BE DIFFERENT and MAKE A DIFFERENCE! - Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream.(Your first-ever Business e-Coach)

To Be Different vs. To Be Unique

To be different is to be not the same.
To be unique is to be one of its kind.

Buffett's Investment Secrets

7 Contrarian Principles – Ignoring Convention

Do not follow the crowd. Ignore the market, the crowd, and its fashions... More

Ask Yourself

By James Allen, the Author of As a Man Thinketh

For true success ask yourself these four questions:

Why?
Why not?
Why not me?
Why not now?... More

The Wheel of Personal Success

Today's Problem of Over-Communication¹

Information Overflow Syndrome: some statistics

More information has been produced in the last 20 years than in the previous 2,000
The total of all printed knowledge doubles every 4 or 5 years
Over 1,000,000 new web-sites are created every day
One weekly edition of the New York Times contains more information than the average person was likely to come across in a lifetime in 17th century England

Commercials Overflow Syndrome: some statistics

In Europe, eleven countries broadcast well over six million TV commercials a year.
In the United Kingdom, by the time a child is eighteen, he or she has been exposed to 140,000 commercials
In Sweden, the average consumer receives more than 3,000 commercial messages a day

4 Pillars of Entrepreneurial Creativity

A Synergistic Combination of Your Four Capabilities

Creative thinking skills
Cross-functional expertise
Internal motivation (fun-driven creativity) and external motivation (creativity under the gun)
Entrepreneurial action and achievement management... More

Yin and Yang of Entrepreneurial Creativity

5 Strategies for Creating a Culture of Questioning

Do Differently: Encourage people to challenge assumptions; run “The Best Question” contests... More

Transforming Your Business from Mediocre to Great

7 Principles

Dare to be different... More

Innovation Practice Tips

By: IDEO

Break rules and "fail forward" so that change is part of the culture, and little setback is experienced... More

The Jazz of Innovation

11 Practice Tips

Challenge assumptions. Think outside-the-box. Ask searching questions "Why?" and "What If?" to identify hidden problems and opportunities. Keep eyes open for inspiration. Brainstorm every day... More

Creative Problem Solving (CPS): Asking Effective Questions

Pearls of Wisdom

East

What others apprise, the same you want to, what others avoid, the same you want to, that is why, you fail as others, how ridiculous it is!

– Lao Tzu

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

– Buddha

When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.

– Confucius

"We, the rusting leaves, have a voice that answers the storms, but who are you, so silent?" - "I am a mere flower."

– Rabindranath Tagore

West

Glory may be fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

– Napoleon Bonaparte

In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.

– Coco Chanel

If you want to succeed, you have to forge new paths and avoid borrowed ones.

– John Rockefeller

Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.

– Charles Kuralt

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.

– Bill Cosby

If you risk nothing, then you risk everything.

– Greena Davis

Traditional Strategy versus Strategic Innovation

Traditional approaches

Strategic Innovation approach

Assumes a rule-maker/taker (defensive/follower) posture

Assumes a rule-breaker (revolutionary) posture

Discover much more!

The Tao of Achievement

Be Different and Make a Difference

Creativity

Unlock Your Creativity

10 Secrets of Creativity

Get Away from Old Ideas

Entrepreneurial Creativity

6 Powerful Inventive Thinking Techniques

Keeping Eyes Open for Inspiration

Innovation

IDEO's Innovation Practice Tips

5 Strategies for Creating a Culture of Questioning

Success Secrets

Do What You Love To Do and Make a Difference

21 Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires

3 Rules for Developing Courage

Don't Quit

Effective Leadership

10 Roles of An Inspirational Leader

Develop a Clear Vision

Courage – the Key To Leadership

Entrepreneur

Finding a New Business Idea

Ten3 Mini-Courses Presentation: View Download

Entrepreneurial Creativity (75 slides)

Venturepreneur (100 slides)

Entrepreneurial Leadership (40 slides)

25 Lessons from Jack Welch (45 slides) ► Demo

3 Strategies of Market Leaders (125 slides)

Managing Radical Innovation (100 slides)

Steve Jobs' 12 Rules of Success

Be different. Think different. "Better be a pirate than to join the navy."... More

Life-Business Synergy

Make a difference, do what you love to do, keep going and learn... More

The Power of Passion

Inspirational Business Plan: Successful Innovation

Brief History: "Some men look at things the way they are and ask why? I dream of things that are not and ask why not?" – Robert Kennedy...

Innovation Management Team: "Managers succeed by following the rules. Innovators succeed by breaking the rules."... More

The Need To Be Different

Ask yourself, "What is possible?" and not, "what is somebody else doing?"

No one gets ahead by copying the status quo or imitating competitors. The concept of being unique or different is far more important today than it was ten years ago. In the emerging era of over-communication and hyper-competition, people are overwhelmed by choice – choice of information, ideas, products, and services. In this sea of choice, most customers have trouble making choices about buying decisions. Choosing among multiple options is always based on differences, implicit or explicit.

The Secret of Winning in Life

The secret of winning in life lies in seeing life differently – in its different shades and outcomes. "Life becomes a path that leads to achievements. Winners do not value life as much as what they can do with it. For them life is not a tedious journey from the womb to the tomb. It is a journey about crossing milestones and looking forward to new ones."¹⁰

COCA Principle of Achievement

Case in Point Fosbury Flop

In the 1968 Summer Olympics a young man named Dick Fosbury revolutionized high-jumping technique. Using an approach that became known as the Fosbury Flop, he won the gold medal, by going over the bar back-first instead of head-first. He didn't rely on the commonly used technique,' as did all of his fellow competitors. By challenging assumptions, he raised the performance bar for everyone.

Creativity – Your Key To the Future

Creativity is your key to the future. All progress comes about as the result of finding better, faster, cheaper, easier or different ways to do things and this requires the continual honing of your creative thinking skills⁶... More

Lateral Thinking

Lateral thinking is concerned with generation of new ideas. It is also concerned with "breaking out of the concept prisons of old ideas."²... More

Coach Yourself

Consider these points:

What do you want to achieve? What are your goals?
What is the path towards achieving your goal? What are the specific steps on this pathway?
What are you best at doing for yourself? How do you do that? How can you apply these skills in new ways to achieve your goals?... More

The Wheel of Personal Success

Kaizen Mindset

Think beyond common sense. Even if something is working, try to find the ways to make it work even better... More

New Business Environment and New Survival Strategies

In today's tidal wave of global economic, technological, and social change, that name of the game for you and your organization is survival. You are not going to survive in this new economy through technology innovation alone. If you are going to withstand relentless and constantly growing global competition, you need to be different and radically change the way of doing business. You have to give up the old hierarchical, adversarial approach which wastes individual talents and saps energy in unproductive conflict. Instead you need to create a new management model, switch from management to leadership, manage change, build trust, drive out fear of failure and create productive partnerships in which everyone can offer their unique knowledge and talents. If you know how to help your organization to do this, you can make a decisive difference.⁶

Entrepreneurial Leader: 4 Specific Attributes

Inspirational Leadership: 10 Roles

Provide an inspiring vision and strategic alignment, launch a crusade. As an inspirational leader, you must envision the future, passionately believe that you can make a difference, and inspire people to achieve more than they may ever have dreamed possible. You must see a changed world beyond the time horizon, create an ideal and unique image of what it could become, open your followers' eyes and lift their spirits. You must believe that your dreams can become reality and, through your attitude, get people to see exciting opportunities and possibilities for the future. People change and unlock their inner power when they are emotionally engaged and committed.... More

Top 7 Principles For Transforming Your Business From Mediocre To Great

Dare To Be Different. Contrarians are the change agents in the business world.

These wealth-building businesses are not simply "executing better" – they're radically changing the rules of the success game in their field or industry. Where in your business can you break the rules? How can you set yourself apart from the crowd in your industry?... More

Strategies for Leading Breakthroughs

So what separates extraordinary leaders from proponents of the status quo? They break the rules. Except, not in an arbitrary or capricious way. When you look at examples of extraordinary leadership, like the Founding Fathers of the United States or Jack Welch of GE, certain practices or principles become apparent. To start, there is a declaration of what the future will be. There is also a purpose, something to stand for. And finally, there is a clearly articulated commitment... More

The Art of Innovation: 9 Truths

By: Guy Kawasaki

Jump to the next curve. Too many companies duke it out on the same curve. If they were daisy wheel printer companies, they think innovation means adding Helvetica in 24 points. Instead, they should invent laser printing. True innovation happens when a company jumps to the next curve – or better still, invents the next curve, so set your goals high... More

Case in Point Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our generation. His success story is legendary.

Put up for adoption at an early age, dropped out of college after 6 months, slept on friends’ floors, returned coke bottles for 5 cent deposits to buy food, then went on to start Apple Computers and Pixar Animation Studios.

On June 12th 2005, Steve Jobs gave the commencement address at Stanford University. Below are a few clips from his powerful speech.

"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."... More

3 Strategies of Market Leaders

Case in Point Wall-Mart

In his 10 Rules for Building a Business Success, Sam Walton, the Founder of Wall-Mart writes:

Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody else is doing it one way, there's a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction. But be prepared for a lot of folks to wave you down and tell you you're headed the wrong way. I guess in all my years, what I heard more often than anything was: a town of less than 50,000 population cannot support a discount store for very long... More

Case in Point Coco Chanel

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different,” said Coco Chanel, a pioneering French couturier and the Founder of Chanel Inc. “People laughed at the way I dressed, but that was the secret of my success: I didn’t look like anyone.”

Case in Point Ten3 Design for Ten3 Licensed Trainers

We at Ten3 Business e-Coach and Ten3 Design help our Licensed Trainers to be different. Ten3 Design uses inspirational ideas from Ten3 Business e-Coach to create a choice of Wisdom, Happiness, and Leadership products. Our Licensed Trainers can buy these branded inspirational products in our online shop for their clients as memorable handouts. The products are cheap, the impact is deep. See sample products below: