Hacking Innovation Quotes

“One version of Borrowed thinking is a technique I call the Different Lens. To begin, brainstorm a list of people, industries, or perspectives. Examples may include: an archaeologist, a 4-year-old, someone living 200 years in the future, Elon Musk, a Navy SEAL, a zoologist, Brad Pitt, Picasso, a professional bowling champion. The more diverse and strange, the better. Next, take a stack of index cards and write one name or role from your list on the back of each. You’re now armed for a Different Lens brainstorm session. First, clearly articulate the real-world challenge you’re facing. Perhaps it is developing a new product to combat a competitive launch. Maybe you’re looking for a way to improve closing rates throughout your sales force, attract and retain Millennial workers, or reduce error-rates in your manufacturing plant. Once the challenge has been identified, turn over one card. If the card reads “architect,” the group brainstorms how an architect would approach their real-world challenge. Once the ideas start to dwindle, flip over the next card and look at the problem through the next lens. Instead of thinking about how your competition is solving this problem, think about how Beyoncé would slay it. Before long, you and your team will see the problem in a whole new light, and by borrowing the thinking from others, you’ll gain a fresh perspective that will lead to the innovative solutions you seek.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“you must craft a win-win environment that rewards the person doing the sharing with social credibility. In the DHL example, you gain an increased social standing by sharing the clever video with your friends. If the reward is there for the sender, the message will amplify.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“While DHL caught the fancy of a few hundred people in a crowded city in Europe, it wasn’t really about the live audience. A video compilation of the stunt was released online, and has since been shared repeatedly due to their clever approach. Over 40 million people around the world have now seen the video. Over 40 million people now chuckle when they see a DHL logo, and remember that “DHL IS FASTER.” Lacking the resources of a traditional ad campaign, DHL leveraged Social Engineering to get others to spread the word.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“DHL covered each package in thermoactive foil. The foil was cooled down below the freezing point, turning the package jet black. So the competitors picked up a large, black package without any reason for alarm. But when temperatures rose, the specialized packaging turned bright yellow, with bold red lettering that read, “DHL IS FASTER.” Before long, competitors were toting around bright packages in DHL’s corporate colors that alerted the public who was the best choice for shipping.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“According to Ricardo Semler, “Growth and profit are a product of how people work together.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“Semler works hard to remove any sign of structure or bureaucracy. Results alone, not tenure, rank, gender, or age, are the measuring stick, and the trust-based environment brings out the best in people.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“For business purposes, we can group those you’re seeking to influence into two categories: internal (team members, employees, bosses, boards, investors, etc.) and external (customers, the media, competitors, governmental agencies, prospects, voters, potential employees, etc.).”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“Pretexting – This approach generally involves an impersonation. Posing as a superior, IT consultant, security guard, or some other authority figure, the hacker gains her access by manipulating the victim into thinking she should have legitimate access. This is the approach Kevin Mitnick used with Nokia.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“In one of his first exploits, he called into Nokia from his own mobile phone and pretended to be a senior executive at the company. By studying the organizational chart and learning some detailed facts about the company, he was able to persuade someone in the IT department of his falsified identity. Mitnick claimed that he lost his copy of Nokia’s top mobile phone’s source code and needed it sent right away or he would be in big trouble. With this ruse, he was able to trick his mark into action. The loyal and unsuspecting employee complied, and within 15 minutes, Mitnick had the most important and confidential intellectual property of a multinational conglomerate.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“According to Kevin, “It is much easier to trick someone into giving a password than to spend the effort to crack into the system.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“Back in 1999, Drew Greenblatt was looking to buy a company that would produce stable, consistent income.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“Run an experiment with a new interview process for hiring fresh talent. Try out a new customer service experiment and see what the results show. Running a high volume of controlled experiments is your best chance at driving growth while mitigating risk. Test, measure, refine. Rinse and repeat.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“Rapid Experimentation not only drives innovation, it reduces risk. Too often, we place the weight of the world on our shoulders, believing we must dream up a transformative innovation and then bet the company on its success.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“while competitive brands frequently end up at the discount shops, you’ll never see a Zara sweater at TJ Maxx. Through rapid experimentation and a continuous improvement loop, they eliminate that waste by adapting quickly to shifts in consumer taste.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“Zara has a highly sophisticated feedback system, allowing store managers to instantly report back customer feedback on new products. Customers may say they like the dress, but the shade of red is too bright. Feedback on the length, zipper, and other factors are gathered and evaluated in real time back at headquarters, and adjustments are made in a matter of hours. The next week, after implementing design changes based on customer feedback, a new 4,200 red dresses ship to the network of stores. Only after a series of improvements are made and customer demand has been validated is the dress mass-produced. Where most clothing manufacturers produce only a few dozen new styles each year, Zara launched over 12,000 new items annually.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“A company shouldn’t get addicted to being shiny, because shiny doesn’t last.” What dazzles a customer today will be soon be commonplace, so he pushes his team to reinvent early and often.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“Amazon is making it dead simple to do business with them.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“The leaders at software giant Intuit have a saying: “Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“Hackers first approach any problem by identifying the barrier that must be infiltrated, along with a desired outcome:”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“Every Barrier Can Be Penetrated Compasses Over Maps Nothing Is Static Quantity Is a Force Multiplier Competence Is the Only Credential That Matters”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers

“Democratized ideation from a diverse and vast array of contributors, rather than relying on single bets from entrenched “experts.” Conducting low-cost, controlled, high-volume experiments instead of launching a single, bet-the-farm initiative. Finding a hole in the problem and then exploiting it to its logical end. Believing that no barrier is impenetrable.”
― Josh Linkner, Hacking Innovation: The New Growth Model from the Sinister World of Hackers