"Mensch" is a Yiddish word that has been incoporated into American English and is used to describe a "good person", someone of integrity and honor. As in "John is a real mensch. He always does the right thing".

In any endeavor where one party is seeking to meet another's expectations, it is critical that both share the same success definition. Otherwise, when deliverables become subject to interpretation, this can cause undesired outcomes.

In business and in life, individuals can be reluctant to share unpleasant information with others. I'm not talking about concealing facts in cases where criminal wrongdoing may be involved. Obviously, that's a bad idea. Instead, I'm referring to more common situations, such as a manager sharing the outcome of a (failed) job interview with an internal applicant, or an analyst revealing disappointing results of a high profile corporate sales campaign.

Each of us is always selling something...be it an idea, a business proposal, merchandise, or points of view. We all want to increase our personal effectiveness in influencing others. Whether one is an entrepreneur or a corporate go-getter, here are some suggestions for improving one's success odds in selling situations:

I have found that there is one reliable way to gauge a prospect's interest in a new business proposition: are they investing money in it? This may not be a terribly profound observation, but it's almost universally true.

This week, I wish to relate an experience I had in the mid '90-s, during my tenure as Marketing Director at Time Warner Cable in Cincinnati, Ohio, to an emerging phenomena in open source collaboration. It's a saucy topic, but see if you agree that there are some relevant similarities.

Microencapsules are used in a host of product applications, ranging from pharmaceuticals, to cosmetics, to flavors/fragrances and foods. Essentially, they provide two types of benefits: either to keep what is contained within the microcapsule (the core) from exposure to outside environment....or, to control the release of the material from the core.

A couple of weeks ago, I published a breakthrough technology offer for a microencapsulation process developed by a former NASA scientist. Not only can his process significantly reduce cost, it also can successfully microencapsulate live cells (which is currently extremely difficult to accomplish).

Last week, I learned from a technology provider that he had decided not to accept my new business development proposal. He reasoned that he didn't need my assistance as he already had leads in to many of the same corporations that I could introduce him to. His reasoning may prove to be sound. It is also possible that he isn't considering the important distinction between "having leads" and having experience and credibility with corporate influencers and decision makers.

Greetings, madame and monsieur. Welcome to the Open Innovation Bistro. We're glad you could join us this evening. Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable.No madame, we don't have a menu. Instead, we request that our guests share with us what they'd like for us to bring out to them. Yes, you tell us what you want, versus us trying to sell you what we have.