For Nonprofits, Focus On Scaling 

Nonprofits are often resource constrained. That doesn't mean they can't scale in impact. This article reviews six strategies (bricks to clicks, networks, training, advocacy, alter attitudes, strengthen the sector) described by Jeffrey Bradach of Bridgespan Group. Stanford Social Innovation Review http://bit.ly/8YSl73

"Screw Up As Fast As Possible" 

In a new Wired cover story on Pixar, management at Pixar describes how they tolerate (expect) mistakes, but have systems in place to correct them quickly. Wired http://bit.ly/baP5VP

Abolish Budgeting 

UBS decided to stop judging employees against pre-determined budgets, and start judging them against previous results and their peers, making all figures public. Growth accelerated. Wired Magazine http://bit.ly/c1YS1J

Don't "Push" Products; Let Market "Pull" Products From You 

The Chinese are increasingly using a "pull" model of production, quickly designing and altering products as needs arise. Economist Magazine http://bit.ly/8Y532F

Slash Prices Through Innovation 

Asia is becoming the hotbed of innovation, especially in reinventing good-quality products that are much cheaper: $3000 cars, $300 computers and $30 cell phones. Economist Magazine special report: http://bit.ly/bnu2cJ

Frequent, Small Bonuses 

Motivation experts say that frequent, unexpected small bonuses are highly motivating. Fortune Magazine http://bit.ly/bldDF0

Nurture Talent Inside Your Organization 

A new book by Harvard Business School Professor Boris Groysberg suggests that job performance from one organization to another isn't necessarily very portable, and paying for talent is risky. It is better to nurture talent internally. Fast Company article: http://bit.ly/9WjjRN

In NFL Draft, Don't Pick First 

Professors at the Yale School of Management show that highest picks in the NFL draft perform worst dollar for dollar. Late first round and high second round picks do best. This probably has implications for other selection processes, such as picking CEOs. Yale SOM http://bit.ly/c2Bzbf

Don't Listen to the Customer 

If you want to create a revolutionary product or experience, don't listen to customer feedback (because they don't know). Watching the customer is OK. The curious example of one of Europe's most successful restaurants | Harvard Business School http://bit.ly/cTLMVE

When Fixing a Bad Decision, Turn to Outsiders 

Northwester University researchers demonstrate that bad decisions beget more bad decisions, in part because of human tendency to factor in sunk costs. When trying to undo bad decisions, it makes sense to consult outsiders with no vested interest. Science Magazine http://bit.ly/9fMx8C

Outsource Your Brain (or at least Your Analytics) to India 

Businesses increasingly are not only outsourcing call centers to India, but also model-building and analytics. Harvard Business Review http://bit.ly/b7ecL3

Don't Set Goals 

Management theory demonstrates that goal-setting has a downside: blindly heading down the wrong path and missing opportunities. NY Times http://nyti.ms/degyJS

Make Workplaces "Gender Bilingual" 

Men and women manage in different ways. McKinsey and others argue that organizations should incorporate more feminist approaches to management. Economist Magazine http://bit.ly/c8ltet

Hey, I Never Thought of That / I've Had the Same Thought Myself 

For every idea, allow people to check one of these two items: "Hey, I Never Thought of That" or "Cool. I've Had the Same Thought Myself."

This might provide some interesting insights, to see which ideas are unique and really out of the box. I wonder if ideas that have high totals for "Hey, I Never Thought of That" are ranked differently overall (higher or lower) than ideas that a lot of people tend to have. And, if there is a correlation, what might that mean (and what would you do about it)?

Add More Voting Dimensions Your Crowdsourcing Program 

Most crowdsourcing platforms let you vote ideas up or down, which usually means whether you like an idea or not. That's fine and important, but there's more to ideas than this. Other dimensions may include feasibility (i.e., it may be a great idea, but it's not very practical or would take a long long time to implement, so it's feasibility score may be low), cost, and so on. (Crowdsourcing contests tend to do this well, via the judging process.)

Have Your Employees Choose on Your Customers' Idea of the Week 

Become a more customer-centric organization and generate visibility for your customers' ideas by having your employees crowdsource your customer-crowdsourced ideas. Make sure to let your customers know which ideas your staff liked best. (And definitely let the person know whose idea it was.)

Ask "How Can We Make it Easier for You to Do Business with Us?" 

Ask this question candidly and specifically. Most people think of crowdsourcing as focusing on ideas for products and services. But a lot of ideas are around process. This can be a great way to improve processes that make it easier for customers to do business with you. And improvements around ease of doing business should have a definite impact on the bottom line.

Put Links to "Tell Us Your Idea" in Transactional Areas 

Some ideas come at seemingly random times (on a train, driving, in a queue at the bank, making dinner), but others pop into our heads while we're in the process of doing something. The closer together you can move (a) the time when someone gets an idea, and (b) the time when they tell you about it, the less chance the idea will be lost. If you can put links to your idea site right there in transactional areas, you'll have a better chance of getting those ideas right then in the moment.

Use Standard "Series Seed" Documents for Seed Funding 

A new suite of standard "angel round" investment documents makes early funding faster, easier and cheaper. Andreessen blog: http://bit.ly/csd436

Skip Brainstorming Sessions, Use Ideas Sites Instead 

Researchers at Wharton demonstrate that asynchronous idea generation is more effective in both quantity and quality of ideas than in-person brainstorming. http://bit.ly/csd436

Stop Planning and Start Doing 

A colleague once observed that the best business ideas are often those you trip over, but you can only trip over something if you are moving forward, not standing still.

Redirect Ad Dollars to Corporate Philanthropy 

Social media makes it possible to amplify corporate philanthropy to the point where it can compete with traditional advertising. One example: the Pepsi "Refresh Everything" campaign is offering millions of dollars of support to worth causes. http://pep.si/biSDH9

Read A Variety of Unbiased News Sources 

Bill Gates on the magazines, newspapers and online resources he uses to get news. http://bit.ly/7OXm7R

Companies Should Devote Some of R&D Budgets to Assist Poorest 

Bill Gates describes why it is in both a company's and society's best interest that corporate R&D budgets be in part targeted to the poorest. http://bit.ly/6NFyI8

Give Provisional Bonuses 

"Provisional" bonuses offered in advance, with the possibility of forfeiture, are more motivating than standard bonuses. Economist magazine: http://bit.ly/5YGGyH