Posts by Soren Kaplan
The Value Prop Canvas Tool Will Speed Up Innovation Processes in Your Business
As a consultant, I’ve had the chance to work with some of the world’s biggest businesses and organizations to help guide innovation initiatives and business strategies. What continues to surprise me is how often leaders lack a clear understanding of what the value proposition is that they are providing to customers before developing new products…
Read MoreThe Business Tool You Didn’t Know You Needed: A Customer Problem Statement
Do you know what matters most to your customers? If you aren’t living and breathing the problems your customers face every day, you will likely be unable to empathize with their needs, and providing meaningful innovation to address them. For the past 25 years, I’ve worked with hundreds of groups across dozens of big…
Read MoreNo Plan for 2021? No Problem. Use a Project Charter to Get Focus
A project plan is a list of ingredients. A project charter is the recipe. Having worked with both startups and big companies for more than 25 years, I’ve seen executives get so enamored of their “disruptive” future visions, they neglect the short-term plans that get things going. I’ve also seen leaders so focused on implementation they lose sight of their…
Read More6 Ways to Create a Culture of Innovation in a Virtual World
Culture is a key success factor for every team and organization. Shape it to get more innovation, even from your remote workforce. Companies like Facebook, Twitter, Box, Slack, and Salesforce all say that employees can keep working remotely well into next year or even forever. We’re seeing a sea change toward remote work and how…
Read MoreGet Your Team Focused on Results With This KPI Template
Management guru Peter Drucker once said, “What’s measured improves.” So true. You get what you measure when it comes to business performance. The problem is that most teams don’t have clear key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of their strategies and projects. Sure, they may have goals, but without clear KPIs, they don’t have a way to know quantitatively that they’re…
Read MoreHow Consulting Will Likely Change Because of the Pandemic
The consulting industry was already being disrupted before the coronavirus. Now the disruption is accelerating. If you work with consultants or have your own consultancy, take note: Things are changing, fast. Right around the corner are threats or opportunities, depending on how you respond. I’ve already written about how the management-consulting industry is being disrupted by various trends like emerging technologies, the commodification…
Read MoreThe OGSM Template Is a Secret Weapon That Helps High-Performing Teams Growth
For the past 25 years, I’ve worked with hundreds of groups across dozens of big companies and startups. One thing’s consistent: everyone works in teams, and the ultimate success of any organization relies on the overall effectiveness of the teams within it. That’s why universities like Harvard and companies like Google have spent years studying different types of teams to identify…
Read MoreNo-Code and Low-Code Software is the Future. Businesses Need to Pay Attention.
No-code and low-code software will create a massive opportunity for businesses. A massive transformation faces the software industry, similar to the disruption we’ve seen hit other industries like health care and manufacturing. We’ve already seen how Google Docs took the world by storm through free cloud-based software, forcing Microsoft to change its Office 365 business model. Cloud-based software is now the norm.…
Read MoreHaving a vision will help your company aim high, but if you set objectives and key result metrics with this OKR template, your business will thrive.
Sometimes big visions can be powerful motivators to drive people, but clear objectives and metrics deliver results. I’ve worked with some of the world’s most innovative startups and big companies for over 25 years. In that time, I’ve seen leaders and teams become enamored with the idea of building their own “disruptive” future visions. This…
Read MoreFour Types of Customer Experiences for Competitive Advantage
Want to improve your customers’ experience? Try these connected strategies. What’s the secret to a winning business model and long-term competitive advantage? It’s not just about technology, products and services. Your customer experience may just be the ultimate competitive advantage. Strategy and innovation experts Nicolaj Siggelkow and Christian Terwiesch just published a new book called Connected Strategy: Building Continuous…
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