BigHeads Network
RSSWhat Can Skateboarders, Ironworkers, and Vegas Doormen Teach You About Creativity? | Michael Schein Communications
BigHeads founder John Palumbo was interviewed by communications expert Michael Schein (from Michael Schein Communications) for his blog.
Enjoy!
A digital CAMERA inspired by a BUG’S EYE.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/05/bugs-eye-camera/
WHAT YOUR BUSINESS CAN LEARN FROM A…
BigHeads founder, John Palumbo, is writing an ongoing article for American Express OPENforum.com (their online small business community) called “What Your Business Can Learn From A…”
In each article, he will provide solutions to a small business issue/hot button using insights, tools and techniques from individuals who might seem an ODD choice at first…but make a lot of sense once you give it some thought and consider the “connection.”
The takeaway - consider approaches and techniques from OUTSIDE industries to inspire innovations and solutions for your own.
ARTICLES POSTED BELOW:
May 7, 2013 - What Your Business Can Learn From…An Air Traffic Controller
April 17, 2013 - What Your Business Can Learn From…A Bounty Hunter
WHAT YOUR BUSINESS CAN LEARN FROM…AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER! (by BigHeads founder, John Palumbo for American Express OPENforum.com).
The people managing our friendly skies obviously know how to juggle multiple flights…and their tools and techniques just might be able to help you more effectively juggle all those items on your to-do list.
Read it HERE
Don’t Turn Your Crowdsourcing Initiatives Into a Numbers Game. Use a CURATED COLLABORATION Approach!
Here at BigHeads, we have a brain trust made up of 1,000+ HAND-PICKED creative minds and experts who we bring together with companies and organizations to foster creativity and create BIG ideas.
Of course, there are many times when we tell companies this and someone wants to turn things into a “numbers” game by saying something like, “We don’t need your network. We are BRAND X and we have access to hundreds of thousands of people who ‘like’ us on Facebook, ‘follow’ us on Twitter, blagh, blagh, blagh.”
Admittedly, some brands and companies have access to networks of people (via Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that far outnumber ours. However, when it comes to collaboration, numbers mean nothing, because COLLABORATION IS ABOUT QUALITY…NOT QUANTITY.
Consider this – the more people you collaborate with, the more feedback you will receive. So, if you decide to collaborate with hundreds of thousands of people from your Facebook or Twitter initiatives, you’re going to receive hundreds of thousands of responses. And while that might sound great, here’s the reality – most of those responses will be useless, because you didn’t take the time to make sure those participants could actually provide QUALITY feedback. That means you will have completely wasted valuable time and resources rifling through tons of information that turned out to be…well, garbage!
Look, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that wasting resources is not an option for most companies. They want quality thinking and they usually need it quickly. That’s why we are true believers in CURATED COLLABORATION, which simply means taking the time to carefully and methodically select and vet potential collaborators.
So, the next time you’re planning a collaboration or crowdsourcing initiative, don’t just throw the doors wide open and invite everyone to participate. Instead, consider opening it just enough to let in individuals who increase the probability of getting you what you want (quality thinking) in the timeframe you need it (quickly).
From the THREE MARTINI LUNCH…to 140 CHARACTERS…here’s a snapshot of the marketing industry from the MAD MEN ERA to TODAY…
Inspiration from other industries - a MERCEDES design inspired by SEA ANIMALS to make it environmentally friendly and efficient.
BIG IDEA BOOSTER (Make Your BIG Ideas Even…BIGGER)
If you already have creative and inventive minds from WITHIN your industry thinking about your ideas…doesn’t it make sense to have creative and inventive minds from OUTSIDE your industry thinking about them too?
Want to give the top ideas from your latest brainstorm session a boost…or take those concepts sitting in your new product pipeline to a whole new level? The BigHeads BIG Idea Booster is a turnkey, online CO-CREATION process that gives you access to CREATIVE and INVENTIVE MINDS from OUTSIDE industries who will view your existing ideas through their unique creative lens and provide invaluable creative insights and unexpected builds that you can use to make those BIG ideas even…BIGGER.
HOW IT WORKS:
Step 1 – Post It: Visit our secure online platform and post up to three of your existing BIG ideas in whichever format best conveys each concept (.PDF, .JPG, .GIF, .MPG).
Step 2 – The BigHeads: We will then enlist 8-10 creative minds from the BIGHEADS NETWORK to weigh-in on your ideas. These are individuals who live-and-breathe creativity and innovation, but hardly ever get tapped during your traditional creative process. They are artists, comedians, chefs, writers, photographers, filmmakers, fashion designers, hackers, inventors, tattoo artists, deejays, architects, bloggers, app developers, mixologists, engineers, entrepreneurs, musicians, professors, sustainability experts, decorators, etc.
We’ll even CURATE the collaboration by enlisting BigHeads who have a “connection” to your idea and have earned a right to a point-of-view. For example:
- You might be developing a viral campaign idea that isn’t turning out to be as hilarious as you expected it to be. We can bring on board comedians, sitcom writers and even filmmakers to provide some ideas and direction.
- You might be developing a new product geared toward moms and want to add more bells-and-whistles. We can enlist creative minds who know moms, including deejays from the radio stations that moms love, producers from the TV shows they watch and even bloggers from the sites they most often visit. If these BigHeads can’t provide some helpful insights and ideas, no one can.
- You might be developing a new killer app to help busy professionals get more organized and want to include some unique and unexpected features. We can bring on board BigHeads who know a thing or two about organization and efficiency, such as an air traffic controller, who keeps hundreds of flights organized…and even a beekeeper, since bees work so efficiently. Believe it or not, many innovations and BIG ideas are the result of random “collisions” where techniques from outside your industry are applied to your own and this process can accelerate those collisions.
In addition, each BigHead will execute a comprehensive NDA prior to participating in your project to protect your ideas and ensure you own the rights to all the feedback and ideas you receive.
Step 3 – The Boost: Over the next 72-hours, these 8-10 creative minds will enter the online platform and rally around the concepts you posted. They will offer-up their unique creative insights, recommendations, ideas, builds and, yes, even criticisms. Simply put, they will put their invaluable CREATIVE STAMP on your BIG ideas to make them even…BIGGER. You’ll even have the opportunity to view their input in real-time…and communicate directly with our online moderator to steer the discussion.
Step 4 – The Report: Following each session, your team will receive an executive summary of the activity that synthesizes the feedback and ideas provided by the BigHeads, which you can use to give your initial ideas a unique CREATIVE BOOST that will ensure they stand out in the marketplace.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Carlyn Kelly, EVP of Strategy and Innovation
Want to Dramatically Increase Your Innovation Output? Call Everything a BETA!
Here’s a secret that we’ve been telling our clients for years (and was recently discussed in a post by Christina Bonnington on Wired.com) - using the word “BETA” is the ultimate loophole when you play in the INNOVATION space. It’s a “hall pass.” A “get out of jail free card.”
Many companies feel tons of pressure for consumers to adopt the new product or service or whatever they are planning to launch. Unfortunately, that pressure ends up SLOWING DOWN the process, because they’re doing everything in their power to ensure whatever they’re launching is absolutely PERFECT when it is introduced into the marketplace. For example, they spend countless hours “testing” the product before it’s launched…doing consumer research and focus groups…making tweaks and changes…etc…etc.
What they need to realize is if they simply slap the name “beta” on the product or service, they can NEVER FAIL. You see, when you call something a “beta” consumers immediately assume you’re trying something new and innovative. They believe you’re making shit happen. They see you as having the guts to make mistakes (just like “real people,” including themselves, do). And if it’s riddled with problems or they just don’t like it…all those positive feelings lead them to FORGIVE you.
Questioning this logic? Ever notice that almost everything Google launches is called a beta? They even offer “invites” to try out their beta products…which makes consumers feel even more special. The crazy part is - when you think about it, you realize Google is actually inviting people to become frustrated dealing with the glitches and issues in a product they’ve yet to perfect.
So consider this - stop stressing about getting that new product or service perfect. Just call it a “beta” and launch the fucking thing already. Then move on to the next one. Ultimately, you’ll see a dramatic increase in the number of innovations you send into the marketplace in a given year.
What Your Business Can Learn from…a Bounty Hunter
So…we will be contributing an ongoing article to American Express OPEN Forum (their online business community) entitled “WHAT YOUR BUSINESS CAN LEARN FROM A…”
In each article, we will take a small business ISSUE/HOT BUTTON and provide ways to solve it using insights, tools and approaches from completely UNEXPECTED sources (BigHeads).
First up - helping small businesses FIND THE BEST EMPLOYEES/TALENT by using lessons, tools and techniques culled from someone who knows a thing or two about finding people…a BOUNTY HUNTER.
ENJOY….and since we live in a world where all that matters are “shares” and “likes”, be sure to click those social media icons at the top of the piece and share away….
Read it HERE.
About BigHeads Network
We designed this blog to keep you updated about our work...as well as provide you with some unique inspiration to get your creative juices flowing as you build your BIG ideas.
To learn more about BigHeads Network, please visit bigheadsnetwork.com
