All I Wanted for Christmas was Another Good Book

I went book mad this Christmas! And I'm not talking the Kindle variety - although I do love the convenience of a Kindle - my mother used to say a time and place for everything. I'm talking about the type with all those leafy pages, the ones I can run my thumb through and hear that whirring sound, where I can inhale that familiar aroma and comfortingly know what page I'm up to instead of what percentage of the book I have already read!

A good book can inspire, help and lead you to an innovation road, or  perhaps encourage ideas to keep flowing if you are fortunate enough to be already travelling. It can carry you off to that "other place", urge you on to new adventures or remind you from where we have come or of a time long ago.

I picked up Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell a few weeks ago (Gladwell also wrote Tipping Point - what a great read that is). In Outliers there are some amazing conclusions drawn from statistics available. Who would have thought the opportunities afforded by the time of year you were born? I learnt about the 10,000 hour rule (though I think this should have made me a brilliant author some years ago or at the very least a concert pianist!) And does the correlation between good health and the values of our communities surprise anyone really? Want more? Read the book.

Ubuntu is written by Stephen Lundin and Bob Nelson. Stephen Lundin was responsible for Fish! quite a few years ago, where the central theme was the benefits of adding fun to your workday. Nelson Mandela writes " In Africa there is a concept known as Ubuntu - the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others: that is we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others".  This is the central theme of the book Ubuntu.

Little Bets by Peter Sims was recommended to me by my colleague and fellow innovation musketeer Kevin Coffey. The key concept here is to take little steps, experiment and place a few little bets on the outcomes, learning critical information from lots of little failures and from significant wins that ultimately lead to extraordinary success. Made sense to me!

I read a beautiful fiction (but based on fact) book I picked up at the Sydney Writers festival in 2011 - The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna. She wove an intricate and complex story line around the horrifying conditions in Sierra Leone. I travelled constantly between 1969 and 1999 to be affected by a nation on a remarkable rollercoaster ride. To quote the back cover, The Memory of Love is a heartbreaking story of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

I picked up In the Name of Peace by Erin Ladd Sanders to gift to a friend having a significant birthday and ended up buying myself a copy. Seventeen pacifists are the subjects of the book and their contribution through their philosophies to our world is unquestionable. There is an interesting twist thrown in regarding times when pacifist action has actually prolonged conflict and suffering...I struggle with that...

Ditto Speeches That Changed The World - that is I bought myself a copy. There are inspirational and moving contributions from Jesus of Nazareth through to Lenin, Oppenheimer and even Kevin Rudd (Sorry speech) and Barack Obama (America, all things are possible).

I also gifted the Keith Richards' autobiography to a Stones fan and began purchasing all the books I have to read for Book Club 2013!  I should also confess that I bought a 1Direction book for my daughter and before you laugh or scour, at least it has her reading something that consists of more than instructions for a game on a flat screen, or facebook...

Needless to say I have contributed significantly to the national debt...

The magic of a book that captivates your soul for a period in time is remarkable. I plan to read a LOT in 2013. Will let you know how it goes. Meanwhile, please leave your good read recommendations as comments.

Have  a successful, kind and peaceful 2013.

Technology - Turns it Off!

There was a very interesting article in the Australian Financial Review on 24th October 2012. The article focused on the research out of Oxford University by neuroscientist Susan Greenfield and was all about how technology short cuts brain power...when you finish reading it, it's a real no brainer.

Technology should be a means rather than an end, says neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, who warns that our addiction to social media and devices will come at a cost to our skills and productivity.

We are on a warning from neuroscientists that the human brain adapts to its environment and since our environment is changing and becoming more technology centred, more...we only need to navigate the web we don't really need to think, more...we don't need to solve the problem we can surf the net for a solution, more...we don't need to read we can watch it on you tube instead, more...I'll study it online for free and think about the qual - oh boy - I'm not liking this at all...

Greenfield talks about a survey in the UK where the results indicated that 91% of teachers believe children's attention spans are becoming shorter because of their growing addiction to screens. And there is no shortage of screen based technology that children have access to - from the traditional television, to the computer,  the tablets or iPads,  the mobile phone devices etc. Consider then the multiplicity of  activities available on these various screens - anywhere - anytime. Not surprisingly this was a common theme at a Mind and Its Potential Conference I attended a couple of years ago.

Some children are involved in very little imaginative play, very little rough and tumble play, very little dress up play and little music and art play. Some don't even wander around the neighbourhood anymore - and those that do have a mobile phone with them. I was at a restaurant not long ago and observed three children with their parents having breakfast. All five of them were paying more attention to their mobile devices than each other. Pay attention next time you are out and see what kind of conversations are happening around you.

But I digress - back to the survey. Survey said that children are spending three times as much time in front of screens than they do with their head in a book or um, a Kindle or equivalent! Now think about what they are watching. The duration of the scenes  in movies, comics and the like these days are FAST, with some shots not even lasting for one second. Think back and compare that to the older cartoons that you perhaps grew up with. Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z are at least 10 years old - and the duration of the shots/scenes is slow by comparison. If you are old enough to remember Simba the White Lion or the Flinstones you can probably make a cup of tea before the shots change.

Our brains have come to expect constant change and the result of all the extra stimuli, is the incomplete formation of brain pathways in children. The lack of rough and tumble play allowed between children (we don't want little Johnny to get hurt now do we) means that the empathy centres in the brain are not forming properly. When I was little, my favourite Sunday afternoon game was the family wrestle - determined little girls and one ex boxing champion father, trying to pin shoulders on the ground for the count of three. We learnt how far we could go before causing pain, how to recognise the signs that someone was indeed experiencing pain. Nowadays its almost a 180 degree turn as video games with blood, death and destruction desensitise those who partake!

The fact that we spend less time in face to face contact and more time in front of screens could signal potential problems  understanding body language and effectively working in teams in workplaces - unless of course they are all virtual and we can communicate behind a screen of some description! Apparently we will be very good at processing multitudes of information but not real smart about understanding it.

Back to empathy - in 2010 the University of Michigan released a study that found that college students had empathy levels 40% lower than students of twenty or thirty years ago, with the biggest decline in empathy levels occurring since 2000.

We can't ditch technology - there are so  many benefits to having it. We just need to be clever, creative and innovative about how we engage with it. Technology is here to stay but some days I think the Sci-Fi movies that depict technology running us don't seem so far fetched.

You must excuse me now.  I have to txt my children (they are in the room next door), that it's time for bed. I'll face - time them a kiss goodnight while I shop on line for tomorrows groceries. Oh dear I better check with Suri what I actually have on tomorrow!

Mental Contrasting - Don't hear that often do you?

So the term Mental Contrasting popped up again the other day in a newsletter from Inventium. I'm surprised it's not used more often than it is...though there is the association between mental and hard work, and that may be prohibitive.

Professor Gabriele Oettingen (so much easier to write than to say) from New York University did all the things she needed to do (i.e. conducted a study, did some research etc.) to prove that the technique of Mental Contrasting has the potential to improve health, relationships, academic achievements and goal attainment.

So what is it and how does it work?

Well it's a collaborative effort between positive thinking (glass always full, imagining what you want, creating your own reality and so on) and bringing a dose of reality into the picture. Make that a big dose - one that spills a bit - sets things off track and needs a bit of mopping up! What I mean is - think about all the obstacles that could possibly be in between where you are NOW and where you want to BE! In our Create and Innovate workshops we call this exercise FAT CHANCE! That means imagining the absolute best scenario for your future that you could hope to achieve...The next session is called Make It Real...or consider all those obstacles that stand in your way!

The idea, and a concept that has been proven in various studies, is that considering/contemplating/imagining/acknowledging ALL the things that could get in your way, actually raises your adrenalin levels - gets your fight or flight gear happening - and therefore increases energy and enthusiasm for the problem solving that lies ahead. What may have been considered unachievable,  has become a challenge and as each small step is taken to overcome those challenges, the reality of achieving that once considered illusive goal, hedges closer to reality and is suddenly a very real possibility.

And where else is this process more appropriate than in the innovation space!

Think Times Are Tough? Then It's Time to Think Differently

This piece appeared in The Newcastle Herald, Saturday 6th October

In July 2005 articles and footage on YouTube started appearing about Brazilian manufacturer Semco. Semco was described as a “most radical workplace”.  Seven years on, the company’s operating principles are still considered rare: not knowing which receptionist will be on at what time because it is up to the receptionists to work out their hours; 3,000 employees setting their own work schedules; early workplace departures when there is not much to do; employees giving themselves days off; changing work stations so colleagues can’t track your every move; reviewing your own salary every 6 months; and firing colleagues who aren’t performing. But this type of freedom comes with “pressure to perform”. 

Rather than adhering to routine and micro management techniques, Ricardo Semler, CEO at Semco, is more concerned with the productivity in any given month and a concern around the gratification employees will receive from their work? Semler subscribes to a Thrive not Survive ethic. And this philosophy means treating employees like grown ups. Employees get a share of the profit and what accompanies that is an increase in motivation. While Semler remains concerned with basic free market issues, he is also about “respecting anthropological issues instead of political ideas”.  And his philosophy has worked. He took a company that was worth $4m US in 1980 to $160m US by 2005.

It is hard to envisage many local or national companies installing hammocks so employees can rest and think in comfort but it’s exactly what Semco did. And Semco isn’t the only company encouraging thinking time. Beth Comstock, Senior Vice President at GE, states that the company introduced a Time To Think opportunity for their employees decades ago.  Employees were encouraged to put time on their calendars to allow the “mental and physical space to do this”.  Comstock added “people can’t innovate or create on demand. You have to give teams time to think, to bounce things off each other”.

And most companies and organisations have heard of Google’s 20 % Time, where employees are given time to work on projects they choose to work on. The yellow sticky note evolved out of 3M’s work practice that allows 15% on an employee’s time to be spent on innovation. 3M have been doing this for decades – Google weren’t the first.

These and other forward thinking companies invest in innovation simply because if they don’t innovation doesn’t happen. Dan Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, believes it’s motivational practices in business like these that have become the new reward, the new “carrot” to keep employees stimulated and fulfilled. More money alone just doesn’t do it anymore.

When times get tough, innovation is not usually considered as a first option for making improvements and moving forward.

At the present time, things are tough, so we need to think differently. We need to create space for problem solving, for outside the square thinking, for innovation and evolution. We need to empower the workforce; give employees some input into the operations of the organisation, input into their future.

Organisational energies should be directed into projects that could potentially generate income or increase productivity. Energies could be directed into developing a new or improved product or service, or a new means of collaborating with other like or ‘unlike’ organisations.

In order to make this work, a number of factors need to come to together. Management need to buy into the process. Create and Innovate recently facilitated the introduction of innovative practices into a local business. Management agreed to allow a certain group of employees one hour per month to meet and discuss project ideas. Six months later, there is evidence that the practice has been productive.

Involvement in innovation should also be on a voluntary basis. Everyone is not good at everything. In his book The Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell writes about innovators, connectors, early adopters and salesmen. All are equally important in the innovation process, but not all need to take on an innovative or creative role.

Each project will need structure and will rarely take off unless there is some form of collaboration.  Each project will need to be tracked and each organisation will have to develop it’s own reward system.

Innovation is hard work. It requires passion and belief, persistence, collaboration and leadership to make it effective. It requires execution to see it through. Innovation requires structure. It requires management. An innovative atmosphere has the potential to increase productivity and that’s got to be more beneficial to any organisation in the long term.

Create and Innovate facilitates workshops. With an emphasis on brain science, collaboration, empowerment and putting plans into action. Create and Innovate encourages and facilitates processes that lead to improvement and change.

The one-day, fast tracked workshop expos are ideal for those working in companies and organisations, for small business owners, and for individuals who are time poor yet want to be inspired into new ways of thinking.

On October 23, Create and Innovate will present an insightful and cutting edge workshop on how to profit from changing your thinking in tough times. Visit createandinnovate.com.au for details.

Retail Revisited

There is a plethora of articles being written at the moment about retail - chains are closing, David Jones and Myers have had profit slumps, the internet is killing the sector etc.etc.etc. So it's time we revisited innovation in retail - because retail is in the spotlight all over the world - for the devastation and the innovation!

Stores are appealing to consumers by creating an entire shopping experience. That means they are appealing to all senses - sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. There are audio visual displays everywhere you look. Walk into a shopping centre and tale a deep smell - burning candles, perfumes, food aromas - coming at you from every direction. There is music playing in most places - and it's true that in certain outlets it is programmed to make you go fast during busy times and allow you to browse in quieter times. I'm sure you get the picture.

And, as I wrote before - there appears to be a greater emphasis on customer service. I read an article recently where Myers admitted things were improving because they had actually put more people back on the floor - the mind boggles. Went to Target the other day and couldn't find anyone to help me find anything I was looking for - so I walked out and purchased elsewhere!

Here's an example of improving the retail experience from the heart of the ultimate retail centre of the world - Paris. The Adidas flagship store developed the mi Adidas concept. Consumers actually get to create their own shoe or their own jersey in store. Talk about customisation!

Yet another approach - companies are sprouting their green and sustainability improvements/implementations...from the products they use or don't use, to the packaging to, Target charging an extra 10c for a plastic bag and so on and so forth. We can now be consumers with a conscience and there are internet businesses springing up that do all the research for you and advise where you should shop so you can feel better about what you are doing/buying/using.

It's all about creating a vibrant atmosphere. I read a term recently, shopper-centric, which seems very appropriate and very now.

On the food side of things, along with one of the weekly papers that gets delivered to my place came a magazine insert, Dick Smith's Magazine of Forbidden Ideas. This mag is full of Australian products - well Dick Smith Australian products. Interestingly there appears a list of what once were iconic Australian brands or products, or products that had become brands, like Vegemite, Arnotts, Golden Circle, Dairy Farmers and heaven forbid Aeroplane Jelly and Fosters. All these products are now owned by off shore companies!

I really enjoyed the read - especially loved the title. One article especially grabbed my eye - about a Dick Smith product called OzEmite. It has been 13 years in the making and has a point of difference in that it's gluten free and not made on Brewer's Yeast. He admits it costs 30c more but isn't that a small price to pay to support everything Australian? I will be making the swap as mother of a Vegemite addict who is just old enough to understand the Support Australian Product ethos.

And, in the true spirit of collaboration, Dick Smith has Coles, Woolworths, IGA and other independents on board!

Small Wins

Kevin Coffey keeps coming up with great book discoveries! A few weeks ago he recommended Little Bets - how breakthrough ideas emerge from small discoveries, by Peter Sims. I'm still getting through it (and the 1000's of other books I have on my "to read" list) but I've just read the chapter titled, Small Wins and there are a few things worth pointing out!

Small Wins are defined as small successes that emerge out of our ongoing development process. Sims goes on to describe small wins as building blocks or footholds or landmarks. These types of Small Wins can often indicate if we are heading in the right direction or if we should consider a change of direction - even a 180 degree turn...

The Small Wins theory is set against the analogy of the alcoholic, who doesn't think about whether or not he will be sober in 10 years time but rather puts energy into remaining sober one day at a time. Another analogy I drew was from the movie What About Bob, starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Here the patient (Bill Murray) focuses on babysteps to deal with his afflictions, rather than deal initially with massive changes which could seem like Mt Everest...

The chapter has a few examples of Small Wins and my favourite one is the discussion centred around Pixar. For some time after Jobs took over, Pixar continued to lose money. There had always been a grand plan - to make animated feature films - but it was assumed that this plan would not happen any time soon, and apparently the animation division was nearly closed several times. Who knows, perhaps in desperation, the animation team proposed a series of short films, purportedly to promote some hardware Pixar was trying to sell.

Luxor Jr was a 90 second animation film that received a standing ovation at a computer graphics conference (there were 6,000 people on their feet). The Luxor lamp that inspired the movie is now the Pixar logo...That Small Win, led to other small wins which in turn led Pixar to where they are today...making animated feature films that are box office hits.

Another of my Innovation favourite examples is Starbucks Cafe. Sims describes how Starbucks emerged/evolved by listening and acting on customer feedback - they had a yes approach to customer requests. The boss had a no non-fat drink policy in the beginning! Customers however wanted non fat drinks so what the customer wanted the customer got - and low fat drinks were introduced. Starbucks realised that customers wanted "Affordable Luxuries", $2 cappuccinos, exotic tasting coffees etc. Customers got what they wanted and the rest is history.

Small changes at Starbucks led to pivotal changes away from Shultz's (the boss) original  idea to model
Starbucks on Italian coffee houses - there is no low fat or non fat milk there!!! Rather, the small wins led to the creation of  a new American coffee experience.

The common link here is...an open mind!

Trust...

So I’ve been ruminating lately on why we don’t Collaborate more.

If the rough flow to a new product or service goes something like;

• Imagination
• Creativity
• Innovation
• Collaboration
• Commercialisation
• Product
• Distribution/ Availability
• Purchase

We all know we need collaboration to advance our ideas. In the lack of financial backing the only way through is value backing from collaborants.

I believe it's a form of funding that money can't buy.

Why does it seem to then break down at Collaboration?

My hunch is ‘TRUST’ and the lack thereof.

You won’t see a module in any MBA on ‘Trust’. It doesn’t loom large in Human Resource manuals. It certainly is not listed as a KPI that I’ve ever seen. Commercially it has no reward association; rather, the opposite usually applies. Supply Contracts don’t have a clause on it.

(Don’t start me on the legal acknowledgement of distrust that forms most contracts)

For Collaboration to be effective, or indeed work at all, parties must come from a perspective of Trust.

Can you be Trusted with someone’s idea?

Can you Trust the other collaborants with your baby?

Seth Godin has a nice definition of Trust.
Spend a moment placing his template over the relationships you have with your networks and if the collaboration cap fits…type in your password and get on with it!


"Where does trust come from"? Thus sayeth Seth...

Hint: it never comes from the good times and from the easy projects.
We trust people because they showed up when it wasn’t convenient, because they told the truth when it was easier to lie and because they kept a promise when they could have gotten away with breaking it.
Every tough time and every pressured project is another opportunity to earn the trust of someone you care about.

(originally posted at  http://thejohnnydeppstep.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/trust/)

Share the trust...it may just work.

Kevin Coffey (part of the Create and Innovate team)