InnoCentive’s Chief Innovation Evangelist

I am thrilled to announce that as of July 1st, I will become the “Chief Innovation Evangelist” for InnoCentive.

If you are not aware, InnoCentive is an incredible company that is changing the world.  They are leaders in the Open Innovation space.  If you have a problem you want to solve, you can post the challenge on their website, and their network of 160,000 solvers will work to find a solution. Although it started off as a tool to accelerate R&D for a pharmaceutical company, it has expanded into solving all types of problems ranging from corporate challenges to social issues.

InnoCentive is incentive-based innovation.  The person who provides the solution gets a monetary reward that is established up front.  For example, if someone can find a biomarker for ALS, they will get $1 million.

There are some amazing success stories.  One well-publicized challenge was the removal of oil that remained trapped after the Exxon Valdez accident back in 1989.  A solver applied his knowledge of the cement industry to the challenge and won $20,000…and solved a problem that perplexed scientists for two decades.  Watch the video…

I’ll discuss more about my specific role over the coming weeks.  To give you a clue…my corporate title is “VP Strategic Consulting.”

I am thrilled to be part of an organization that is changing the world, one challenge at a time.

P.S. I will continue to write books and give speeches in addition to my InnoCentive work.

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Innovation Blogs - We’re #15

The blog you are reading is #15 on Blogrank’s list of innovation blogs.  I am in good company, with Information Week and Richard Branson in the top 10.

What I find interesting is that they know more about my website and traffic than I do.  For example, I did not know that I am the #2 innovation blog based on RSS subscribers.  Sign up for my RSS feed here and help me get even more subscribers.  You won’t regret it.

I am #9 for unique visitors, although I know from Google analytics that I am getting more traffic than they list.  And I learned that I have 919 pages posted on this blog.  I didn’t know that.  I have over 7,500 incoming links.

And drum roll please…I am #1 on Technorati’s blog rank. Admittedly, I am not quite sure what that means, but it sounds good.

Now I just have to figure out what to do in order to get in the top 10 of the innovation blogs.

There are some excellent innovation blogs here that I will start reading, and I encourage you to do the same.

P.S. We are now #13.  #1 here we come.

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New Literary Agent

News flash…I just signed on with Bonnie Solow as my literary agent. She represents big name authors like Jack Canfield and T. Harv Eker.  I am honored to be working with her.  We already have a two book deal in the works.  More details soon.

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Mark Your Calendars

This summer, I will be giving speeches around Europe.  Some will be private events and others will be open to the public.  Regardless, I will be taking time to meet up with people during my travels.

On May 26th, I will be speaking in Copenhagen at a “Happiness at Work Conference.”  On June 1st, I am speaking in Athens, Greece.  Other countries are quickly being added to the list.

If you are a European corporate executive or conference organizer who is interested in bringing innovation to your organization during my visit there, please write for availability using our contact form.

Hope to see you this summer in Europe.

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Motivate Like a CEO

The ability to motivate your employees is one of your most important leadership skills. Unfortunately, too many leaders use outdated approaches that only temporarily increase motivation, but with long-term ill effects.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I almost never promote the books of others.  However, Motivate Like a CEO, by Suzanne Bates is special.

I know Suzanne personally and she is someone who walks the talk.  We work together on a board of directors, and she is one of the most thoughtful and thought provoking people I know.

More importantly, I love her motivation philosophy.  Suzanne asked me to read an early version of the manuscript and provide an endorsement.  After reading the book, I was more than happy to do so.  Here’s what I wrote:

Suzanne Bates does for business what Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning (my all-time favorite book) did for psychology.  Just as Frankl showed that people thrive when their lives have meaning, Suzanne demonstrates that companies thrive when they are designed around a shared purpose.

Today only, if you purchase the book, Suzanne will give you access to a number of “bonus gifts.”

Visit her site for more details.  I know you will enjoy this book.  I did.

P.S. This is my 400th blog entry.

P.P.S. Happy New Year to all of my friends in Asia…and around the world.

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