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The Magic Innovation IngredientBy Adam Carroll, Phoenix - ThunderbirdAdam Carroll isan author and speakerwho lives in West DesMoines, Iowa with hiswife and three kids. A2007 honorary initiate,Carroll is a frequentpresenter at Delta SigmaPi workshops, includingLEAD events and GrandChapter Congress. Formore information orto check out his book,Winning The MoneyGame, visit www.adamspeaks.com.There’s a phenomenal show on ABC right now calledShark Tank. It features five very wealthy businesspeoplewho listen to business pitches made by entrepreneurs.The pitches last between 2-3 minutes and then the“sharks” begin grilling the entrepreneur with questionsabout their business plan, revenue models and plansfor future growth. If one (or more) of the sharks areinterested in investing in the business, an offer is madeto the entrepreneur and they have to decide whether totake the shark up on the offer.The products these savvy innovators have createdaren’t necessarily mind-blowing, for example a toilettraining system for cats, a guitar-playing-made-simpleproduct, portable speakers, fancy flavored teas anda sealed one-serving wine container. What is mostimpressive is the level to which these entrepreneurshave taken their ideas and then made them a reality.Most people that watch the show make comments like,“I could’ve thought of that!” And indeed, they probablycould have, but thinking of something and actually seeingit through to completion are two very different things. Asthe saying goes: ideas are a dime a dozen. Creatives haveideas; innovators turn them into products.Which prompts the questions: Why are there somany creatives but fewer innovators? What must weinstill in others to help them launch their ideas faster andmore efficiently? What is the magic ingredient behindhaving a great idea and then innovating it into a good(i.e. marketable) product?There are ingredients that every innovator uses– persistence, creativity, hard work, resourcefulness,research -- all might top the list. But you must look nofurther than one of the most prolific inventors on earthto discover his secret ingredient. In Michael Gelb’sbook Innovate Like Edison, one of Thomas Edison’s coreinnovative elements was tapping the intellect of others.In today’s verbiage, he was a Super-Connector, alwaysmasterminding with the best and brightest thinkers formaximum innovation AND output.Gelb states: “Beyond the world of beakers and testtubes, Edison realized the importance of maintaining avibrant connection with the diverse constituencies fuelinghis innovation empire. He cultivated relationships withpeople from a broad spectrum of disciplines, includingtechnical experts, customers and prospects, journalists,academics, financiers, and politicians.”Gelb explains that Edison surrounded himself withfamous innovators like Henry Ford (inventor of theassembly line) and Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel (architectof the Eiffel Tower), and with intellectuals like CharlesDarwin, Sigmund Freud, Mohandas Gandhi, MarieCurie and Albert Einstein. All of whom had an enormousimpact on the innovations of Edison.While it’s not possible to highlight how the innovatorson Shark Tank got their product to where it is today(each entrepreneur gets less than 10 minutes of airtime),chances are very high that they leveraged the skill setsof plenty of their network in order to make the producthappen in the first place. They took their creative idea,infused it with the magic ingredient of their networks’skills, abilities, knowledge, and connections and madesomething extraordinary. (If you can call a cat using atoilet extraordinary…)Yes, you could probably make a tea mixture that’s justas good as the one pitched on the show, but could youthen get it mass-produced, packaged, and distributed?Probably not without tapping into the expertise ofseveral others.The point is they didn’t do it alone and neither shouldyou.16 MARCH 2013/THE DELTASIG OF DELTA SIGMA PI
Your objective, if innovation is the goal, is to builda network of people that are as supportive of you asyou are of them. The ‘currency’ these relationshipsexchange is called Social Capital and every one of yourcontacts has an account that’s either filled or devoid ofit. Want to increase your Social Capital with others?Help them accomplish their worthy goals and they’llbeat a helpful path to yours when you’re in need.The simplest way to describe how to do this is toleverage Networking P.O.W.E.R. While networkingwith others, simply Promote Opportunities WhileEstablishing Relationships (P.O.W.E.R.): When a new contact says they’d someday like towrite a book, provide them the resources in yournetwork that have already done it. Know someone looking to travel overseas? Directthem to couchsurfing.com or AirBNB.com orintroduce them to someone just back from such atrip. If a new contact dreams of working for a Big 4accounting firm, provide the introduction to thatcollege friend of yours that’s a higher up in Chicago. Know someone looking to start an online business?Suggest they read your favorite book on the topicor subscribe to Mixergy.com podcasts.All of these are Opportunities that you could bepromoting to build Social Capital.The impact of this new ‘currency’ should not beunderestimated. In an economic environment such asthe one we find ourselves in, money can be the mainreason not to pursue an idea. Yet with enough SocialCapital, money may never be an obstacle. You’ll insteadrely on favors, partnerships, and even bartering to getthe job done.Before laying out how to grow your Social Capital,you must understand that the opportunities youpromote must be done selflessly. To activate the Law ofReciprocity (a very powerful universal law that suggestsgivers get), the work that you do helping others mustbe done without worry or anticipation of payback. Inthe words of famous motivational speaker Zig Ziglar,“You can get everything in life you want if you will justhelp enough other people get what they want.”Begin surrounding yourself with other superconnectorsand idea people. When meeting over coffeeor lunch, ask as many questions as you can to find outwhat that person’s goals and dreams are. (Focus onhaving the other person talk 70% of the time, with youasking questions the other 30%.) Find out if they havethe next big idea that they need help launching or maybea huge project that they are stuck upon. Then leverageNetworking P.O.W.E.R. and promote opportunities thathelp them achieve the breakthrough they desire, whetherthat be a contact, a book, website, or other resource.In time, you’ll discover you’ve built a very substantialmastermind network full of people you’ve helped whoare now willing and open to helping you because ofyour Social Capital. Build enough Social Capital andyou’ll simply ‘Google’ your network when faced with aseemingly insurmountable obstacle.Ask any one of the sharks on Shark Tank how theywould get a product on shelves or sell a million widgetsand they’ll no doubt tell you they have someone in theirnetwork that is an expert at that. More than likely, theyhave enough Social Capital with that person that onephone call puts the ball in motion. This is the reason,after all, that entrepreneurs are clamoring to get on theshow. IF an entrepreneur partners with a shark, theirchance of success goes up exponentially compared todoing it on their own. The power is in the network.Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad series ofbooks, has been quoted as saying, “The poor and middleclass look for work, while the rich build networks.”The Magic Innovation Ingredient is simple – it’speople. Your ideas have value, but only to the extentthat you can share, grow, adapt, and execute them. Todo that, it takes the input of other great thinkers in (andout of) your network. To return to the innovative daysof Thomas Edison’s time, we must err on the side ofcollaboration. We must build mastermind networkswith a diverse group of professionals, share resourcesand ideas willingly, and be open to support those inpursuit of worthy goals.Great ideas are rarely born in a vacuum, but insteadcome from the interactions and conversations withothers. Similarly, great innovations are never achievedby locking yourself alone in a workshop. Edison’sMenlo Park was always a beehive of activity, and heprided himself with the caliber of his associates, muchlike the sharks on Shark Tank.How innovative is your network? pMARCH 2013/THE DELTASIG OF DELTA SIGMA PI 17
Page 1 and 2: March 2013The Journal of Delta Sigm
Page 3 and 4: at Fall LEAD Schools!Luke Harman, D
Page 5 and 6: An Adventure in BrotherhoodAwaits Y
Page 7: Washington!Don’t Forget - Registe
Page 11 and 12: Welcome back, Epsilon Sigma!On Janu
Page 13 and 14: Siblings and Brothers Marc and Eric
Page 15: TTransitioning from Business Profes
Page 19 and 20: Cynthia Medranda, Florida Southern,
Page 21 and 22: DELTASIGnificantsLessons froman NFL
Page 23 and 24: I Am a (Recovering) Drug Addict…B
Page 25 and 26: On CampusMiami-Ohio/Alpha UpsilonTh
Page 27 and 28: On CampusAcademic AccoladesCameron
Page 29 and 30: On CampusDeltasig Chapters Make A D
Page 31 and 32: National Alumni Day is April 25!How
Page 33 and 34: Brotherhood NetworkGet Involved! Pl
Page 35 and 36: Beyond CampusSilver Helmets were gi
Page 37 and 38: Make ADifference DayNational Day of
Page 39 and 40: BOSTON ALUMNI sorted children’s c

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