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You know who you are. But that’s not necessarily who other people experience. I once worked with Rick, a city manager in Texas. When he chose his Personality Poker cards, he had a flush of Hearts: caring, people-focused, and motivational. But when his team gave him cards, they were all Clubs: disciplined, process-driven, a manager’s […] The post How Does the World See You? appeared first on…
Pekka Ketola, from Innovaatioyhtiö Ideascout in Finland somehow captured my life’s work in one article. On one page, he connected ideas from several of my books into a surprisingly cohesive philosophy of innovation. But one theme jumped out at me: We don’t need more answers. We need better questions. AI can generate answers in seconds. […] The post Innovation Begins Before the Idea appeared first…
Last Friday I delivered my Personality Poker experience in twelve minutes. The full version runs an hour. It includes card trading, complete with a live demonstration in the crowd, audience interaction, walk-off music, a card fountain finale, and the twelve-minute version kept all of it. I landed at 11:55 on a hard twelve-minute clock, in […] The post How My Phone Became My Speech Coach appeared…
In 2009, I spoke at TEDxNASA, the world’s first TEDx event. Seventeen hundred rocket scientists filled the audience. My talk was called “Rocket Science. It’s Always Rocket Science.” The premise: the best ideas rarely come from within your own area of expertise. They come from connections to other fields. I had six minutes. Compressing that […] The post The Hardest Speeches I’ve Ever Given appeared…
My innovation work over the past two decades has shown me that the most effective organizations have a good balance of complementary styles. I call this “playing with a full deck.” Why is this important? Because opposites don’t attract. As a result, organizations naturally homogenize around one particular style. As it turns out, you, as […] The post Full Deck Reflection appeared first on Stephen…
In 2010, Personality Poker, published by Portfolio, was selected by 800-CEO-READ as one of the best innovation and creativity books of the year. That recognition meant a great deal to me. 800-CEO-READ had long been one of the most respected voices in business books, and it has since become Porchlight Book Company. That is why […] The post Is Your Organization Playing with a Full Deck? (ChangeThis)…
The other day, I gave a presentation to the Central Florida chapter of the National Speakers Association on the future of speaking. One of the points I shared was that, in a world where content is increasingly easy to access, speakers need to think beyond what happens during their time on stage. A great speech […] The post A Standing Ovation Is Not an Outcome appeared first on Stephen Shapiro .
Sometimes the best way to grow your business is to stop telling customers what to do. That may sound strange coming from someone who writes books, gives keynote speeches, and teaches people how to innovate. But the rise of AI has reinforced something I’ve believed for a long time. Information is not the same thing […] The post Stop Telling Customers What to Do appeared first on Stephen Shapiro .
“Don’t show data. Show decisions.” This was the advice I got from Brad Kolar, a colleague from my Accenture days and one of the smartest people I know. I shared with him the system we’ve been building for Personality Poker. The top image is where I started. Lots of data. Bars, colors, charts, percentages. I […] The post Don’t Show Data, Show Decisions appeared first on Stephen Shapiro .
Have you ever spent two hours watching a webinar and then wondered what to do next? Have you ever watched a YouTube video packed with ideas but struggled to turn those ideas into action? Here’s the process I use. STEP 1: Download the Video Some videos can be downloaded directly. For others, such as YouTube […] The post Turn Videos Into a Customized Action Plan appeared first on Stephen Shapiro .
