FIELD NOTES

What Makes a Keynote Worth Attending

Most keynotes are forgettable within 48 hours. Here's the difference between the ones that stick and the ones that don't.

I've watched hundreds of keynotes from backstage, from the audience, and from the speaker's seat. The ones that change how you think have something in common — and it's not what most people expect.

April 18, 2025

How to Choose the Right Keynote Speaker for Your Conference

The difference between a session that lands and one that bores your audience comes down to five questions most planners never ask.

Most conference planners start with availability and budget. The best ones start with something else entirely — and it has nothing to do with the speaker's fame.

April 2, 2025

5 AI Prompts to Enhance (Not Replace) Customer Understanding

In my previous article, AI & Customer Empathy: Finding the Human Balance, we talked about finding the sweet spot between AI and human empathy in customer development. Today, let's get tactical. I'm go...

March 15, 2025

AI & Customer Empathy: Finding the Human Balance

Let's be honest – AI is everywhere right now. In our board rooms, our pitch decks, our product roadmaps. Everyone's talking about it, everyone's using it, everyone's trying to figure out how to levera...

February 28, 2025

Beyond Brainstorming: How Real Innovation Leaders Create Breakthrough Change

Innovation Leadership Series Part IIIf I had a dollar for every time someone told me they were "fostering innovation" through brainstorming sessions and sticky notes, I'd have enough money to fund a u...

February 10, 2025

Beyond Resolutions: A Leader's Guide to Thriving in Uncertainty (2025 Edition)

We all feel it. That mix of excitement and apprehension as we stand at the threshold of a new year. The blank canvas of 2025 stretches before us, full of possibility and uncertainty....

January 22, 2025

Beyond the Funnel: The Real Path to Customer Connection

We love our funnels in the business world, don't we?...

January 8, 2025

The Uncertainty Readiness Index™

Your Organization's Navigation System for the Unknown

Your Organization's Navigation System for the UnknownPicture this: the ground shifts beneath your organization overnight. A new competitor emerges. Regulations change. Technology leaps forward. Your s...

December 19, 2024

Building High-Performing Innovation Teams: Commitment vs. Consensus

Let's be honest about something – working on an innovation team is hard. Really hard....

December 18, 2024

Building High-Performing Innovation Teams: From Pain to Possibility

Ever notice how some of the most revolutionary innovations started with someone getting really frustrated?...

December 3, 2024

Building High-Performing Innovation Teams: Leading Through Uncertainty

Let's start with a reality check: if you're comfortable leading an innovation team, you're probably doing it wrong....

November 14, 2024

Building High-Performing Innovation Teams: The Art of Core Team Design

Let me tell you what really keeps innovation from happening in most organizations....

October 29, 2024

Building High-Performing Innovation Teams: The Customer Immersion Imperative

Let's start with an uncomfortable truth: you probably don't know your customers nearly as well as you think you do....

October 15, 2024

Field Notes: AI Empathy Trap, Yellow Brick Road, and Einstein

I. Notes From Me 1. Finding the Human Balance"AI works great for understanding the broad middle of the bell curve. But innovation? Innovation happens at the edges. It happens with the customers who ha...

September 25, 2024

Field Notes: Beyond the Funnel, Alien Robot Banker, and Brian Halligan

Here's this week's Field Notes....

September 8, 2024

Field Notes: Moneyball 2.0, Starbucks, and Vin Scully

I. Notes From Me 1. Playing Moneyball 2.0"Here’s the thing about innovation – what worked yesterday rarely works today. Fast forward to 2024. The Dodgers are World Series Champions again, and they got...

August 20, 2024

Field Notes: The Empathy-Gratitude Connection, Clarity, and William Arthur Ward

I. Notes From Me 1. The Empathy-Gratitude Connection"Empathy and gratitude are distinct forces that, when properly understood and intentionally combined, create something powerful."...

August 5, 2024

Field Notes: The Lost Art of Customer Connection, Emotional Intelligence, and Brené Brown

Here's this week's Field Notes....

July 16, 2024

Field Notes: Why Your Corporate Innovation Program Is Failing, AI Politeness, and Unknown

I. Notes From Me 1. Why Your Corporate Innovation Program Is Failing (And How to Fix It)"Here's the paradox: The more you try to control innovation, the less innovative your organization becomes. Your...

June 28, 2024

Grace Under the Tree: Navigating Family with Empathy This Holiday

Let's be honest – the holidays can feel like running an innovation workshop where none of the participants got the brief....

June 11, 2024

Innovation Leadership in the Age of AI: Balancing Technology and Human Ingenuity

As AI reshapes industries at an unprecedented pace, innovation leaders face a new challenge: how to harness its potential while maintaining the human ingenuity that drives real transformation. In a re...

May 23, 2024

Navigating The Innovation Landscape

Unveiling Progress Metrics For Pre-Market Product Development Portfolios What Are Progress Metrics?My childhood was filled with the captivating storytelling of Mark Twain in classics such as The Adve...

May 7, 2024

Progress Metrics Applied

A Blueprint to use Progress Metrics for Pre-Market Product PortfoliosIn my previous article, I introduced the Progress Metric Framework as a tool for measuring the success of pre-market ventures, wher...

April 18, 2024

Playing Moneyball 2.0: Innovation Lessons from the Dodgers' Roster Revolution

I still remember my first Dodger game. It was 1988, and I was six years old, sitting in the nosebleeds at Chavez Ravine with my mom. The smell of Dodger Dogs wafted through the air, Vin Scully’s voice...

April 2, 2024

The 30-Step Rule Part 1: A Lesson in Customer Observation From Walt Disney

In the early planning stages of Disneyland, Walt Disney employed an unconventional research method that would forever change the way theme parks approach waste management. Instead of relying on assump...

March 15, 2024

The 30-Step Rule Part 2: Beyond Disney, How to Apply the 30-Step Rule to Uncover Customer Insights

Let's start with a deceptively simple question: How far will someone walk to throw away a piece of trash?...

February 27, 2024

The 4 Anchors of Innovation Strategy (And Why Most Companies Get Them Wrong)

Innovation strategy....

February 9, 2024

The Anchors of "Innovation Strategy"

I spent the week developing and facilitating an innovation strategy with one of the most recognized CPG companies in the world. It’s been fascinating and challenging work. One of the challenges is the...

January 24, 2024

The Empathy-Gratitude Connection: More Different Than You Think

You hear it all the time in innovation circles: "We need more empathy." And right alongside it: "We need to show more gratitude to our customers."...

January 10, 2024

The Empathy Revolution: Leading Innovation Through Human Connection

Innovation Leadership Series Part IIn an age obsessed with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital transformation, I'm about to tell you something that might sound counterintuitive: the...

December 14, 2023

The Exploration Imperative: Answering the Call of Your Highest Potential

Every time I stand at the edge of the vast ocean, I feel two opposing forces....

November 29, 2023

The Lost Art of Customer Connection: Why Face-to-Face Still Drives Innovation

In boardrooms across every industry, leaders are racing to implement the latest customer intelligence tools. AI analytics, sentiment tracking, automated surveys - the technological arsenal for underst...

November 8, 2023

The Myth of the Lone Innovator: Why Great Innovation Leaders Think Different

Innovation Leadership Series Part IIILet's be honest – we love our innovation hero stories....

October 19, 2023

There is Nothing Permanent Except Change

The Next Horizon

The Next HorizonIn contemplating the inevitable nature of change, I'm reminded of the insightful words of Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher from Ephesus. His assertion that 'There is nothing permanent...

September 14, 2023

Why High Performers Often Feel Unstable During Growth—and What to Do About It

There you sit, scrolling through LinkedIn. Another connection landing their dream job. Another peer launching a successful side hustle. Another industry friend sharing their speaking engagement at tha...

August 30, 2023

Why Your Corporate Innovation Program Is Failing (And How to Fix It)

"Fail fast."...

August 11, 2023