Motivated Innovation

On Monday night, Clemson University won its second football national championship. They avenged their loss in the championship game last year by winning a rematch with the University of Alabama. Aside from enjoying the postgame comments from coach Dabo Swinney, quarterback Deshaun Watson, and linebacker Ben Boulware, I remembered a long, pleasant conversation I had while flying from Salt Lake City to Detroit back in November 2015. On this flight, I was sitting next to an older gentleman--Tom--who was traveling with his wife and another couple. In talking with Tom, I learned that he was a big Clemson fan. As we watched multiple games of college football simultaneously on the airplane monitors, I found out that he had played years ago with a Division II program. In fact, Tom was the starting quarterback and his friend across the aisle was one of the starting wide receivers. Tom also met his wife at this college. He did mention that his wife was a fan of another university's ...

I have three questions for you: 1. Have you ever had an "Oh yeah!" moment? 2. Have you ever had an "Oh yeah?" moment? 3. Have you ever had an "Oh yeah..." moment? Wait a minute... Did I just ask you the same question three times? Let us consider: "Oh yeah!" = celebration "Oh yeah?" = I didn't know that "Oh yeah..." = I forgot about that but just had an 'a-ha!' moment In typing these questions and having you read them, you may have already thought of them as three different questions. However, had I just asked you one of these questions out loud in person, over the phone, or via web chat, would you have caught the difference? Would it have been clear to which "Oh yeah" moment (!,?,...) I was referring? Throughout daily business and personal communication, we say many words, phrases, and sentences. Yet, the way we say these words, phrases, and sentences help define their meanings. In the ...

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  With the American celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday comes the American retail industry's biggest day of the year: Black Friday.  In preparations for the big day, retailers have immersed consumers with multimedia communications, using online, print, and television advertisements to lure consumers to their stores. While it is clear the concept of "sales" is present on Black Friday, oftentimes "sales" is overlooked outside of traditional business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) transactions.  If a product or service is not being sold, it is regularly believed that "sales" is neither present nor needed.  However, the opposite is true: "sales" is everywhere. Workers apply for jobs.  Managers give instructions to subordinates.  Students write papers.  Journalists write articles.  Actors, musicians, and athletes perform.  There are an innumerable amount of other examples.  Reg...

Through school, work experience, and social life, communications skills are emphasized, taught, and learned.  We talk; we listen; we write; we gesture.  Whether spoken or not, communication is made.  Simply put, communication is everywhere.   While we communicate on a daily basis, much is said about professionalism.  With that in mind, what is 'professional communication'?  Oftentimes, professional communication is said to be conveyed by speaking in standard, non-slang, non-obscene language (verbal/written) and "dressing for success" (nonverbal).  Allegedly, by following these principles, we are professionally communicating.   Likewise, what is 'effective communication'?  Oftentimes, effective communication is said to be providing accurate words to express a message.  If people say what they mean to say, then it must be effective. To some degree, these statements about professional communication and effective communication are...