There’s strong agreement that innovation will drive success in modern business, yet a growing concern that companies are not taking the steps to innovate. The business press asserts that innovation is hard to measure, expensive and often compromised for short-term gains. CEOs don’t understand innovation, we’re told - they do little more than talk about new ideas. I feel compelled to set the record straight, based on my research and personal business experience.

Fear not, America’s businesses will not sink into oblivion and stagnation, at least not in the next few years. The urgent call for action ignores what’s actually happening throughout the private sector. Now more than ever, innovation is important… and there are leaders who are getting it right. Further, many of these executives are baby boomers, the very generation that missed learning about innovation in business school. Continue reading…

Steve Jobs built an extraordinary business called Apple. Its tag line, Think Differently, says it all. Apple enjoys an energized customer base, impressive earnings, and a growing market share. Apple is on fire.

Jobs’ ideas and actions are driven by his Steadfast Passion, a term I use to describe the mind-set and actions of leaders who are Visionaries and Agents of Successful Change. Steadfast Passion is more than passion or loving what you do. It defines the leader’s focus and how he approaches challenge and change.

For those who seek robust growth, Steadfast Passion is a competency of enormous consequence, and the hardest to master. It is the Hallmark that distinguishes the most admired business leaders, the likes of Rupert Murdock of News Corp and Jeff Bezos of Amazon. Continue reading…