Archive for July, 2010

Playing with a Full Deck

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Low Tech Tools to Foster High Output Innovation Thinking

One of the questions often asked by those seeking to create a strong innovation culture is, “What are some good tools for engaging people across my organization?” Well the consultant in me would usually hedge his bets and would offer the universal response, “It depends.” But that is as singularly unsatisfying to say as it is to hear, so I mostly take a multiple alternative approach in the hopes of landing close to the targeted need. The first place I usually start is with some of the very lowest of low tech: playing cards, or their trading card equivalent. Why? Because they are fast, fun, revealing, and energizing in a way that is distinct from other more formal tools.

The idea of using playing cards in unique ways is not anything new. Did you know that there aren’t only four suites of playing cards? We all know the usual suspects of Hearts, Diamonds, Spades and Clubs. There are also fifth suit variants that introduced an additional suit. Depending the time, location and game being played these suits might have been, Royales, Eagles, Stars, Pentagons, Quotations, or even Aether. Some modified decks have additional face cards and additional numbered cards, too. In the United States of America, in 1895, a gentleman by the name of Hiram Jones created a deck called “International Playing Cards” and it had two additional suits, a red suit with crosses and a black suit of bullets. Innovation in playing cards has a long and storied history.

The interest expressed by many clients is focused on how to use standard cards in a unique manner. Marshall McLuhan, the noted advertising guru of the 20th Century used a standard set of four-suit playing cards as the basis for his creative thought starter set, the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Card Deck. The namesake Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line was an integrated chain of some 63 radar and communication stations, stretching across Arctic Canada at approximately the 69th parallel designed to provide advance warning of imminent air attack to Canada and the United States. The DEW Line was considered a perfect metaphor by McLuhan on the role of art and the artist at a time of rapid social and technological change and he repeated the idea frequently.

To the blind all things are sudden. -Quote on the Jack of Diamonds in Marshall McLuhan’s Distant Early Warning (DEW) Card Deck

To use the DEW line of cards, the instructions direct the player to think of a personal or business problem, shuffle the card deck, select a card and then apply its message to the problem. McLuhan intended the card deck to stimulate problem-solving and thinking, in a way that would come to be known as “thinking-outside-the-box”. Sadly, even given it’s somewhat anachronistic worldview, the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Card Deck is no longer available. Standard playing cards however have been repurposed by others more recently in the pursuit of improved innovation.

One great use of a modified standard playing card deck is the one developed by Stephen Shapiro. Shapiro, currently the Chief Innovation Evangelist for InnoCentive, developed his Innovation Personality Poker® system (www.steveshapiro.com) using the four major suits as substitutes for broad personality types. Bearing some similarity to other personality type systems, Shapiro’s model is targeted specifically at innovation practitioners.

In small and large-scale events Shapiro uses the Innovation Personality Poker® system to actively engage participants in discovering their personal innovation preferences. During the session participants exchange cards with each other and build a “poker hand” that reflects them closest. This promotes a lively exchange between participants and elevates the need to include diversity of personality and opinion on innovation teams.

The person you like the least may be the person you need the most. And your greatest strength may ultimately limit your success. -Stephen Shapiro, while leading an Innovation Personality Poker® session

More recently in innovation practices, standard playing cards have been supplanted by those that have similar qualities to trading cards. A prime example is the set of IDEO Method Cards named for their eponymous producer, the design powerhouse, IDEO. The IDEO Method Cards are positioned as, “51 ways to inspire design.” The deck contains 51 cards, each one different, and the cards are classified into four unequal “suits”. The suits are focused on ways to engage with people – human centric design is at the heart of the innovation design approach – and include: Ask (exercises for asking people to help in design), Look (observational exercises for gathering information for design), Learn (exercises for deriving insights from what has been observed), and Try (exercises for physically exploring design problems or proposed solutions).

Like the McLuhan cards, the IDEO cards are designed to trigger action and promote new and divergent thinking and exploration of ideas. There is no rigorous system for playing the cards, and there is no order or prescribed number of cards to use at a time. My experience has been that they are great to get teams “unstuck” when new ideas elude them, and are also great simple exercises for exploring those ideas we think we know intimately in new and unique ways.

The last set of cards to share are a more recent addition to the realm of card decks to be considered for innovation exploration. Stephen P. Anderson, of the site PoetPainter.com, has developed a set of cards he calls, Mental Notes. Of all the cards these are the most beautifully presented and packaged (not surprising given that Anderson is a phenomenal product and interaction designer.) Anderson’s Mental Notes are similar to the trading card style of the IDEO Method Cards in that each is unique. However their focus is more explores the life of the mind rather than the ethnographic focus of the IDEO cards. The Mental Notes cards are focused on a variety of insights into human behavior that inform design, psychology, neuroscience and behavioral economics.

Contrast: When scanning new visual information, we are unconsciously drawn to things that stand out against their surroundings. -Description on Mental Note Card, created by Stephen P. Anderson

As a firm believer in the power of human interaction in creating effective innovation cultures, I see Mental Notes as a powerful tool for exploring both impediments and points of leverage in organization culture. The better we understand the forces at play in organizations the easier it is to improve their receptivity to creativity and their subsequent innovation performance. Anderson’s cards are a great way for individuals and teams to identify and explore human behaviors at play in their organizations, their customers and, yes, even their competitors.

Now it might seem all fun and games exploring cards as tools for innovation but this is serious business. Anything that helps us experience the world anew should be of vital interest to those interested in improving their innovation performance.

Now, what cards are you playing?

Photo Credit: Incurable Hippie

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Rem Koolhaas, the Hermitage and the Design of Innovative Experiences

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

On the way to celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2014, the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg (formerly the Winter Palace of the Russian czars) hired legendary architect Rem Koolhaas to modernize the art museum experience for visitors in a way that both respects the storied history of the Hermitage and also positions the museum as a leader of 21st century innovation. As part of the reconsideration of the museum’s structure and function, Koolhaas is operating under a very rigid ground rule: no new structure will be put up, nor will any part of the existing architecture be modified.

In many ways, this task is no different than the one faced by managers and executives at businesses around the world as they attempt to innovate under rigid organizational guidelines. So what can we learn from Koolhaas and the Hermitage? In an interview with Tim Griffin of Artforum, Koolhaas outlines several rules to follow in the design of a truly innovative experience:

(1) Understand how customers really use your products – not how they “say” they use your products. Prior to recommending changes to the layout of the Hermitage, Koolhaas carefully mapped out the typical visitor experiences to the Hermitage. He followed the “Russian visitors tour,” the “Asian visitors tour,” and the “European visitors tour” through the museum, understanding how different groups of tourists wanted to see the Hermitage. In addition, he studied the film Russian Ark by legendary Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov – which was basically a 90-minute single tracking shot through 33 rooms of the museum – for insights about what artistic objects and rooms visitors would likely see and remember after visiting the Hermitage.

(2) Create as many opportunities as possible for interaction between the customer and your product. In the interview, Koolhaas actually responded emotionally when asked about the film Russian Ark — he told Art Forum that he would never want visitors to experience one of the world’s greatest artistic treasures in a 90-minute, never-ending blitz tour that failed to give some sort of quiet contemplative space to think about and interact with the art:

“Commentary on the film invariably said that it was this amazing confrontation with the richness of Russian culture, the nuances of historical events, and so on, and then acknowledged Sokurov’s claim to fame, which was that the film was shot in a single take. But analyzing these reviews carefully, you realize that everyone was describing a very generic impression—that is, a confrontation with Russian culture within which not a single detail stood out, only a blur of art and architecture and history. And the single take was not really an achievement. It was, to some extent, just a further erasure of difference and ultimately a simulation of the degraded experience of the visitor who keeps to the prescribed pathway. So it was in fact precisely the enthusiasm for the movie that enabled us to identify what was wrong within the Hermitage.”

Based on his experiences at museums in London and New York, Koolhaas is looking for ways to segment the Hermitage between “fast” spaces and “slow” spaces. The idea is to use the unique spatial arrangement of the Hermitage to its advantage; for example, using smaller, outlier buildings (the Small Hermitage built by Catherine the Great, the New Hermitage, the Hermitage Theatre, the General Staff Building) for “slow”, contemplative space and finding ways to control the experience as visitors approach especially challenging art works. “At some point,” remarks Koolhaas, “the visitor numbers begin to interfere with everything a museum is supposed to do.” In response, brand stewards (i.e. the museum curators) must do everything possible to “diminish the obligations of a directed path.”

(3) Implement best-in-class practices from around the world. What’s fascinating is that Koolhaas has taken on design commissions across the world – including the famous CCTV [China Central Television] Tower in Beijing — and is bringing to bear a deep knowledge of best-in-class practices from museums such as the Tate Modern in London and the Whitney and MoMA in New York. It’s at this point in the interview that Koolhaas makes a truly insightful remark — what’s considered “best-in-class” in America and Europe may not be the same as what’s considered “best-in-class” in China, Dubai or Abu Dhabi. While American curators think that “the museum is in crisis” as the result of globalization, there’s exactly the opposite feeling in China. As a result, there’s a dichotomy emerging: “Part of the world can be pessimistic and stuck, and another part can be optimistic, perhaps even silly at times, but still thrusting forward in an interesting way.”

The choices facing the Hermitage as it solidifies its position as one of the most innovative museums in the world are the same that face world-class organizations sounding the clarion call for innovation and change. With almost four years still to go, Koolhaas is studying the historical archives of the Hermitage, familiarizing himself with the artistic holdings of the museum, and re-conceptualizing how to create a greater awareness of the history of each of the museum’s 2,000 rooms.

So how will Rem Koolhaas conceptualize a truly innovative experience at the Hermitage? The Hermitage is not aiming for something radically new and foreign, but it does not want to be tethered to the past. It is looking for more than an incrementally improved experience — it is in search of a truly innovative experience that will be appreciated and cherished by anyone who loves art. One might even say that Koolhaas is looking to create a revolutionary type of experience for the former Winter Palace of the Russian czars.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia



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5 Steps to Have an Innovative Brainstorm

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

For every project I embark on, be it professional or personal, it all starts with an idea and a brainstorm. But how does one go about planning what can be a freeform and creative process based on flighty inspiration? Can you plan out how you will innovate?

I think not, but you can set yourself up for success. You can steer your way towards innovation. And the best place to start, is the beginning at the brainstorm. Here are the steps that I follow:

  1. Ideate. Throw ideas around, free of reality restraint. Go for the game-changer than will fulfill any lacking. Be as creative and innovative as possible.
  2. Vet. Give your idea a healthy dose of reality—what could stand in your idea’s way? What are sticking points and stumbling blocks? This is where you anticipate and plan how to navigate obstacles.
  3. Structure. Put your vetted ideas into a structured format. Match your idea with your objectives. Sometimes we become a little too attached to our ideas that we cannot see the flaws in the grand plan. A way around that is to log your idea and wait a little between vetting and structuring the idea, or involving different team members.
  4. Measure. Once you’ve come up with an idea that can withstand reality and is matched with your objectives to achieve, you have to decide how you will measure success. Your metrics are unique to the project—a personal project will have different criteria for success than a professional one!
  5. Third Party Opinion. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes we become a little too attached to our ideas. Get an outsider’s opinion. A fresh set of eyes can work wonders!

By following these steps, I find that my brainstorms can achieve my goals and objectives by creating innovative solutions to problems. How do you keep your brainstorms productive for innovation?

Photo Credit: Eaubscene

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Make Your Own Game

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

The essence of strategy is choosing to perform activities differently than rivals do; and the most vital competitive weapon is not lower price, but new ideas.

Across the border in Mexico, we  have a taco shop in every corner. They all sell the same thing and their business name usually starts with the name of someone plus “tacos.”  It’s safe to say that their businesses all operate very much the same way; the only difference between them is where they get the meat and ingredients.

We live in a world of sameness, and the only way out of it is to innovate.

There are brave souls who choose to question the dominant logic of competition; who chose to do something entirely different. There is one taco shop in Tijuana which doesn’t follow conventional logic; it doesn’t sell tacos, but rather, art. Tacos Salceados created what is known as the “Quesataco,” which starts with flakes of cheese spread across the flat iron stove. Your choice of cuts are then lined down the middle and then ultimately encased in the crisp golden cheese. The stuffed crisp cheese roll is then placed in a fresh thick tortilla, and topped with house dressings and avocado. The Quesataco later spawned other creations, such as shrimp tacos covered in a sweet tasting sauce.

It is this fresh perspective which makes it stand out among the rest of the taco shops.

The thing people forget when they compete, is that you must stand out in some manner. Too many people copy their competition too much. They assume if it is working for the competitor, then it will work for them. Passion for what you are doing, consistency, and a sprinkle of uniqueness is just the start. Sticking with it and always looking for that unique tweak is key.

Here are 4 ways to help you think about defeating sameness:

Purpose matters

Conventional logic says that businesses exist to make money. Why not exist to deliver meaning? The difference between you and competitors is nothing more than how you answer the ‘why’ of your intentions: Why are you doing this? Online retailer Zappos knows why they are in business; not to sell a lot of shoes, but rather to deliver the best customer service in a meaningful way.

Reset expectations

Your customers have interacted with your competitors, as well as with other businesses, and have an idea of what to expect. These same expectations will be put into play when they interact with you, and if you deliver the “same,” then you’ll be easily ignored. You must reset those expectations by going above and beyond the normal, delivering equal or more value in a faster, more convenient, easier and meaningful way.

Define yourself by what you know not what you do

Over the time your business has existed you have accumulated a portfolio of abilities and strengths. Think about these bundle of skills that you have accumulated over time, things that you are good at and that when combined provide new value to your customers. Stop looking at your company as a provider of specific products or services for specific markets, and start seeing it as a reservoir of skills and assets that can be exploited in different ways or different contexts to create new value.

Be something your competitors are not

In order to compete businesses follow the logic that they have to target the middle of the market, the mainstream consumers. This also means they configure their business just like competitors who are already ahead of them. The problem is that everyone else is going after the same market and with so many choices, so many brands, so much noise it isn’t enough to be good at everything. You have to be the most at something. What are you the most at? Are you the fastest? The most responsive? The most innovative? The most transparent? Look up field or downfield, go to the edges, to the extremes where you can be the most at something.

Key Takeaway: Compete differently and play the game you know you can win.

What do you think?

Photo Credit: Kevin033

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DIY: An Innovative Movement

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Something that has really caught my eye recently has been Do-It-Yourself culture and how incredibly innovative it is. They are true makers and their innovations—everything from clothing to make-shift inventions to sustainable variations—are just astounding.

What set me on the DIY quest was my lack of air-conditioning during the recent, massive New England heat wave. At some point in my heat-induced delirium (clarity of mind, perhaps?) I decided the best thing to do, rather than attempt to scour the local department stores fighting over the last AC units that were no doubt not very energy efficient, was to fashion my own air conditioning that was more cost effective to run. And so my search for designs began—which, thanks to Instructables, there are step-by-step DIY instructions for these awesome inventions. There were fancy ones that were definitely out of my skills to build (or build within the wanted-it-yesterday timeframe). And then there were simpler ones, but immediately I worried about structural integrity, materials, and also, cutting plastic by myself with a knife. A key point I’ve found while innovating is to remember your limitations while keeping design freedom. Innovations that can never be brought to fruition are great experiments, but they don’t get the job done.

I ended up going the cheapest and easiest route: Using the window fan I already had, I put a towel down over the bookcase in front of it, and put a large bag of ice in a cake pan. Simple, low-tech, and old-fashioned: air conditioning for the tune of $1.79 to buy a bag of ice. The next day, I froze a large block of ice in another cake pan to completely revert to using only what I already owned and had access to. Some friends suggested to boost the cooling power of my AC with salt—I was skeptical, but it seemed to work. Another key point of innovation I found: caution is okay, but don’t be afraid to experiment. It might just turn out to be the answer you were looking for!

What have you innovated lately?

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The Power of Saying No

Monday, July 12th, 2010

The art of leadership is saying ‘no’, not saying ‘yes.’ It is very easy to say ‘yes.’ -Tony Blair

In a world awash in opportunities there is so much to be explored (and so much time to wasted.) Let’s spread ourselves too thin, shall we? There are so many ways in which energy may be spent, resources consumed, and money burned. For an organization with IADD (Innovation Attention Deficit Disorder) a world with multiple possibilities is not a good thing. Indeed it may be crippling.

How does this affliction manifest itself?

The primary symptom is an inability to say ‘no.’ In organizations living with IADD any idea is a good idea. Each one is full of bright shiny possibility. And apparently it is a universe in which the available resources and time are both infinite. If we cannot say ‘no’ they must be infinite, surely? Enthusiastically saying ‘yes’ to each new idea is a great habit to foster when in the middle of brainstorming session. Away from the ideation process, unless an organization focuses its efforts by agreeing to accomplish only a critical few projects, every new ‘yes’ simply means delaying or disrupting the delivery of anything of value. Saying yes means having to say, ‘I’m sorry,’ a lot.

Learn to say ‘no’ to the good so you can say ‘yes’ to the best. -John C. Maxwell

The inability to say ‘no’ more often than not finds its beginnings in an organization’s lack of, or poorly articulated strategy. In recent years, with technological change progressing at an ever-increasing pace, the notion of an organization actually forming a forward-looking, long-term strategy has seemed quaint. It was as though technology would cover up any missteps with its inherent magical powers. How wrong-headed that has proved to be.

Those who choose to ignore the necessity of having a robust strategy pay for its absence. Usually that cost is in poor quality products or services, missed customer deadlines, and eventually lost market share. All of which is in addition to the internal conflict, chaos and fire-fighting that arises when priorities are unclear across an organization. Strategy is the framework of choices that help an organization determine what it will become. It clearly defines what it will do, but more importantly it defines a much great category of things that it will not do. Without a strategy there is nothing against which an idea might be tested and found wanting. Strategy creates the constraints within which innovation thrives.

One of the reasons why Apple is so successful today is not only because they are so innovative (although it helps!), rather their success lies in an organization-wide capability for how to say ‘no.’ Focus and constraint are just as much a part of their design and innovation processes as is their attention to detail and the creation of things with which their customers fall in madly love.

Apple’s innovation strategy, the strategy of delving into customer usage to identify needs and create use cases, enables them to make clear decisions about the functions products will perform and the technologies vital to include to deliver them. From this foundation they then drop 20% of non-required functionalities to perfectly design solutions to meet 80% of key user needs. This application of the Pareto Principal means that they are not locked into a cycle of responding to ongoing requests and demands. They can set limits and say ‘no’ with the understanding that their attention to detail will lead to excellence in user experience. Their present market cap would testament to that level of focus.

By defining a clear strategy, articulating it and communicating it across an organization so that it is commonly understood, a clear set of conditions for saying ‘no’ is established. While the publically held notion of innovation might be one of endless possibility, positivity and saying ‘yes!’ to everything. The truly innovative know that it is not the number of ideas, it is the number of ideas that are executed that wins the day. Go on, deny the Innovation Attention Deficit Disorder and create an effective innovation culture. Rebel a little, go against the flow, and know when to say ‘no.’

What is a rebel? A man who says ‘no.’ -Albert Camus

What do you think?

Photo Credit: Nathan Gibbs

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Who’s Warming Up in Your Innovation Bullpen?

Friday, July 9th, 2010

One of the great, under-appreciated skills in the game of baseball is knowing how to manage a bullpen over the duration of a grueling, 162-game season. Knowing how to get maximum effort out of your bullpen pitchers can sometimes add up to 5-10 more wins each year — as well as the ability to eek out tight wins in pressure-packed situations during the playoffs.

In the same way, top managers in the business world need to think about how to effectively manage their Innovation Bullpen. After all, managers have a limited number of employees on their team to lead and execute on upcoming innovation projects. It’s not enough to rely on rising or established superstars to shoulder the workload — it’s necessary to have a robust cohort of employees with a variety of skills and experiences who can take on innovation projects as they arise. The game of baseball offers practical tips for maximizing the value of your Innovation Bullpen:

(1) Create a diverse mix of individuals with the talents and skills to handle any type of project. Just as great bullpens need a mix of left-handed & right-handed pitchers, flamethrowers & crafty curveballers, a great business bullpen needs individuals with a mix of experiences and skills to deal with any type of business opportunity that might arise. After all, an opposing lineup will begin to feast on a bullpen that only offers up the same type of pitcher, one after another — even if that guy consistently checks in on the radar at 100 mph. In the same way, an organization that only hires individuals with a certain background will be ill-suited for changes in the underlying structure of the market.

(2) Find individuals who excel in certain key roles. The truly great bullpens – the kind that takes teams to the World Series – have pitchers who understand their very specific roles. The “closers” always enter in the 9th inning when the game is on line. The “middle relief guys” have clearly-defined roles and can act as an effective bridge to the closer during the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Finally, there are the “long men” in the bullpen who can eat up innings when games are out of reach, saving the closers and middle-relief guys from having to take on every project that comes down the pike. In the business world, this means developing talented individuals who are proficient at handling specific aspects of any project.

(3) Recruit specialists with hard-to-find skills. In the game of baseball, there will always be a market for the left-handed relief specialist who can get out the toughest bat in the opposition’s lineup. For years, the Yankees searched far and wide for a lefty who could match up with David Ortiz of the Red Sox. They just needed one lefty they could call in at critical times to get Big Papi out. Most managers, of course, lack the luxury of having a left-handed relief specialist. In the business world, left-handed relief specialists are the guys with some arcane skill or knowledge that is nearly impossible to find elsewhere. They are called on at very specific times, often when the game is on the line, to save a project.

Utilizing each of these managerial tactics is one way to maximize the efficiency of a bullpen and ensure that everyone stays fresh and rested for the stretch run, such as during peak business cycles or the end of the quarter. While the closer with the blistering, lights-out stuff who can strike out hitters in the 9th gets most of the attention, his role is set up by all the other members of the bullpen who “hold” the game for him. Many teams discover that middle-relief is the soft underbelly of their bullpen and even have a hard time getting to the 9th inning.

Baseball, it turns out, offers real lessons for successful business. Too many managers assume it’s only a matter of having one flamethrower in the bullpen (the hotshot MBA) and then “mixing-and-matching” their way through innovation projects with everyone else. Instead, they should be developing each of the individual team members who can help an organization take on the type of innovative, high ROI projects that form the basis for future business success.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Finding Your Crayons: Innovation Inspiration from the Young

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Act different to think different. Easier said than done right? The truth is we’ve already been-there-done-that when we were kids, we just forget we did it. How is this possible? How is it that we lost that inquisitive mind? How is it that we stopped facing life like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement?

We just lost our imagination, we threw away the crayons and got caught up in the reality of the adult world. That’s what happened.

Most innovations come out of some insight (aha! moment) someone had and it was all because this person was looking deeper and questioning the ‘believed’ truth of how something works. Just like kids, inquisitive people have a habit of questioning everything, looking for deeper insight by questioning the truth. Yet most people accept things for what they are, why is this? Because it’s safe, it’s that simple. We get trapped in automatic, mechanical thinking with no interest in asking why we’re doing whatever it is we’re doing and how we’re doing it.

When you look at things and believe that that’s the way they’re going to stay then you’re making a huge mistake because as you well know nothing stays the same, everything changes . Our job as innovators is to not accept reality for what it is, it’s to imagine what could be and that means thinking differently.

If you wish to change your reality I challenge you to regain your inner child. I challenge you to ‘be a kid’ again.

But before you start thinking differently (being a kid) you have to create the habit of ‘acting’ differently. This means that you’ll have to piss people off, it means challenging established rules, it means breaking tradition, it means putting away the tried and true, it means breaking away from reality.

Are you ready? The single biggest thing you can do right now to start ‘acting’ differently is to ask:

  • ‘WHY?’ Do it everyday, do it 5 times for everything you come across. Ask yourself why you do things the way you do them, this will get your mind moving in all sorts of directions you forgot existed.
  • ‘WHAT IF?’ to shake it up some more and get your imagination going. At this point your imagination is going to run wild and you’ll come up with some crazy ideas and you’ll start feeling like a kid again.

The final piece to get you acting differently is to ask:

  • ‘WHY NOT?’ When you get here, you’ll think than anything is possible and that my friend is the whole point.

Asking questions is part of an innovators skill set, but the truly imaginative one’s don’t just ask them all time, they ask them because they imagine a better way of doing things. If you want to create a better reality for yourself and for others, imagine what could be. Repeat after me: Why? What if? Why not? Repeat.

What do you think?

Photo Credit: Robbie

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Staying on Track with Innovative Collaboration

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

New forms of work are evolving as professionals in transition develop careers that transcend from the present into the future. As traditional jobs continue to disappear, unique ways of producing and marketing viable products and services will continue to manifest themselves. While professional and personal branding focuses on individual value, it’s the collective effort of talented teams that has the greatest potential to accelerate economic stimulation.

Consider:

  • Brainstorming unique ideas with trusted colleagues
  • Showcasing collaborative projects in videos, podcasts and articles on a website
  • Sharing case studies that produced creative, compelling results
  • Attending entrepreneurial events sponsored by local universities
  • Organizing focus groups that help determine the feasibility of a new product or service
  • Setting goals to connect with clients in a given time period
  • Researching opportunities to get involved in open-source projects
  • Engaging followers in social media platforms to obtain feedback
  • Participating in professional networking groups that fit your goals

The value of teamwork begins in the classroom and playing fields where students start laying the tracks to the future by working together. Encouraging adaptability and collaboration at an early age will foster the synergistic innovation that will help prepare them for a constantly-changing work environment.

What do you think? How do you stay on track?

Photo Credit: Trypode

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