Barriers to innovation in America

by Billy Pittard on June 7, 2011

I keep thinking back to the most recent State of the Union address in which the President emphasized the need for greater innovation in America. I agree completely. I am concerned that America is losing its competitive edge. Something has gone wrong and it needs to be fixed. [click to continue…]

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The tragic misnomer of “re-branding”

June 2, 2011

It drives me a little bit crazy when I see the word “re-brand” used to describe what is actually a design update. It shows a lack of understanding of what branding is actually about. It might not bother me so much – except these are professionals who should know better.

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When Performance Reviews Underperform

April 22, 2011

By Dr. Mark Goulston and Billy Pittard When subordinates do not have a clear picture of their manager’s expectations of what success looks like, they will make up their own definition of success.

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Cultivate Your Culture

February 6, 2011

The Cultural Dictionary defines culture as “The sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another. Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions, and art, from one generation to the next.” We tend to think of culture as being something that exists at the level of ethnicities or [...]

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Values Are the Foundation of Collaboration

November 4, 2010

“Values” is a word that has been abused so much that its meaning has become a little vague, but it simply refers to what someone treats as important. In other words, it’s what they value. Core values are the values that one holds most dearly and resists changing over time. They are the values that [...]

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Giving Credit Gets You Credit

August 20, 2010

When it comes to giving or taking credit, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a creative project or a home mortgage; undue credit is harmful to everyone. There may seem to be momentary gain for the perpetrator, but eventually reality will catch up and everybody loses. The recent sub-prime mortgage meltdown is a painful example. In [...]

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Toxic Collaborators

July 9, 2010

Creativity is a lot like gardening. Put the right elements into the right conditions and you should get healthy growth. Some components enhance or accelerate growth, but others retard growth or possibly even kill the plant. With creative collaboration, the main components are the people and their behaviors, and like the gardening example, some people [...]

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Be Prepared for Discomfort, Uncertainty, and Failure

April 28, 2010

Having been involved in an uncountable number of creative projects, I can safely say that being creative is not about being safe. Safe solutions to creative assignments are rarely creative. If you really and truly want a creative solution, be prepared for uncertainty, discomfort, and failure. Although confirmation of success generally takes some time to [...]

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Stimulate the Conversation

March 21, 2010

Conversation stimulates creative thinking. Verbalizing ideas in a social context causes ideas to be flipped around, and looked at from different perspectives. Joking around can actually be a very positive factor. Playful conversation sparks creativity. Creativity happens when ideas are challenged and things are put together in new ways. Something happens when we express ideas [...]

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Be Inclusive

March 5, 2010

The world is changing so fast that it’s literally impossible to keep up. The best we can hope to do is develop a certain comfort level with the accelerated rate of change, and have a pretty good idea of where to go for help. This is especially true for anything that involves technology. Once you [...]

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Be Constructive

January 29, 2010

Being constructive is at the heart of professional creativity. It’s all about making a series of informed choices and decisions that move you toward a goal or a solution. Negativity can come from the client, or it can come from within the creative team itself. Here are some ways to stay focused on constructive efforts [...]

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