Does cool=innovation?

I'm becoming a big fan of Bill Sheridan. Earlier this week I referenced one of his posts that talked about hall of fame football player Raymond Berry. Today I was reading through his blog and came across on older post recapping a presentation by Jeremy Gutsche at the Digital Now conference. This is good stuff. Among the excertps...

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast," Gutsche said. "If the culture isn't ready for it, your strategy won't matter."

Crisis equals opportunity. The most successful reaction to crisis often is, "We've got nothing left to lose. Let's go for it!"

A significant percentage of your creations (or ideas, or strategies) must fail. I love Gutsche's analogy for this one: To climb bigger hills, you first have to give up your seats atop the small hills. "Complacency," says Gutsche, "will be the architect of your downfall."

Innovation starts with observing your customers in their zones. Get close to your customers in their environments and find out what's important to them.

And finally, reset your expectations. "There is no point in innovating," Gutsche said, "if you think you already know the answers."

Visit Sheridan's post here where you will find more info on Gutsche and a link to a video of the presentation.