Innovation
“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things. “ Theodore Levitt (1925 – 2006), Renown economist
Innovating, continuously, is critical to sustained growth and success. But too often, we misunderstand and underexploit innovation. We tend to think of innovation as groundbreaking inventions, technologies, and business models.
But innovation represents so much more. Incremental innovation helps us continuously improve that which we already do. Improving our effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, and performance is critical for each of us, every day. Leaders must continuously drive performance improvement with everyone in the organization.
Innovation is not just about creating new things, it is about thinking and doing things differently. It is recognizing that what got us to where we are is probably insufficient to getting us where we want to be, we have do change.
We provide a rich set of workshops, tools, methods, and processes to support constant innovation—both within our own organizations and helping our customers innovate.
Innovation Posts
Are You Distinctive?
I’ve been reading some fascinating work on marketing, brand building, differentiation (Imagine ever learning something from marketers 😉 ) I listened to a fascinating webcast by Mark Ritson about Differentiation, take some time to listen to it. It prompted me to think a little about differentiation and much more about distinctiveness. First, a few quick […]
The Paradox Of Success
Sometimes success, too much success over a period of time is dangerous. We see so much of this now, with the former “darlings” of the VC/PE world. We see similar things with many of the largest, “most successful” organizations, the high performers of Wall Street, NASDAQ, and other global markets Suddenly, these “successful” organizations start […]
The Joy Of Selling……
With smaller groups or one on one’s, I frequently talk about “The Joy of Selling….” To some this concept may seem a little too soft and abstract. Some react, “Dave, we’ve got to focus on hitting the numbers, achieving our growth goals! It’s tough work and sellers need to be tough minded!” Increasingly, I don’t […]
Buying Is Messy!
Complex B2B change and buying processes are messy—and they are getting messier! It has, always, been messy. For well over a decade, we’ve seen huge amounts of data directly or indirectly demonstrating the impact of the inherent messiness of buying. A few data points: Increasing numbers of change and buying projects fail! Whether it’s data […]
The Importance Of Being “Stratical” Or “Tactegic”
Strategic thinking with most sales leaders seems to be focused on, “How are we going to finish the month?” For front line sales managers it seems to be limited to, “Did you hit your prospecting goals for today, what is your plan to do hit it tomorrow?” The intensity of focus on what we are […]
Driving Our Customers/Prospects Away!
I, and so many others, write constantly about how buying is changing and how sellers (sales and marketing) must change to respond to these changes. We read about how email is failing, phone calls, social, and virtually every other engagement platform. We have continuing debates about “Is cold calling dead?” “Is outbound dead?” We look […]
Sales Innovation
Yes, I know the majority of you, justifiably, will think this title is an oxymoron. Something like jumbo shrimp, virtual reality, exact estimate, definite maybe, short meetings, job security, detailed summary, Microsoft Works (oops). This impression is reinforced by the imitative behaviors we constantly see in selling, focused on doing more of what we know […]
We’re Long Past Our “Use By Date”
I love both my sisters dearly. But one had the most annoying habit. When she visited, she took great joy in helping prepare meals. But every once in a while, she would see an ingredient, say a can of some type of food. She would check the can for the “Use by date.” If, for […]
The Willingness To Be Wrong
The willingness to be wrong. Not quite the poster child for our daily affirmations wall, is it? “I will be wrong today. I will embrace failure. Errors are my best friends!” Nothing you see leaders bragging to each other about, “I was wrong more times than you! I win!” But the willingness to be wrong, […]
PLG V 13.7???
Again, this is one of those posts, where I have to start with a disclaimer. The post is a little snarky. And, yes, it’s intentional, but hopefully to make a point and to help us open our eyes to explore worlds outside of where we normally exist, in this case SaaS. I’ll use the SaaS […]
Testimonials
“In a world populated by many, many self-proclaimed "thought leaders," Dave is the real deal--perhaps more than anybody I've met since I've been studying the sales, service and customer experience space. His perspective is informed by deep experience as an executive and business leader himself and by an insatiable curiosity about what's next in the field. I ALWAYS read what Dave posts and make it a regular habit to read anything he writes. We've spent hours together talking about business, new emerging technologies, the latest human psychology and behavioral economics work, you name it. Whenever I have a new idea for a book or article or blog post, he's one of the few people I tend to run the idea by...because he always makes it sharper and generally (though not always successfully) keeps me from sticking my foot in my mouth 🙂 If you have an opportunity to work with him, you should jump at the opportunity. You'll be very glad you did.” Matt Dixon, Co-Author, Challenger Sales, The Challenger Customer, The Jolt Effect, Co-founder DCM Consulting.
“It is DecisionLink's, and my, very good fortune to engage and collaborate with Dave. His brings vast knowledge, extensive skills and laser sharp insight to the sales and marketing domain...and much more. In a world overwhelmed with complexity and rife with buzz-words, fads and cookie-cutter approaches, Dave cuts through the chatter to hone in on the things that matter, that make an impact, that "advance the ball".
Perhaps more important, he is a wise steward of his talents. He gives unselfishly and takes an approach that "my best interest will be found in the best interests of my customers, partners and colleagues". Admirable...and smart.
A word of warning. If you work with Dave, lace 'em up and bring your best effort. It will be a challenge to keep up. It will be rewarding if you do.
Finally, Dave is a pleasure to be around. His reputation, character and integrity are evidenced in his many (and glowing) testimonials. He's a nice guy. He cares about others. He's fun to be around.
I look forward to our professional and personal relationship with Dave, and wholeheartedly recommend him in all regards.” Jim Berryhill, Chairman and Co-Founder
“Dave is that rare voice of reason in a cacophony of sales "leadership" noise. Dave has become my go-to resource for advice on business strategy, anything sales, and as a sounding board for all ideas. Never shy with brutal honesty he has proven invaluable to my success in a short amount of time.” Severan Johnson, Director of Business Operations
“Strategic Partnering is a key strategy in driving Novozymes innovation and growth in the coming years. The partnering programs and processes you have identified and helped us implement will enable us to become ‘Best In Class’ in collaborating and innovating in the future. We are already seeing improved results with our current partnerships.” Director of Partnering Programs
"Dave Brock is an innovator as he thinks different in his approach to the life/work challenges. His solutions approach is a truly unique as is it based in decades of front line application that makes it REAL and highly valuable. There is no one in this industry that matches his demonstrated capability to help, this coming from my own 52 year history in this industry." Mitch Little, Senior Vice President, WW Client Engagement