somewhat pessimistic about what the year holds in store for us, I found it a pretty broad question with varied answers from the team of business executives chosen to respond. The reply that got my attention came from Beth Brooke with Ernst & Young. She’s also a fellow Corporate Ambassador with Vital Voices. Her answer can be best summed up in her own words: “If cost-cutting wrapped up the last decade, this decade should be launched by innovation stimulated by the friction of diversity.”

She goes on to clarify that she’s about talking diversity not just along the traditional lines of

race and gender, but diversity of thought and experience. And I especially like her use of the word friction because it sounds better than conflict and tends to indicate less hostility. So many thought leaders in management have pointed out (and I learned the hard way) that a team without friction is not likely to be a very innovative team. Why? Because either everyone is thinking alike (not good) or folks are afraid to speak their minds (even worse). Good ideas don’t evolve out of those types of environments.

Instead, out of a confluence of different ideas emerges the next GREAT opportunity when the exchange is handled right. By handled right I mean the different ideas and opinions are productively managed and focused on a positive outcome. Productive conflict.

So the next time you’re in a meeting or talking with a colleague and disagree, remember that it’s a good thing. Diversity of thought can lead to incredible opportunities for innovation.

I’m happy to say that I’ve inherited or adopted (or a combination of both) his outlook on failure.

My nephew was bemoaning (over Facebook) his recent holiday retail fiasco. He had hoped to clean up on an entrepreneurial opportunity that didn’t quite work out. My words of wisdom (though he might have seen them as something else at the time): You can’t fail if you’ve learned a lesson, though sometimes lessons can be expensive. And that ‘expense’ doesn’t always have to be money – sometimes it is our time. When I talked to him, we discussed what he learned. Where the experience was costly from a monetary perspective, he learned some tough lessons he’s not likely to repeat. So was his foray into holiday retail a failure? Hardly.

So many people talk about ending a year by thinking back on their accomplishments, what a great year they had. This year, I’m recommending something different.

Think back on the things that didn’t work out the way you planned or didn’t produce the result you wanted or expected.  What did you learn from them? What can you do differently going forward? And if you can’t recall anything, think about that too. Maybe you held back on taking a risk? The problem with being afraid of failure and not taking risks as a result is: how do you know how far you can go unless you test your limits? If you’re not experiencing at least a little failure, are you really stretching yourself to reach your full potential? Failure happens…it is how you look at it and what you do with it that makes the difference.

So what lessons have you learned this past year? How have these outcomes revealed changes you need to make or new opportunities you should pursue? Embrace these lessons, however painful, and you’ll find yourself growing as a result.

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
- Michelangelo

His shows contain a lot of great (free!) content so after listening in to our chat via the link below, check out some of his other interviews! You’re bound to learn a lot…

Following is a guest post provided by Anne Barber and Lynne Waymon. I’ve seen Lynne speak and not only is she engaging and fun, but her advice is immediately actionable and valuable!

Taking a scattershot approach when networking to find clients is the biggest mistake we see people make.  Joining all the area Chambers of Commerce and an alphabet soup of civic and service clubs and then attending once, just doesn’t work! Only strategic networking can bring in the business.  Use these tactics to help you become more focused and strategic.

Profile Your Prospects
What kind of people, exactly, do you want to work with?  Write a client description.  One private bank determined that women over 60 were their targets – but women with a certain level of assets.  What would these women be interested in?  Perhaps antiques.  Their marketing included a very posh “cream tea” at an elegant hotel with a speaker from Southby’s and a free antiques appraisal. Current clients were invited to bring their friends – and did.

Know What Networking Is
Think of networking as teaching people (who might become clients or refer clients) who you are and what to come to you for.  The first question that comes up in any conversation with a new contact is, “What do you do.”  Most people give their industry (I’m in financial services.), their company (I’m with Principal.), their occupation (I’m an insurance agent.), or their title (I’m a Wealth Management Advisor with TIAA-CREF.)  If you’ve been saying one of those things, you’re getting the conversation off on the wrong foot.  Instead, say one sentence that tells one specific thing you want people to remember.  If you wear many hats, take them all off but one.  Then say a second sentence that gives a short example of you solving the problem, serving the client, or saving the day.  A CPA says, “I’m a CPA who negotiates with the IRS.  I just convinced the IRS that my client’s horse farm is a business, not a hobby.”  This 2-sentence model guarantees you’ll give people something to talk with you about, rather than just responding, “Oh, nice.” when you give your title.

Teach People To Trust You
You’ve heard it before:  “People want to do business with people they trust.”  Before people will come to you, they want to be assured of your character and competence.  Everything you say and do reveals your character and competence.  Most people wn’t be there when you have your shining moments, so it’s only through conversation that people find out what you’re good at, what to send your way, and what to count on you for.

Pursue Your Passion
Target potential clients based on common interests.  One former pro baseball player targets professional athletes for is financial advisory business.  Instant credibility and rapport.  One young lawyer, who had competed in ballroom dancing, found clients when he attended tea dances on Sunday afternoons. The senior members of his firm sat up and took notice as his dancing partners began to show up on his client list.

Take your networking to the next level.  Be strategic.

Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon are co-authors of Make Your Contacts Count (AMACOM 2007) and co-founders of Contacts Count, the nationwide training company specializing in business and workplace networking. For more information, visit them at www.ContactsCount.com Hone your skills in a webinar with Lynne by going to http://www.contactscount.com/webinars.html

So suppose I want to learn about what got us into this economic mess (besides the obvious mortgage/financial fiasco – that’s not the WHOLE story…). Is there a history I could read that isn’t slanted or biased in some way? Surely, it isn’t on Wikipedia. And if it is, I’m not totally confident

that outlet contains “the truth” anyway. Books, in general, offer the author’s slant on things. I guess I could read several different books, learn about the topic myself, and then come to some conclusions. But like most other people out there, I don’t have TIME to be an expert on everything (or even many things). I have to rely on the expertise of others but then I also get their opinions, beliefs, assumptions…their baggage.

In reading what I discovered is the last issue of Fortune Small Business Magazine this morning I pondered the slow disappearance of hard-copy media. So many newspapers have folded over the last year (no pun intended) that I’m worried about where we get our information from. Not that newspapers haven’t evolved into biased reports of events or opinion (just ask someone whether they think the New York Times is liberal or conservative), but I wonder if anyone else is feeling this creeping feeling of trepidation? With all this explosion of information on the internet, how do you know what is real and true??