InnovatorsDigest

LinkedIn Innovators Group with 71,000 Members is Ranked #11 Among 433,000 Groups

2009-11-10T18:41:11-06:00

LinkedIn has over 50 million members who belong to almost 444,000 Groups. Innovators may want to join the Marketing, PR, & Sales Innovators Group which has over 71,000 members, ranking it as the 11^thLargest Group on LinkedIn.

Request to join the valuable Group by clicking HERE. Once your membership is approved, your LinkedIn profile can show the following disctinctive group logo.

Happy Halloween 2009 from Gerald “Solutionman” Haman!

2009-10-30T17:36:25-05:00

"Don't' Be Afraid of Bright Ideas"
- Solutionman aka "Purpleman"

The Top 10 Most Common Objections to Creative Ideas (Download FREE Worksheet)

2009-10-08T15:19:06-05:00

"Objections are expressions of interest," said Zig Ziglar. If people do NOT object to your creative idea, they may NOT be engaged enough to think about your ideas. Successful innovators appreciate objections because they demonstrate that people are engaged in thinking about proposed ideas.

If you get no objections, you may not have much engagement. Successful innovators also "anticipate" potential objections and prepare responses to those objections in advance. According to the original Pocket Persuader tool, created by Gerald "Solutionman" Haman, the 10 Most Common Objections are easy to anticipate. You've heard them before and here is Haman's list:

Objection #1-PRICE
"We don't have a budget for this"
"Your competition is cheaper"
Objection #2-TIME
"The timing isn't very good"
"Let's discuss this later"
Objection #3-INTEREST
"I'll get back to you if I'm interested"
"You'll need to talk to somebody else"
Objection #4-NEED
"I don't need it"
"My situation is different"
Objection #5-RISK
"It's too risky"
"My reputation is on the line"
Objection #6-CHANGE
"I don't need to change"
"The change may not be an improvement"
Objection #7-QUALITY
"It won't work"
"The quality is poor"
Objection #8-IMAGE
"It doesn't fit our image"
"We do things differently around here"
Objection #9-TRUST
"I need to think it over"
"I want to do some more research"
Objection #10-APPROVAL
"I want to talk to some other people"
"I need some more information"

Download a FREE "Objection Anticipation" Worksheet created by Solutionman that includes Zig Ziglar's quote by clicking HERE.

Preview the New Innovation Training Workshops.com Website

2009-10-08T15:16:01-05:00

Innovators are invited a preview a new website dedicated to offering world-class innovation training workshops, seminars and certifications.

Click HERE to explore the website:
www.InnovationTrainingWorkshops.com
Check out the calendar of new dates for the popular Accelerated Innovation Workshops and Innovation Trainer Certifications. New training workshops and tools will be added every week!

The Social Media Revolution: A YouTube Video That Every Innovator Should Watch

2009-10-08T15:14:01-05:00

Discover fascinating statistics about the growth of Social Media by watching this provocative YouTube video from author Erik Qualman.

By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers

96% of them have joined a social network

Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web

1 out of 8 couples married on the U.S. last year met via social media

Facebook added 200 million users in less than 9 months

80% of companies are using LinkedIn as their primary tool to find employees

Learn more from Erik Qualman's provocative book, Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business, available from Amazon.com

New "88 Great Meeting Planning Questions" Book Helps Innovators Plan Successful Events

2009-10-08T15:12:43-05:00

Now You Can Ask More & Better Questions to Plan Better Meetings & Events.

Get the new 88 Great Meeting Planning Questions by Gerald "Solutionman" Haman. It contains 88 Great Questions you need to get started in planning great meetings, events, conferences, conventions, tradeshows, workshops, seminars facilitations, retreats and experiences!

People spend a lot of time attending meetings, but they seldom have enough time and help to effectively plan the meetings. During the past 20 years, the author, Gerald "Solutionman" Haman, attended, planned and facilitated meetings for hundreds of small groups and large audiences of several thousand people. As a result of those experiences, he developed these 88 Great Questions in this 10-page booklet to help people plan better meetings and events.

Here is a preview of the book's Table of Contents that reveals the 12 question topics:

Order from Amazon.com or directly from Haman's company, SolutionPeople Innovation.
Save 50% by ordering downloadable eBook for only $8.88 (only 10 cents per question)from SolutionPeople by clicking HERE.

Order a printed booklet from Amazon.com for $18.88 (only 21 cents per question) by clicking HERE.

Check Out Updated "Plan-a-Date-to-Innovate" Calendar with Over 100 Innovation Events

2009-10-08T15:10:53-05:00

Innovators seeking unique opportunities to learn at workshops, webinars, conferences, certifications and experiences should check out our new calendar by clicking HERE.

The innovation calendar has been updated. Discover new dates for leading-edge conferences, training workshops & seminars, plus convenient, low-cost webinars such as Facilitate-to-Innovate, Questionate-to-Innovate & Decorate-to-Innovate. Check out the Accelerate-to-Innovate webinar series and Certifications for innovation trainers, facilitators and coaches.

Click HEREto view the calendar and bookmark the page to review the calendar often as it is updated weekly.

Relate-to-Innovate: Join the “Top 20 LinkedIn Innovation Groups" from SolutionPeople

2009-09-29T11:32:26-05:00

Did you know there are over 400,000 "Groups" within the 45 million member LinkedIn social network? Since there are over 2,500 groups focused on innovation or innovators, we want to make it easy for you to join Innovators Digest's "Top 20 Innovators Groups" by clicking on the links below.

More than 110,000 people are members of the Top 20 Innovation Groups
1,000 people per week are joining the Top 20 Innovation Groups
The Marketing/PR/Sales Innovators Group is the 11^thlargest LinkedIn Group with over 67,000 members
The Twitter Innovators Group is the largest Twitter-focused Group on LinkedIn with more than 11,000 members who tweet
Over 9,200 people belong to the fast-growing Green & Sustainability Innovators Group
More than 8,000 people belong to the helpful InnovationPeople Group

Click on Links Below for Details or to Request to Join the Groups in the "Innovation Top 20"

Innovation Group Members Have The Following Icons Displayed in Their LinkedIn Profiles:

Click on any of the above icons to get more information or request to join the group.

Relate-to-Innovate!

FlashBrainer Innovation Software based on KnowBrainer from Gerald "Solutionman" Haman

2009-09-20T15:27:53-05:00

Over 100,000 people have benefited from the KnowBrainer Innovation Tool. Now you can turn your computer into an idea generating machine with the the new FlashBrainer Innovation software program.

Learn more about the FlashBrainer at http://www.solutionpeople.com/flashbrainer/

Order Your FlashBrainer Software & Save 50% by Clicking HERE.

The Best Question to Be Asked by An Innovator

2009-09-14T16:13:46-05:00

For over a decade, I've been asking people, "What's your favorite question to be asked by innovative people?" I've studied hundreds of responses and the trend is undeniable. The 3 most frequently used words in most of the questions are NEED, WANT and WISH. As a result, I've developed a simple, yet powerful question that I frequently ask people when I first meet them. I think this is the ultimate question to ask people in order to discover how you might help them. Six simple words can provoke and inspire some deep thoughts.

"What is NEEDED, WANTED or WISHED?"

Needs Are Different from Wants.
Three words (Needs, Wants, Wishes) may seem synonymous but they can provoke very different responses. What people think they need may not be what they want, and conversely, what some people want may not be what they need. Therefore, it is important to ask people what they need and want.

The WISH Word Inspires Dreaming.
When I attended a Synectics workshop I discovered the importance of phrasing problem headlines that began with the "I wish…" phrase that connects with desired experiences.

The Question is a KnowBrainer.
For graduates of my innovation training workshops and owners of the KnowBrainer innovation tool, you now know how I've incorporated the "Needs, Wants, Wish" question into the Stage 1 of the Accelerated Innovation Process and card #10 of the KnowBrainer.

Investigate-to-Innovate Exercise:

Identify 3-5 people you want to help
Ask them, "What do you need, want or wish?"
Take notes and distinguish the differences between needs, wants, and wishes
Create ideas to help them address their needs or wants, or make their wishes become reality

Idea-lly, Gerald "Solutionman" Haman
Founder, InnovationTrainingWorkshops.com

ROI (Return On Innovation) Guaranteed by Gerald "Solutionman" Haman of SolutionPeople

2009-09-12T17:49:54-05:00

46 Questions to Help Innovators Know What Customers Want

2009-09-11T08:08:29-05:00

Every innovator should read Anthony Ulwick's book, What Customers Want: Using Outcome-Driven Innovation to Create Breakthrough Products and Services, because he makes it very easy to questionate-to-innovate. SolutionPeople purchased 50 copies of the book and made it required reading before an innovation facilitation for a consumer products company. The facilitation agenda was simple; we used innovative techniques and tools to answer the 46 questions addressed in the book! The facilitation was a huge success as we produced an Idea Bank with thousands of ideas and over 100 useful solutions.

Question Bank
(created from the Table of Contents in Ulwick's Book)

Formulating Innovation Strategy
1. Who Is the Target of Value Creation and How Should It Be Achieved?
2. What Types of Innovation Are Possible?
3. What Growth Options Should Be Considered?
4. Where in the Value Chain Should We Focus to Maximize Value Creation?
5. How Do We Handle Multiple Constituents with Potentially Conflicting Outcomes?

Capture Customer Inputs
6. Why Should Companies Gather Customer Requirements?
7. What Three Issues Plague the Requirements-Gathering Process?
8. What Types of Data Do Companies Commonly Collect from Customers?
9. What Customer Inputs Are Needed to Master the Innovation Process?
10. What Methods Should Companies Use to Obtain the Necessary Information?
11. How Do You Know Which of the Three Types of Inputs You Should Capture?

Identifying Opportunities
12. What Is an Opportunity?
13. What Three Common Mistakes Are Made in Prioritizing Opportunities?
14. How Should Companies Prioritize Opportunities?
15. How Do You Identify Underserved and Overserved Markets?
16. How Dos Value Migrate Over Time?
17. What Implications Does the Outcome-Driven Paradigm Have for Competitive Analysis?

Segmenting the Market
18. What Is the Purpose of Segmentation?
19. How Has the Practice of Segmentation Evolved?
20. Why Are Traditional Segmentation Methods Ineffective for Purposes of Innovation?
21. What Is Different About Outcome-Based Segmentation?
22. How Is Outcome-Based Segmentation Performed?
23. How Does Outcome-Based Segmentation Address Development and Marketing Challenges?
24. How Is Job-Based Segmentation Different, and When Should it Be Used?

Targeting Opportunities for Growth
25. What Is Different About Targeting for Innovation?
26. What Types of Broad-Market Opportunities Are Likely to Be Attractive?
27. What Segment-Specific Targeting Strategies Are Effective?
28. How Does a Targeting Strategy Result in a Unique and Valued Competitive Position?
29. Why Do Companies Fail to Target Key Opportunities?

Positioning Current Products
30. Why Does Messaging Often Fail to Tout a Product's True Value?
31. What Are the Prerequisites for an Effective Messaging Strategy?
32. What Messaging Will Be Most Effective?
33. Should a Company Message Along an Emotional or Functional Dimension?
34. How Does the Sales Force Have Immediate Impact on Revenue Generation?
35. What Is the Advantage of an Outcome-Based brand?

Prioritizing Projects in the Development Pipeline
36. What Issues Do Companies Face When Prioritizing Projects?
37. What Method Is Used to Identify the Winners and the Losers?
38. Which Efforts Should Get Top Priority?
39. What Other Factors Affect Project Prioritization?

Devising Breakthrough Concepts
40. Why Does Traditional Brainstorming Often Fail to Produce Breakthrough Ideas?
41. How Are Breakthrough Concepts Successfully Generated?
42. What Are the Mechanics Behind Focused Brainstorming?
43. Why Do Traditional Concept-Evaluation Methods Fail?
44. How Is the Customer Scorecard Used to Evaluate Product and Service Concepts?
45. How Are These Methods Applied in Practice?
46. What Is the Role of R&D in the Innovation Process?

Order Anthony Ulwick's book, What Customers Want: Using Outcome-Driven Innovation to Create Breakthrough Products and Services via Amazon.com