Innovators are opportunity-oriented.

What’s the hidden opportunity in that problem? Where is the opportunity in that trend? How can this be made to work better? Innovators search for the unsolved problems, the markets inefficiencies, and the unmet needs and wants of existing customer groups. They also search for unmet needs and wants and build new customer groups.

Innovators are strategists.

They attempt to anticipate the future to maximize their ability to thrive and prosper in that future. They continually define and redefine their goals, and have well developed but flexible plans to reach them.

Innovators “unhook” their prejudices.

In their approach to problem solving and opportunity creation, they constantly attempt to rid their thinking of preconceived beliefs, biases, thinking ruts, and unchallenged assumptions.

Innovators are trend-spotters.

Innovators monitor change (social, attitudinal, technological, and so on) so as to spot new opportunities before everyone else. But what passes for “vision” is really just a unique way of deciphering where things are headed. Innovators do this by concerning themselves with the “big picture”. They utilize every available moment to keep abreast of these trends.

Innovators are idea-oriented.

Innovators gain an edge through the way they work with ideas. They are constantly generating ideas, always on the lookout for concepts they can borrow and apply from other fields, constantly developing and experimenting new ideas.

Innovators rely upon intuition.

In a world that is growing ever more complex and fast-paced, innovators use their intuition as a kind of sixth sense. It helps them assess risks, read people, recognize emerging patterns of change, and make complex decisions.

Innovators are extraordinarily persistent.

They are willing to “face the heat” in pursuit of their dreams. Their passion for ideas helps them overcome what might otherwise be roadblocks, and they are long-term thinkers.

Innovators are resourceful.

They see no walls to implementing ideas because of their skill and persistence at gathering Strategic Information (specialized, state-of-the-art knowledge and insight). They understand the role of information in the Innovation Age.

Innovators are feedback-oriented.

They constantly poll their customer group to determine how their product or service can be improved. Feedback acts as their “checks and balances” mechanism. It guides their decisions and helps them avoid prejudices and blind spots.

Innovators are superior team builders.

They realize they cannot succeed alone. They either need teams to help them implement their ideas, or, if they work alone, support networks or fellow professionals, mentors, friends, and advisors.

Neil Greenberg is a sales manager with a DC based e-commerce company. He also keeps his blog, Sales Sherpa (http://salessherpa.blogspot.com/) fresh with articles on sales, goal setting, motivation and more.

The most progressive Think Tanks, Brain Trusts, research facilities in companies and government, etc. do their best work by allowing free thought to flow. If the United States is to lead the world in innovation and know how, technology and invention, then we will need to repel the barriers of the flow of thought. We see the backlogged PTO Patent Trademark Office and the incessant bureaucracy to bring a new product to market.

Now then lets discuss the concept of why thought is necessary and why it is one of the first flows of civilization we must study if we are to prepare the human race for the future ahead. You see Zig Ziglar, the famous salesmen who became such by writing books and giving seminars. His premise is that nothing happens until someone sells something. Which in his realm is true enough, in that no money is exchanged and no products are delivered and no services rendered until the salesman has done his job. Why was he so adamant about this? Well he was trying to help salesman understand that the profession of sales is not a bad thing, but rather the oldest part of commerce.

Even older than the oldest profession, after all a woman selling her body has to make an offer first and thus she is a salesperson in addition to the other profession. A sales man by Zig Ziglar’s terms was a problem solver. I use this analogy to show that whereas Ziggy is correct in his statement, the truth is nothing happens until a thought is produced. You see a thought is triggered in a customers mind or a member of a species decides it wants something. Due to the fact it is hungry, cold, hot, tired, etc. Then that animal is motivated by that thought. To figure out a way to get it; this requires strategy, innovation and skill. Having thought is essential and anything that gets in that way is not essential and therefore is in the way. Think about it.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

The mobile phone, a development which has now been around for & assessable for ages. Its found its skills grow & proceed from something that was simply and effortlessly a cell phone, to now something else remarkable that comes with MP3 or digital camera or in fact both. All this is what the current generation of these days is probing for. The more astounding devices that are included among it the further users desire the model. The new most fashionable telephone available at the minute seems to be the astounding iphone. Presented by Apple, it is top of the line, its an iPod and a phone. Therefore if you are a devotee of technology then this is beyond a doubt the right mobile phone for you.

The cellular telephone is also called a wireless or maybe a mobile telephone. Although cellular phones have taken over our current society they have been all over for years, in some style or another. The mobile phone business keeps on to inflate and expand by leaps and bounds as it has in the past few years. Even though it went ahead little more than 20 years ago. Brands have fashioned lots of new technologies that keep cellular handset you yourself coming back for extra. They carry on every year to grow the number of capabilities and services to take on the mounting requests of what these days, on the go nation want.

There are also different networks. The current best and most popular ones are Orange, T-Mobile, and Vodafone. These days folk can decide on whether you require to possess a telephone contract on pay as you go or maybe on an actual contract. Contract cell phone are ordinarily the most sought after type of deal & with it it means the best part of the time people do not take to pay for a state of the art new cell, it on average comes free together with the package. Mobile telephones on contract give people the most adaptable choice in regards to how people use it, there is an enormous decision located in the variety of contracts to customers. All this makes it painless for you to decide a contract which are fitting for one’s demands & how people apply it. Get your hands on the best deals and Compare Mobile Phones online.

Kermit the Frog might think it’s only natural to be green during the holiday season, and maybe you can too by making a couple of easy changes to reduce spending and waste. For many people the holidays signify stress and over-spending. This year you can take a couple of easy steps to enjoy the holidays more and reduce the impact on our environment. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, 5 million extra tons of trash are produced in the U.S., not to mention the extra energy used during this period. Below are some simple ideas on how to help you to remain green during the holidays.

Gifts Ideas:

1) Purchase gifts that are consumed like food, beverages, mixes, sweets.

2) Purchase recyclable gifts like books and magazine subscriptions.

3) Purchase consumable gifts like candles, natural body creams or soaps.

4) Purchase gift certificates to the person’s favorite restaurant, book store or clothing store. You are giving twice with a certificate. Once when the person receives the certificate and again when they use it.

5) Give an “experience” like a massage, tickets to the theatre or music event, day at the spa, movie tickets, etc. This works for kids too. Kids love going to the movies or a music event. You could also share this experience and go with the person.

6) Purchase a membership to an environmental organization like Clean Wisconsin that helps the environment year round. (Visit www.CleanWisconsin.org or call 1-608-251-7020).

7) Get together instead of giving gifts. The holidays are a great time to spend time with friends and relatives. Instead of exchanging gifts, spend some quality time together.

Wrapping Ideas:

1) Buy recycled gift wrap. There are few options for recycled gift wrap, but www.smithandhawken.com has three varieties.

2) Make your own gift bags and reuse them.

3) Wrap gifts with brown grocery bags and decorate them. This is a great family activity. Kids love drawing, stamping, coloring, etc on the packages. Other materials could be used to wrap the gifts too - i.e. comics, newspaper, etc.

4) Reuse ribbons and bows.

5) Use your holiday cards from the previous year as gift tags for the current year. Cut portions of the cards out, hole punch and add ribbon. This could be a family activity.

Holiday Cards:

1) Purchase cards on recycled paper only.

2) Purchase cards with a purpose. Most charities sell holiday cards where part of the proceeds goes directly to the charity.

3) Make your own cards. Again this could be a great family activity - get the kids involved.

4) Send electronic cards to as many family and friends as possible. If Americans sent just one out of every ten holiday cards electronically, it would save over 30,000 trees.

Decorations:

1) Purchase your Christmas tree from a vendor that uses sustainable forest practices. Or buy a potted tree and plant it after the season.

2) Go artificial. It can be used year after year, doesn’t leave a huge pile of needles on your carpet and it help protect our forests.

3) If you need to purchase new decorations for the tree this year, use biodegradable decorations like cranberries and popcorn.

4) Use compact fluorescent/ LED light bulbs. Or use small bulbs on outside lights. Smaller bulbs equal lower wattage which consumes less energy and gives off less heat, making the lights safer. Also purchase light strands that are wired in parallel which have separate circuitry. With separate circuitry if one bulb blows the other bulbs will continue to shine.

5) Use a timer on your outdoor and indoor lights.

The holidays are a great time of year. Most people are in such a mad rush to get things done, buy gifts and entertain that they don’t take the time to enjoy the moments with friends and family. The holidays are meant to be enjoyed and with some thoughtful changes, you can create memories with your family and be a more environmental-friendly consumer. Being green isn’t difficult during this holiday season. A couple of simple changes can help you reduce stress, create lasting family memories and protect our natural resources.

Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization, protects Wisconsin’s clean water and air and advocates for clean energy by being an effective voice in the state legislature and by holding elected officials and corporations accountable. Founded in 1970 as Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, Clean Wisconsin exposes corporate polluters, makes sure existing environmental laws are enforced, and educates citizens and businesses. On behalf of its 10,000 members and its coalition partners, Clean Wisconsin protects the special places that make Wisconsin such a wonderful place to live, work and play. Phone: 608-251-7020, Fax: 608-251-1655, Email: info@cleanwisconsin.org, Website: www.cleanwisconsin.org.