by mmartyn | Oct 21, 2010 | Best Practices, Continuous Improvement, Design, Innovation, Problem Solving
“The extent to which you have a design style is the extent to which you have not solved the problem.” – Charles Eames Design That Matters is a non-profit company who faced a problem with global implications. 1.8 million premature babies die each year from a...
by mmartyn | Oct 19, 2010 | Continuous Improvement, Cultural Enablers, Innovation, Problem Solving
Welcome to the Grand Cafe in Oxford, England. The Grand Cafe was one of the first coffee houses to open in England in 1650. With the replacement of alcohol as the daytime drink of choice, the English coffee house blossomed into a locus of learning and was crucial to...
by mmartyn | Oct 14, 2010 | Changing Behavior, Culture, Engagement, Human Behavior, Leadership, Motivation
It is rare I come across information on the practice of leadership rooted in actionable advice and useful for my clients. Recently however, I discovered a brilliant 3 minute talk on the role of leaders in starting a movement. The creator, Derek Sivers, is the former...
by mmartyn | Oct 9, 2010 | Continuous Improvement, Creativity, Innovation, Problem Solving
A Chinese man created these structures on a beach using nothing other than the natural balance of the objects. When asked how he did it, he responded “Well I guess with everything in life, there is a place of balance…” Amy Tan, once noted that the key to...
by mmartyn | Oct 5, 2010 | Best Practices, Cultural Enablers, Human Behavior, Leadership, Motivation
Recently, an executive asked me to help develop a profile for recruiting new sales managers. The company currently uses a highly refined and successful selection process which hires results-oriented sales managers who aren’t afraid to give pointed feedback and hold...