Recently, I’ve been asked to give advice on how to start an entrepreneurial enterprise.  And as most of us sell something most of the time, these points should be helpful to you as well.

1)      Define 3-4 best possible futures.  Contrary to popular psychology, none of us has just one passion.  Humans are more dynamic and mysterious than that.  Just like a fractal grows and changes, think of a basket of things you see yourself doing in the future.  Choose a number of things that intrigue you.  You’ve done your work when you can think of more things you want to create than things you want to buy.

2)      Define your unique IP.  What is it that you know well and maybe even better than most?  What is your Intellectual Property?  Writing, speaking, web research?  Computer graphics, customer service, constructing things in your garage?  Be sure to include the new things that are blossoming in the front of your imagination. 

3)      Make a list of who would benefit most from each of your ideas.  Do this for all your possible futures.

4)      Create prototypes of what you want to sell. If it’s a service, make a one page overview or short video.   Messy, imperfect, back of envelope – make it easy.  If it’s a product – mock it up.  Make a 3D presentation on Google software. It’s important to touch this lightly and not make it into a big deal.  Play with it.  You may find in the process, some of your possible futures may seem more exciting to you than others. Listen to this input.

5)      Go show one prototype to one or two people – friends, then potential buyers.  Let them tell you what it needs to be.  The bias in any sales operation is ACTION.  Make this your motto.  Get feedback, test and iterate.  You may surprise yourself in that you get a sale just from this effort alone.  But keep revising and repeat steps 1 – 5.  It will work if you are sensitive to the feedback.

6)      Reverse mentor. Most of us look for someone who is older and more experienced from whom to get advice on our creation. But as the rate of changes accelerates consider a mentor who is younger than you.  If not in age then experience.  Find someone who is webby, in a different field or a digital native.  Ask them to guide you along.  The fastest growth comes from the newest edge.  It’s counter-intuitive, but it works.

Be sure to tell me what new idea you’ve created.  I may want to invest!

Join a group of professionals and get credentialed in The Five Faces of Genius Innovation program. Learn how to guide your teams to new ideas and creative business solutions. This model has been used with Fortune 1000 companies across the globe. Our day will consist of an interactive experience that both teaches you the content and allows you to experience the power of creative thinking. For more information, contact us at firemark@fivefacesofgenius.com

Watching Watson beat the best Jeopardy players calls into question what human knowledge really is and what it means.  Are we more than the sum of our mental data sets?  What distinguishes human intelligence from the artificial variety? 

I take a special joy in watching this victory of machine mind over human because it puts into high relief our best and ultimate function  –  imagination.  Now, more than ever, we realize it is the capacities for epiphany, inspiration and new ideas that make us uniquely human.  As Einstein claimed, it was his gift for fantasy more than his talent for absorbing any positive knowledge that was his best thinking.  Imagination will continue to make us vital players in the game called Life.

This may seem sacrilegious to some so I apologize in advance but it’s time to find another business bible.  When the pace of change itself is changing, creating something new and useful is the only habit that matters.  Habits, unless they are in pursuit of creativity, are counterproductive.  Habits reify mental models and concretize processes that need to be fluid, iterative and generative.  We need to think in ever-changing new and surprising ways. 

For example, who can begin with the end in mind anymore?  The business community has long done away with five or even three year planning.  When change is accelerating, we strive for a provisional vision, a temporary strategy, a ‘make it up as we go’ perspective that can be melded and shaped.  We focus on a vision that is as far as the headlights shine.  Grounded by our values and our dreams, we move ourselves and others forward.

Some feel like a cat caught in a dryer – trying to get equilibrium in the midst of change around us.  We wait for things to go back to the way it used to be or even just calm down so we can get back to our habits of effectiveness.  But the only way to get ‘righted’ in the dryer is to invent the next dryer. Nurturing your genius – focusing on the competency of innovation -  is the way toward the future.  Next-generation 'habits' are things like fantasy, ephiphany and the pursuit of mystery.  We can only be fully open to our own powers of invention in the messy, magical world in which we work and live. 

This survey of global CEO's tells us what we intuitively know. Increasing complexity (think Kurzweil's "pace of change itself is changing") means creativity rises to the top of the competency hierarchy.  Time to end the misconception that we either have creative talent or we don't. We can't afford to believe that myth any longer.

http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/ceo/ceostudy2010/index.html

Check out my recent blogs as TechScout for Northwestern University's Media Management Center.  Fun interviews from leaders at the edge of technology. 

Wow. The changes ahead will be a fascinating ride!

I've never elevated Steve Jobs to God status as some in the tech community have.  But I heartily acknowledge the divine status of the iPhone.  I call it the Jesus Phone because of the undisputed fact that it performs miracles.

Miracle # 1:  The iPhone has eliminated my insatiable (some may say sinful) need for more and better gadgets.  Not only do I never have to buy a digital camera again, I can pass on the GPS system for my car.  I can get rid of my watch, my alarm clock and my PDA.  I don't need a fancy KitchenAid oven timer either.  I can get dinner recipes from Big Oven and entertain myself while waiting in the grocery line with YouTube videos (careful to avoid unseemly content).

Miracle #2:  Just like Jesus, the iPhone draws me closer to other people and their needs.  I can keep up with my daughter's life on Facebook.  I can help my colleagues get jobs on LinkedIn.  I can remind myself to drop off the clothes for the Warm Winter Project.  I can even keep track of my husband's location coordinates with Loopt.

Not that I need to. Lately, we have taken to what I call iPhone dating.  It's very satisfying really.  I get his lovely presence over a fine meal and when our conversation gets dull or boring, we just start scanning our favorite blogs.  He'll say, "Did you see that Bush may get tried for war crimes?" I'll ask, "Did you hear about the new research on brain science and creativity?" We'll banter and then go back to our trusted iPhones.  I think Jesus would approve of our abiding intimacy.

Miracle #3: And best off, the Jesus Phone has my spiritual needs at heart.  I can build my mind with global news from the New York Times and meditate with my iTunes melodies.  Soon, with the new Google talk app, I'll be  able to speak, the phone will hear me and find my search on Safari.  And just as Jesus promises to always guide us, with the Flashlight app, I can find my way in the dark.

Innovators know how to operate at the edge of new technologies and consumer insight.  This program from Disney Theme Parks does just that.  They beckon me personally to come to the Park via a customized video www.sun7news.com .  Perhaps more importantly, the e-mail campaign positions the Park as a place for celebration.  Celebration is a need that everyone has - even in a turbulent economy.  When the video is finished, there is a convenient screen that directs you to send a customized video to a friend.  This is marketing well.

Many of you are familiar with my model for innovation, The Five Faces of Genius.  I always love finding great examples of how these skills work in the minds’ of global innovators.

Anumpa Mittal is the Indian entrepreneur who created Shaadi.com.  In India, the majority of marriages are arranged by parents.  Mittal started Shaadi.com to link parents as well as singles for marriage over the Internet.  In fact, Shaadi means ‘marriage’ in Hindi.

Mittal got this idea using the genius of his Observer skill.  He paid attention to the details around him and collected them for an insight.  Mittal met a pundit – a Hindi preist who acts as a matchmaker.  The pundit was carrying a large bag full of personal resumes of potential matches.  In India, they call these resumes biodata. 

Mittal was curious and observed that the number of matches the pundit could create was dependent on the number of biodata he could carry in his bag.  He believed that the matchmaking function could be better performed by software on the Internet.  Shaadi.com is now the number one matchmaking site in Asia.

Paying attention to what makes our curiosity sing is part and parcel to innovation.  When we take time to entertain our curiosity, we find ourselves creating ideas that can bring big value.

I recently interviewed the CEO of wetpaint, Ben Elowitz and he talked about their new widget for Facebook.  It's called Tag Team Graffiti.  So I checked it out.  It allows you to create 'art' with the community of your friends. Kind of like a community mural only electronic. 

What I love about Tag Team Graffiti is that gives the power of people to create together in more ways than just words.  Even though the images may turn out to be silly and maybe even banal, it's a co-creative process and helps us all learn to paint, play and express together.