Ahead of the Curve

Successful innovators have ways of seeing the world that throw new opportunities into sharp relief. They have developed, usually by accident, a set of perceptual "lenses" that allow them to pierce the fog of "what is" in order to see the promise of "what could be." How? By paying close attention to four things that usually go unnoticed:"

1. Unchallenged orthodoxies -- the widely held industry beliefs that blind incumbents to new opportunities.

2. Under-leveraged competencies -- the "invisible" assets and competencies, locked up in moribund businesses, that can be repurposed as new growth platforms.

3. Under-appreciated trends -- the nascent discontinunities that can be harnessed to reinvigorate old business models and create new ones."

4. Unarticulated needs -- the frustrations and inconveniences that customers take for granted, and industry stalwarts have thus far failed to address."

4 Lenses of innovation.

via @business_design

What does Lady Gaga and the Saints half time onside kick have in common? That they're surprising and not predictable.

The element of surprise is embedded into everything they do and you would do good to learn from them.

Surprise comes from working outside people's experiences and what that means is: be willing to do what others don't want to do.

Interview with Mark Johnson of Innosight talking about his new book on business model innovation Seizing the White Space.

I think this video captures perfectly the essence of standing out and creating movement.

From @sivers

Brilliant:

"I don't make copies, I make originals"

How do you change the game? You do whatever works for you and what others are unwilling to do.

Here's John Morefield the '5 cent Architect' on how he changed his game and kept the ball moving.

>>>Key takeaway: Break a pattern and do something different

Here's a 6 minute video well worth your time from Tim Kastelle with examples on on how to create a business model that focuses on doing something unique that only you can do an no one else can.

It's about niche not scale. It's about quality not quantity. It's about originality not copying.

3 minutes of game-changing wisdom!