Blog
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Blog / ChangeThis
What Makes a Change Maker a Change Maker?
By Porchlight
"Innovation has moved from a distant abstraction in the business world to a front-and-center deliverable that is expected to show evidence of impact. But there is no guaranteed formula for finding ideas and executing on them for sustained impact. Users and buyers set moving expectations, investors are demanding and unforgiving, and society expects companies to contribute beyond the bottom line. Change makers operate within the polarities of innovation—innovation is cool yet threatening, inevitable yet unpredictable, attractive yet avoided—and remain undeterred. They want to solve real problems by getting stuff done, even with the uncertainty, unpredictability, and ambiguity that defines their journey. They are guided by purpose, and are driven to create value benefiting investors and employees, users, buyers, partners, and the broader community in which they exist. They don't accept the status quo. They operate with urgency, and speed their progress by rolling up their sleeves and learning on the fly.
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Lessons From The Road: Bringing Musicianship and Performing Into The Office
By Porchlight
"We often look towards established business leaders when seeking out new ideas to inspire us. Their advice and stories re-energize us, bringing the hope of discovering a greater awareness of where our careers can evolve to, or how our businesses can operate with fresh approaches to drive growth. We dig to uncover nuggets of wisdom from these well-known leaders to embrace and adopt into our everyday lives. But perhaps there's an unexpected type of leader to draw inspiration from. Have you ever looked at the way bands and music artists operate—at various levels of success—and found parallels to the ways that businesses need to constantly innovate, grow and empower their teams to get the best out of them. Or how the power of listening can open up new and unexpected opportunities. As a former professional musician turned technology executive, I've seen and lived these parallels between the stage and office and put them into practice. There are more connections than you may think.
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Business Must Make Life Better
By Richard Hardyment
"Big business today is under scrutiny like never before. Trust is flaky. Consumers are cynical. Many companies talk about playing a role in society—through philanthropic giving and environmentally sustainable practices. But few have defined their ambitions for life. Companies have a phenomenal impact on how people feel—our wellbeing. Yet there has been a deafening silence from the private sector about the central purpose of human existence. In our turbulent world of change, we desperately need a more human form of capitalism that places people at its heart—whether that's farmers supplying raw materials, factory workers creating goods, or shoppers buying and consuming products and services. We need business to embrace a wellbeing purpose with an audacious ambition: to make life feel better."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Prepare for Your Lucky Break
By Randy Komisar
"A long career in business has impressed upon me the unpredictability of success. As an entrepreneur and investor this lesson is particularly sobering. When I started, I felt that my hard work and a modicum of intelligence would propel me to certain success. Simply put one foot in front of the other. But living in the Silicon Valley casino has changed my view. Success is, after all, relative. There is much written about the short half-life of the joy experienced after receiving a significant windfall if others have received an even greater sum. It seems we can't even gauge our own success without comparison to others. And in Silicon Valley, the relative distribution of success appears largely random. That is not to say that many of the successful icons of innovation aren't impressive; it's to say that in comparison to so many of the also-rans they are virtually indistinguishable. And that realization alone is humbling."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
The Presentation of Data Graphics In Everyday Life
By Kristen Sosulski
"Consider how our smartphones, social media platforms, or even search engines alter the pace, pattern, and scale of our daily activities. Think about your own process for selecting restaurants, documenting moments, and sharing your thoughts with others and the role that your media plays in these activities. Next, consider pictorial representations of data, or data graphics as a medium. How have data graphics proliferated their presence in our everyday life. Navigation systems guide us from one location to another through narrated directions accompanied by digital maps, annotated with points of interests like the nearest coffee shops, shoe stores, or art museums as alternative pathways to peak our interest and reroute us from our original destination. Aside from navigation aids, data graphics accompany news reports, research findings, and advertisements as both supporting evidence and alternative narratives. [. . . ] [. . . ] When used with integrity and purpose, data graphics have the potential to help us, as humans, make sense of this intensely data focused world.
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Using Learning to Engage, Compete, and Succeed
By Kelly Palmer, David Blake
"The world of work is going through a large-scale transition—much like the transition we went through from the agricultural economy to the Industrial Revolution. We are now in the age of digitization, automation, and acceleration—an age where critical skills and expertise will be an imperative for us to succeed in the economy. [...] If you aren't ready and willing to learn every day and keep up with a rapidly changing world, you can't and won't stay competitive. Gone are the days when you could graduate with a four-year degree and feel secure that you had learned everything you needed to know to stay relevant for your entire career."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / Book Giveaways
Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change
By Porchlight
Beth Comstock's new book is a great resource for thinking about the constant change swirling about us today, and how to make a positive change in your life and in the life of your organization, from one of America's top business minds and practitioners.
Categories: giveaways
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Blog / Editor's Choice
Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It's Changing the World
Book Review by Porchlight
Bethany McLean's new book exposes the faulty foundation of America's shale revolution, and in so doing offers a clearer base of facts for the discussion on how to proceed.
Categories: editors-choice
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Blog / Book Giveaways
Strategyman vs. the Anti-Strategy Squad: Using Strategic Thinking to Defeat Bad Strategy and Save Your Plan
By Porchlight
Rich Horwath's new book on strategy is unlike those he—or anyone else—has written in the past.
Categories: giveaways
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Blog / Editor's Choice
Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World
Book Review by Porchlight
Anand Giridharadas' new book questions the MarketWorld order of business and philanthropy, and the currently ascendent approach to social change.
Categories: editors-choice
