Bio: Paul Williams
Hi there!
I'm Paul Williams... guest writer on Daily Fix and founder of Idea Sandbox.
I'm a professional problem solver. Through brainstorm facilitation I help people create remarkable ideas to grow their business. As one client put it, “Idea Sandbox turns brains into idea machines.”
Prior to launching Idea Sandbox in 2005, I spent 15 years building marketing, branding, and customer-experience strategy for The Disney Company, the Aramark Corporation, and Starbucks Coffee Company.
I founded Idea Sandbox driven by my passion to help others create remarkable ideas. I blend the skills and lessons I have learned to build a sandbox---an idea sandbox.
You can reach me on Twitter via @IdeaSandbox.
Through Idea Sandbox, I have helped solve challenges, grow brands, think-up remarkable ideas, and create innovation for companies including: Starbucks Coffee Company, Starbucks Coffee International, Panera Bread Company, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Woodhouse Day Spas, The Microsoft Corporation, and Wells Fargo Mortgage.
I am a writer, speaker, columnist, and brainstormer living just outside Washington DC, in Alexandria, Virginia.
If you like what you've read here, you can find more of my thoughts at my Idea Sandbox blog.
I always welcome comments and reactions to what I've written. I'm on Twitter: @IdeaSandbox
Nice to meet you,
Paul
Posts by Paul Williams:
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11 Ways to Restate Problems to Get Better Solutions,
15 Oct 2010 in Featured Posts& Headline& Marketing Leadership& Marketing Strategy& Strategy and Tactics
When faced with a challenge or problem, one of the best first steps in solving – even before you start thinking-up possible solutions – is to examine and restate the problem.
As Morgan D. Jones writes in his book, The Thinker’s Toolkit: 14 Powerfu…
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3 Proven Techniques for Generating Big Ideas,
08 Oct 2010 in Featured Posts& General Management& Headline& Marketing& Marketing Thought Leadership& Strategy and Tactics
It almost sounds too good to be true. A secret formula that can guarantee you will come up with more, better ideas?
Does it involve snake oil? Well, it isn’t a secret and, no, no snake oil. Author and inventor, Doug Hall has studied years of resea…
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Clever Ideas Can Sound Crazy … At First,
01 Oct 2010 in 1& Featured Posts& Headline
Last week, I wrote: If you want a creative company, focus more on fostering a creative culture instead of worrying about hiring “creative people.” Since writing that article, I was able to experience a case study at the Hershey Company in Hershey,…
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6 Tips for Building a More Creative Company,
24 Sep 2010 in Featured Posts& General Management& Headline& Marketing& Strategy and Tactics
What good is it being creative in your job if your company isn’t equipped to accept and use the innovative thinking?
The October 2010 issue of Inc. Magazine features a four-page, pull-out section called “How To: Hire For Creativity.” It is part of…
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Situational Awareness: Stop Trouble Before It Starts,
17 Sep 2010 in Customer Relationships& Featured Posts& Marketing
Do you manage like a train engineer or an aircraft pilot?
The engineer runs his business as if it were a locomotive. He gets the business onto the right track, fuel the engine, watch out for crossings, and prepare to arrive at the next station.
…
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Taking Action: 8 Ways to Classify Ideas,
10 Sep 2010 in Featured Posts& Headline& Marketing& Marketing Thought Leadership& Strategy and Tactics
A fair amount of writing about brainstorming emphasizes not judging ideas too soon, but eventually ideas must prove themselves worthy of helping you meet your objectives.
A great way to evaluate your ideas is by categorizing them into what Edward …
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Time to Make the Donuts,
03 Sep 2010 in Branding& Featured Posts& Headline& Marketing
I have a confession to make. I didn’t have my article ready to post in this space until early this Friday morning. And, as I was climbing out of bed to write, my wife rolled over and asked, “Time to make the donuts?”
“Time to make the donuts” is t…
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A Lesson in Building a Better Promotional Offer,
27 Aug 2010 in Customer Relationships& Featured Posts& Headline& Marketing& Pricing& Strategy and Tactics
There is a difficult balance we marketers and business owners face when creating special offers for our customers. It requires discipline and problem-solving to build programs to drive sales and awareness in the short run, without doing damage to the…
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Get Your Search Results, Hub And Spoked,
20 Aug 2010 in Featured Posts& Headline& Market Research& Marketing
Google has always got something new up its sleeve. Visit its product page and you’ll find a slew of tools. Some you’ve heard of, others may be new to you. Google is adding stuff all the time.
There is a neat feature of Google search you may fi…
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Why (And How) to Develop Great Ideas,
13 Aug 2010 in Featured Posts& Headline& Marketing
To help make an idea great, it has got to have a “why” attached to it (the justification) and a “how” to make it possible (the logistics).
Sometimes, when brainstorming, people become attached to certain ideas. Or maybe there is an idea they’ve b…
