The human brain is wired for stories. It focuses, concentrates, imagines, and it learns through narratives. Our power of observation is magnified by the affect of relating oneself with the experience of others. You can't have their experience, but you can imagine a version of it.

Throughout history, story telling has been of utmost importance. The masterful art of it has been obscured of late by the science of business i.e. measurement, evidence, and math. But as Dan Pink has stated in A Whole New Mind, a good story teller will be at a premium in the near future. Why, because the impact is still greater than the effort.

A good story resonates.

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Yesterday was the two year anniversary of Working Thoughts. I'm very proud of this blog and I feel like any success that comes with it is deserved. But the reality is, the hard work is the reward in and of itself.

So on to the interesting facts and opinions I've pulled over the last 731 days (leap year).
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Today is the two year anniversary of Working Thoughts.

Events like this remind of why I started this blog in the first place. It was a tumultuous time in my career. I reached a point in my job where I learned everything that role had to offer and I was frustrated. I eventually found a fit where I could expand my experience and learn new skills. But it was entirely more difficult than I thought it should be.

During this period I did a lot of self reflection. I thought to myself "Why weren't they bending over backwards to give me challenging projects?" and "I just finished a program that will have a multimillion dollar and lasting save impact for this company." It wasn't  my work habits or my skills that were holding me back (they are more than adequate for this point in my career). I realized corporate growth depends on timing and relationships, not just ambition and over achievement.

The strategy most people take is to expand their network and step up their self promotion. This works very well because it improves the odds of being in the right place at the right time. But I took a step back and thought to myself "that's a tiresome process. If I'm going to do it, then I might as well do it globally."

This requires a thorough plan, which I have and won't get into now. But my first step was to create a blog. I figured a blog about macro level Human Resources would be a good fit. It's what I have my degree in and I still follow it daily (my day job is technology based). This would result in expanding my knowledge base in the field of personnel as well as help me learn how to improve my writing. A half hour to an hour every other day practicing research, forming opinions, and writing can't be a bad thing.

Other parts of my global plan are now underway and you can read about them in the coming year, but in the mean time check out Two Year Anniversary for Working Thoughts - Part 2 for some fun facts, findings,and insight I've discovered over the last two terrific years.

        

"... ain't this just like the present, to be showing up like this"

"Blood Bank" by Bon Iver

We take snapshots of our lives all the time. The concept of a blog exemplifies this notion. And we can think we have everything figured out; we can plan, and we can prepare, but most of the time your life is >altered by something you couldn't predict.<< MORE >>

I  recently had a comment on my website from the people at Fahrenheit 212. They are a company that offers firms a means of coming up with innovative ideas for their markets. Since I think business models that successfully turn ideas into more than just ideas, I asked Joy Bergmann to do an email interview with me and she agreed. Here is our exchange:

1) What is Fahrenheit 212 all about?
At Fahrenheit 212, we’re all about bigger ideas, faster to market.

Fahrenheit 212 is an innovation consultancy that helps major companies to define strategic growth opportunities, to create and develop new products/businesses and to commercialize those ideas in the marketplace.
 
http://www.fahrenheit-212.com/#
 
We’re leaders in the “outsourcing of innovation.” We bring fresh,“outsider” perspectives to our clients’ toughest growth challenges.More importantly, we don’t just weigh in with strategies. We create a fully dimensional portfolio of big, doable, fast-to-market ideas that deliver top-line growth.
 
http://www.fahrenheit-212.com/#/innovation/what-we-do/grow-your-top-line/
 
2) What range of client size do you serve?
Fahrenheit 212 works with Fortune 500 global companies in every sector. Our clients include Capital One, Starwood, Coca-Cola, Samsung, Nestle,Gucci Group, Fonterra, and adidas to name a few.
 
http://www.fahrenheit-212.com/#/innovation/what-we-do/who-we-work-for/
 
3) Is it true that Fahrenheit 212 co-invests in the solutions they offer? If yes, how does this work?
We’re an outcomes-driven business. Rather than get paid for time on task, we deploy a performance-based business model.  
 
Two-thirds of our potential fees are contingent on hitting agreed project milestones. This frames every engagement as a genuine commercial partnership where we all have skin in the game. Clients love that we are incented to deliver “ideas on the money.” And do so!
 
http://www.fahrenheit-212.com/#/innovation/how-we-work/our-business-model/
 
4) What would you say is the biggest success of the company?
That’s like choosing your favorite child! We have dozens of ideas either in market or on the path to market.
 
One recent success – our Samsung LCD innovation project. Samsung came to Fahrenheit 212 looking to unlock new markets for its LCD screens –markets capable of moving 600,000 additional screens [over 10”] annually.  We delivered a portfolio of 10 big, doable ideas; each oneoffering that level of opportunity.
 
Two of these ideas are now in market:  Samsung ID [an interlocking display system transformingthe trade show and retailing industries] and Samsung uVending[revolutionizing the vending machine sector through networked,multimedia technology.]
 
We’re now working with Samsung on other initiatives. Very exciting!
 
http://www.fahrenheit-212.com/#/innovation/about-fahrenheit-212/case-studies/
 
 5) During tough economic times, how do you communicate your business proposition to potential clients?
We believe in innovating for the recession. We’re advising clients that they have an opportunity to‘win against the hill’ during this crisis. While their competitors stay inert, they can race ahead with bigger – if fewer – growth initiatives and come out far ahead of the paralyzed pack.  
 
We’re especially keen on helping clients unlock new revenue from their EXISTING assets. The Samsung project above is a great example. Samsung already had the LCD infrastructure; Samsung needed fresh ideas on new markets and applications to drive entirely new revenue streams.
 
We invite you to learn more about “Unlocking Hidden Assets” and“Innovating for a Recession.” Check out these and other thought pieces here:
 
http://www.fahrenheit-212.com/#/innovation/about-fahrenheit-212/our-thinking/
 
6) What is the typical time horizon for an engagement?
Our process is structured in four phases – Immersion, Development,Evolution, Actualization. Most engagements typically run five months from kick-off to size-of-prize assessment ­– spanning the first three phases.  Most projects extend into the fourth phase – Actualization –advancing ideas into and through the commercialization process.
 
http://www.fahrenheit-212.com/#/innovation/how-we-work/our-process/
 
7)If Fahrenheit 212 helps other companies be innovative, then you must have some very talented individuals working there. How would you describe them or what characteristics do they have?
The Fahrenheit 212 crew is without question the most remarkable group I’ve ever encountered. Everyone here is witty, well-traveled, energetic,caring and madly CURIOUS.

Lots of companies like to think of their culture as collaborative, but ours is relentlessly so. Teams propel each other to smarter strategies, better ideas and bigger wins.What’s extraordinary is how constructive, fun and supportive the whole vibe is.

We’re also quite diverse. Though a small firm, we hail from five different countries and celebrate our differences. For example, one innovation director was born in Lebanon, raised in France and Canada, studied architecture, has a foodie blog, aspires to be a perfumer and considers a typical morning to include revolutionizing consumer banking, inventing a new cocktail category and designing a necklace. One illustrator is also a licensed massage therapist, a weekend taxidermist and a museum-worthy oil painter. We’re not a dull group!


8) Suppose someone was considering applying for a job at Fahrenheit 212, what advice would you give them?
Showcase your breadth of experiences, your deep intelligence and your vibrant personality. We love individuals who enjoy contributing to a clever group, but don’t fall prey to “group-think.”

It’s a dynamic, exciting business to be in. We encourage you or your readers to contact us to find out more. Thanks, Ben!

        

I've been thinking about math a lot lately, especially as it pertains to business. I ran across one simple equation in Alan Webber's Rules of Thumb: 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self that I really liked (I'll do a review of it at some point). It is:

C(SQ)>R(c)

which can be read as the Cost of maintaining the Status Quo is greater than the Risk of the change. Basically, nothing is getting done unless this formula can be proven.<< MORE >>

I'm a few months away from launching a project. My first foray into entrepreneurship. It's something I think about through every day. I'm somewhat at a fork in the road in regards to preparation though. I have the product coming along and I know I need to do a solid business plan, but I also don't want to get wrapped up in the scholarly aspects of it. So far I've let this project evolve, but I might be getting to a tipping point with it.

With this in mind, I ran across a great blog post by Scott Anthony over to hbr.com. In his post titled Four Lessons from Y-Combinator's Fresh Approach to Innovation he highlights four lessons that big companies can take from incubators. Here is an excerpt:

1. You can do a lot for a little.
2. Tight windows enable "good enough" design. 
3. Business plans are nice, not necessary. Y Combinator doesn't obsess over whether entrepreneurs have detailed business plans. Again, the focus is getting something out in the market to drive iteration and learning. After all, if you are trying to create a market, most of the material in a business plan is assumption-based anyway.
4. Failure is an option. One of the benefits of the Y Combinator approach is it forces quick decision making — if the team can't produce a prototype, or the prototype bombs in market, the end comes quickly. And the low, up-front investment makes it easier to wind down ideas. Corporations that say they lack resources often have those resources tied up in the wrong projects. Saying no is not a bad thing.

I particularly like the last two. The business plan one I like because it reinforces my decision about how much I currently need to give to it. And the Failure is an option one is right in line with what I was thinking recently. There are so many high school and college graduates out there right now that have the opportunity to play it safe or take the exciting path. Most will play if safe because then they won't fail. But others will take the exciting path and along the way fail. But they will also succeed. This resilient attitude is rare.

        

Every month there are a slew of reports that come out about the same time as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on unemployment. This first Friday of the month is a big day for the economy. But the value in the BLS data isn't the exact number per se. Its the consistently of it. It helps the media report something month in and month out that is easy for the average person to understand, especially when you compare month to month and year to year.
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Pamela Poole over to Web Worker Daily wrote up a funny outline of the different types of productivity methods that often come in and go out of fashion. She highlights one that was new to me: GTD - Getting Things Done. GTD is from David Allen and is summarized as:

Sophisticated without being confining, the subtle effectiveness of GTD lies in its radically common sense notion that with a complete and current inventory of all your commitments, organized and reviewed in a systematic way, you can focus clearly, view your world from optimal angles and make trusted choices about what to do (and not do) at any moment. GTD embodies an easy, step-by-step and highly efficient method for achieving this relaxed, productive state.
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