How to build innovation teams, from the playbook I used at HP and CableLabs: culture before hiring, the right roles, the Idea Fund, and the right metrics

How to build innovation teams, from the playbook I used at HP and CableLabs: culture before hiring, the right roles, the Idea Fund, and the right metrics

Critical thinking judges a claim. Analytical thinking works the problem: break it apart, find what is really driving it, and test your read before acting.

Critical thinking judges a claim. Analytical thinking works the problem: break it apart, find what is really driving it, and test your read before acting.

First written September 11, 2008. Updated for the 25th anniversary, September 11, 2026.

First written September 11, 2008. Updated for the 25th anniversary, September 11, 2026.

A partner named exactly how HP would lose, four years early. HP quit. Apple didn't. Here are the four failure patterns behind both calls.

A partner named exactly how HP would lose, four years early. HP quit. Apple didn't. Here are the four failure patterns behind both calls.

A response to Mark Vena's "HP Needs More Than a New CEO," and my second letter to HP's board.

A response to Mark Vena's "HP Needs More Than a New CEO," and my second letter to HP's board.

School taught you deductive and inductive reasoning. The third kind, abductive reasoning, is where new ideas come from, and it is the one AI can't do.

School taught you deductive and inductive reasoning. The third kind, abductive reasoning, is where new ideas come from, and it is the one AI can't do.

Forty-two killer questions that survived years of testing, and the three places to aim them.

Forty-two killer questions that survived years of testing, and the three places to aim them.

The anatomy of a bad question, and what makes one great.

The anatomy of a bad question, and what makes one great.

The calls you can't outsource. Phil McKinney's advisory practice for the hard decisions about innovation and technology.

The calls you can't outsource. Phil McKinney's advisory practice for the hard decisions about innovation and technology.

The power of questions comes down to how your brain works: it answers a question the moment you hear it, whether or not you want it to.

The power of questions comes down to how your brain works: it answers a question the moment you hear it, whether or not you want it to.