My name is Nick and I am an Idea-holic.
According to the good folks at the Gallup organization, “Ideation” is my top strength. In practice, that means I flood my days with ideas–sometimes great ones, sometimes good ones, and other times absurd ones. Usually, after only a few minutes of sober reflection, I can easily decide which ideas are on par with the Jump-to-Conclusions Mat. But if you’ll pardon my brief public display of self-love, some of my ideas are pretty darned good. And that’s precisely the problem.
The truth is that we just don’t have unlimited time, energy and resources. By ‘we’ I’m not just talking about individuals. That truth applies to organizations as well–a point I was reminded of in this article from Robert … [ Read More ]
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In a moment of self-pity during his troubled reign as the notorious president who kicked off the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover once confided to friends: “I’m tired of making decisions–one after another all day long. My view of heaven is a place where no one ever has to make a decision.”
Ever felt like Hoover did? Most of us have. While deliberating over tough decisions, we feel about as chipper as we do sitting in the waiting room at the dentist’s office. Self-esteem dips. Optimism slips. Anxiety rises. One of the primary reasons why is because we haven’t identified our Decision Pulse. We each need to have one super-criterion upon which we can base nearly all of our decisions.
Decision Pulses in Action
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In a great Fast Company article, Kobe Bryant describes the first time he met Nike CEO, Mark Parker. While Bryant was sharing his feedback, Parker whipped out a notebook to sketch shoe designs while they chatted. Bryant said he knew then and there that Parker “wasn’t doing things just for innovation’s sake. He truly wants to optimize my performance.”
Under the current leadership of Mark Parker, it seems that Nike’s Decision Pulse is “optimizing athletic performance.”
To the outsider (and maybe even the insider) Nike wants to sell shoes, apparel and equipment….just like Under Armour, Adidas, Asics, Reebok and every other sporting goods maker. The question is how? How will Nike do that differently than … [ Read More ]
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In Built from Scratch, The Home Depot’s co-founder, Bernie Marcus tells a story about a wise guy in his golfing foursome who tells him: “You run some company! You’re gonna be out of business soon and you don’t even know it…your people are so stupid.”
To which Marcus responded “Indulge me. How are we so stupid?”
The helpful customer-cum-golf-partner explained that he had gone to his neighborhood Home Depot store ready to spend $200 on a new kitchen faucet. The employee helping him explained that actually he didn’t need to buy a new faucet. By spending only $1.50 in parts he could easily fix his old faucet. Marcus then … [ Read More ]
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