challenge assumptions

Jan 31, 2011

Innovation vs. Invention: Only one drives organizational growth

I am a big advocate of creating a culture of continuous innovation in organizations. However, I find that a lot of individuals have a difficult time with step one – discerning between innovation and invention.

Invention is the creation of new ideas for products or processes. For example, the original formula for Coca-Cola was the invention of a pharmacist by the name of John Stith Pemberton. Although he invented what has since become the world’s most popular soft drink, in my opinion, he was not the company’s greatest innovator.

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By Ken Tencer

Category: Innovation, Spyder Works

Tags: challenge assumptions, commercialization, innovation not invention, organizational growth, product development, the 90% rule

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Jan 11, 2011

Wisepreneur: An Interview with Ken Tencer

An interview with Ken Tencer by Calvin Bacon, originally published on www.wisepreneur.com.

After reading The 90% Rule, Wisepreneur writer Calvin Bacon had a few questions for innovation expert and author Ken Tencer. Here are the questions followed by Mr. Tencer’s answers.

Calvin: You use the word “audacity” several times throughout The 90% Rule when you discuss entrepreneurial thinking. Is this similar to the risk-taking characteristic that many people think of when speaking about entrepreneurship?

Ken: The definition of audacity centers around the willingness to challenge assumptions and conventions. So, it is not about risk-taking; it is about refusing to accept “what is” as a given. I think that this is the essence of the entrepreneur, “pushing to create a new, better reality”. Without this essential quality of entrepreneurship, we’d be short more than a few of our modern trappings like cars, planes and, of course, Blackberries.

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By Ken Tencer

Category: Entrepreneurship

Tags: business strategy, challenge assumptions, disruptive innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, innovation process, interview, market competition, the 90% rule

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Mar 20, 2009

Is audacity a bad word?

If there is something that I do believe in, it is that audacity is the entrepreneur’s best friend.

To some, audacity may be a negative because it is associated with attitude or edge. But the true definition centers around the willingness to challenge…assumptions or conventions. More →

By Ken Tencer

Category: Entrepreneurship

Tags: challenge assumptions, entrepreneurial thinking

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