the 90% rule

Apr 4, 2013

America Means Business Day

America-Means-Business

Ken Tencer, CEO of Spyder Works Inc. and co-author of the internationally recognized book, The 90% Rule, is pleased to be delivering a keynote speech at the America Means Business Conference in Washington on April 9, 2013. Ken will be present as an innovation leader and session presenter. He will deliver his keynote, Cause a Disturbance: Inventive Ways to Launch Your Products, to entrepreneurs from across the nation. The session is based on Ken’s upcoming second book on innovation, Cause a Disturbance. It will cover his philosophy on continuous innovation and the steps that every business can take to begin to create a more engaged customer base and strengthened brand.

America Means Business is a celebration of entrepreneurship, about the process of successfully starting and running a business. The event will be packed with educational, networking, and social events to help participants to realize their dreams of joining the ranks of America’s successful entrepreneurs.

For more information about the America Means Business Conference please visit their Web site at http://www.ambdays.com/about.

By Ken Tencer

Category: Event

Tags: cause a disturbance, conference, keynotes, spyder works inc, the 90% rule

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Dec 13, 2012

Innovation Drives Marketing Drives Sales

The-Business-Experience-Show

Ken Tencer was recently interviewed on The Business Experience Show about The 90% Rule and how to bring innovation into your company.

Innovation is about bringing new ideas to your customers and keeping them delighted with your business. The 90% Rule book explores the practice of asking ourselves what we are 90% capable of, and what that next 10% will be. We have to think in logical and manageable next steps to determine what that next 10% can be. Highly successful and innovative companies are already doing this, and we should learn from their example.

A few ideas include:

Ask yourself what your company offers its customers. The great companies answer this with customer benefits, not the commodities that they manufacture. Think of Disney which is in the the business of fun, family and entertainment. Or Dove that is about Real Beauty, not selling bars of soap. Companies need to learn to understand their core business and how what they do impacts the market.

Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. Too often, we get stuck in our everyday rut and forget about networking and pushing ourselves to get out and meet new people. We all need to get out there and learn about what others are doing and how it impacts us.

Build a backboard of trusted resources to bounce ideas off. We don’t always have the answers ourselves, and we need to learn to lean on others whenever it becomes necessary.

Don’t forget to weigh and measure new ideas. We have to establish filters and use metrics to discover which ideas we should pursue. Treat those bright new ideas as live projects by assigning a champion to the idea. Task that person to grow and build the idea.

Companies that fail to innovate will ultimately fall behind in the marketplace. Recent examples are Hostess failing to grab hold of the healthy snack trend and Kodak failing to embrace the digital camera era. Whether you are a solopreneur or in the C-suite of a Fortune 500 company, there is no need to fall into this trap.

To learn more about these principles and The 90% Rule, Listen to Ken’s interview at: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/author-ken-tencer-the-90-rule/id571670667?i=126358243&mt=2 or buy The 90% Rule book.

By Ken Tencer

Category: Event, Spyder Works

Tags: challenge assumptions, commercialization, customer engagement, ideation process, interview, the 90% rule

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Nov 5, 2012

What Are You Already 90% Capable of Achieving? What is Your Next 10%?

Interview-with-Ken-Tencer

Ken Tencer was recently interviewed on Small Business Trends Radio about his book, The 90% Rule, co-written with John Paulo Cardoso. The main premise of The 90% Rule is that, in business, you need to understand your core business – what you’re already 90% capable of producing – in order to ask yourself what the next 10% can be. What the next product, service or process innovation can be for you to bring to market. What you are selling to your customers today and what you can sell to them tomorrow to keep them engaged.

The 90% Rule helps you to focus on your competencies and create a go-forward plan on what you can add to complement your core business. Because today, more than ever, you must be continually changing and improving your business offering to keep engaging your customers. In the interview, Ken also notes that innovation is relevant to every aspect of business, and range from small adaptations to large-scale ground breaking change.

Most importantly, Ken reinforces that innovation is a daily exercise, not a once-a-year chore. To learn more about The 90% Rule, listen to Ken’s interview here. Buy The 90% Rule book or book a consultation for in depth insight for how this process can help your business.

To learn more about The 90% Rule, listen to Ken’s interview here. Buy The 90% Rule book or book a consultation for in depth insight for how this process can help your business.