eicolab: design thinking for business innovation

Tools and Tips

When everyone else is looking the same way…

“When everyone else is looking the same way for inspiration, look somewhere else.”

A great story and pointers to Finding fresh inspiration.

Thanks to Stil for this heads up.

Small is the new big

“Don’t wait. Get small. Think big.” This post by Seth Godin is well worth a read.

Life intelligence (LQ) for your business

lqmeter.thumbnail.jpg“People with high LQ value life and invest it wisely in what really matters in the larger scheme of things. They do not ask how they can get the most from life, but how they can give their uttermost to life. Their starting point is not how they can be happy, rich and famous, but how they can be most useful …

Happy Nothing Day

Easter is here already. It has been here since February.

What’s next? Christmas starting in July? After all, we already have Christmas in July - why not link this through to Christmas in December? Saves having to restock the shelves and pull down the decorations.

A special something is often special because it is not everyday. When we turn something special into the everyday, often motivated by greed (for more …

Change the world (without doing too much)

Hooking up your computer to the World Community Grid is one of the easiest ways to make a difference to our world.

And you don’t have to do anything other than the initial sign up and download.

When you are not actively using your computer (eg you are on the phone, sipping coffee, or pondering a sentence on your screen), the processor on your computer automatically …

Anita Roddick on planning a career in business

Anything that we can do well, that we enjoy doing, and that there is a demand for, is worth taking seriously as a skill to develop.

Anita Roddick; when asked what advice she would give to a young person who was planning a business career: “…don’t even say the word ‘business.’ Bury it. … Talk about a livelihood you can create for yourself, an honourable livelihood that gives you …

The four hour day

Trish Weston floated the idea of a four hour day on Flying Solo. Her point is: Out of the eight official work hours, only four are truly productive. The rest is spent on stuff that doesn’t really add that much value.

I tend to work more efficiently when there is some sort of deadline. Making four hours of each day count is a form of deadline. Whole-day client engagements …

Help stop global warming at work

Here are simple things you can do at work to reduce your contribution to global warming:

Get large LCD monitors.

Avoid printing things. I suspect most people print things more out of habit than necessity.

Good quality large LCD monitors are available now at great prices. Consider upgrading all your monitors to 19″ or larger LCDs. That way, you can read emails, documents, and web pages comfortably on-screen. Pivotable displays are …

How to learn anything

Thanks Jeff for the heads-up on this:

Decide what you want to learn.
Read everything you can on it.
Grab for insights.
Tie insights together.
Concentrate on magazines, not books.
Find your own special topics, and pursue them.
Go to conventions.
“Find your man.”
Keep improving your questions.
Your field is bounded where you want it to be.

Read the full text.

Sometimes, the answer lies in turning it sideways

One of the techniques I use when struggling with a problem is to force myself to look at it from different angles. This is done by: Asking the right questions to reveal hidden insights. Looking at what is in front of me from different angles. Turning things on their sides.

Here’s a fun and useful example of this approach:

Recently, I got it into my head that I’d be so …

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