Where There are Two or More...

I believe in team. I have my own spiritual reasons why this works and I have seen it in action.

I had an incredible experience this morning. I was part of a presentation to two MBA classes taught by Fred Collopy. Fred is the Professor and Chair of Information Systems and a Professor of Cognitive Science at the Weatherhead School of Management. The program he delivers is entitled: Managing as Design and explores the design process as a foundation for new ways of thinking, teaming and delivering solutions in business.

I was teamed with Peter Zale, a colleague of mine from a "previous employer" when I was facilitating New Product Development Sessions for early stage product development. Peter is a marketing professional and cartoonist. He has illustrated and authored a comic called "Helen", about a woman professional who graduated from MIT at age fifteen. She is young, attractive and clever. Her area of expertise is technology and he has woven a storyline that has gained the attention of the New York Times. Click here to see Helen.

The other side of Peter (which would make him three sided, though he appears normal) is his work as part of his MBA program where his team won the award for developing a product picked up by a notable design firm. A version of the product will be going to market in early 2009. Our objective was to provide an experience for the class using the tools, and explaining the process and principles that support product design.

In his presentation, Peter focused on:

• Sketching, visualization and ideation
• Iteration
• Project and team management

Peter used previously sketched designs in PowerPoint and I with graphic facilitation skills captured his learnings. Having never done this before in tandem, but both being familiar with the creative process and product design, it was very cool ( I didn't want to say serendipitous, but it was that too!). Some principles he brought out in his presentation were:

• Start with a raw sketch as a neutral field for collaboration
• Iterate, iterate, iterate
• When working on a design team (or any team), use open language to encourage continuous contribution through iterations ("and", "I like that AND let me add another element")
• Don't be afraid to break it and learn from the experience
• Self impose certain constraints on your design to promote creative tension
• It takes confidence and humility - knowing you add value and knowing that others do too
  

Afterward Peter and I talked about doing more of this as our host Fred got feedback that it was the best class they have had. Thanks to Fred for the opportunity and for moderating our presentation.

If you are interested in having a presentation on product design and its principles in your organization, please let me know at pintoma_99@yahoo.com

Finding the Similar in the Dissimilar

I had an interesting experience this morning while presenting to a small group of executives about the power of adding graphics to the facilitation process. One person was explaining how there are two types of customers or clients that are favorable: Large profit companies and any company whose profit as a percent of revenue is healthy. I asked if there were any similarities there. This is one of my showstopper questions that I need to work on when I am facilitating. I know my "going fishing" sometimes paints me into a corner. I can always tell s I see vocal chords lock up and eyes begin to glaze over. Any advice would help.

My intention though was to find the common amongst the uncommon because what lies there is gold. Innovation is two ideas coming together that have never met before and when we can find that cross section this is where disruptive products, services, process and models lie. I welcome your comments.

Mission Over Money

I am out of town today providing graphic facilitation at a very successful enterprise. In their 120 year history they have stressed a mission dedicated to serving their customers and have stayed ahead by taking the road less traveled. Today they are gathering to recommit to their mission and to stay ahead of the curve. Yes there are people out there that actually not only read the books...they practice them. If you're interested in some of my observations of a group dedicated to a mission, let me know: pintoma_99@yahoo.com

Curse No More

My last post talked about the great opportunity my daughter and I had to bond in a productive way when the power went out and we were forced to work on her homework by candlelight without any modern tools (computer, music, lights...).

Well, it happened again last night. However, this time it was by choice. Trying to decipher the meaning behind Greek mythology and answer critical thinking questions AND finding that neither one of us had the mental fortitude to quickly access our critical brains, we decided to turn off everything in sight and light candles.

I was impressed by my daughter's ability to access some profound thinking on the symbolism and metaphor behind the stories and the connection to human emotion and human nature. Mind you this is MY daughter who typically spends her time IMing with friends, watching Oprah and redecorating her room with teen magazine posters. Not a person dedicated to literary interpretation. Very cool!

As a result of this happy accident and follow on opportunity, I am in a blogging collaboration with a business colleague and friend of mine. Dave Crain (davecrainonline.com) posted a response entry to his blog in respones to my first entry. Give it a look:

http://www.davecrainonline.com/progress.html

In his post, Dave encourages us to make more effort in the realm, by consciously turning off, tuning out and dropping into a way of being that we have slowly given up. I know Dave. And I only hope to have his discipline and will to consciously do that. You will remember, I came upon this as a course of happy accidents and not by choice. So read Dave's post and if you can meet his challenge, let him know, and if you're more like me answer the question:

Is there some happy accident in your work or personal life that has shed light on a better way to live your life or improve some lot that you were able to consciously practice?

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Curse Not the Darkness

Last night we had a three hour power outtage which affected about 15 houses in our neighborhood, one of which was ours. It happened right after dinner and the most remarkable thing followed. We lit a few candles and my daughter brought out her homework and we spent the next two hours talking over her work, evolving ideas and deciding on a theme. She completed a well thought out paper. We had a rich, relaxing, fun time and we were productive.

It reminded me of a friend who had traveled to Poland while it was still under communist influence...before Mr. Gorbachev tore down the wall. He enjoyed many hours of conversation, food, drink, guitar playing and singing (weird, huh?). He returned sometime after the wall fell and found that people no longer socialized the same. They were too busy. Too busy making money. Too busy spending money. Too busy being busy. The shining light of democracy and a free market illuminating Poland after many years of the wall's shadow did little to maintain the very human ties that originally drew him to Poland.

With no computer available, no television, no lights and only the warm glow of candles, I had a valuable experience with my daughter that makes me wonder how far we have come and what value our coming so far offers. I mentioned to my daughter that we should do this again - with or without a power out - just turn off the lights and light a candle and work on a singular task with rich focus and concentration. She agreed with a smile. And for a teenager in today's fast-paced world that's priceless.

"There is more to life than speed"
-Mahatma Ghandi

A Moveable “Truth”

I recall a client’s words from far enough back that I can only remember that this person was an executive at a utility company. The statement was as follows: “The people we hire are only “C” average students who cannot make strategic decisions on the whole…” This was in response to a recommendation that it would be most valuable if a cross section of the organization was included in the company’s upcoming strategy session. Our team was shocked having seen multitudes of so called “C” students produce brilliant solutions to very complex problems. In enterprise-wide solutions, more is better.

I have obviously not forgotten the statement I heard many years ago and the question that it posed for me: Is a “C” average student capable of only providing “C” average performance, solutions and results? Or is the measure of a person not dependent on the measure of most academic and business organizations?

Malcolm Gladwell, in a recent speech by this noted author of The Tipping Point and Blink, points out that measures are not always a true reflection of an individual’s capabilities. In fact they are a mismatch. He uses data collected from professional sports tryouts called the Scouting “Combine”. This is a process where athletes are put through a battery of tests considered to be the measures that will predict the success of an individual in a professional sport. You may or may not be surprised by his findings, however, his thought provoking conclusions are intriguing and question the very foundations that have supported our progress this far. Find out what the difference is between the seven smartest and seven dumbest quarterbacks in football. Listen to his talk and draw your own conclusions. It is rather lengthy, so you may want to reserve it for a time when you can listen:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2008/gladwell

This clip takes me back to my earlier experience: The client we had the opportunity to speak with was a leader in the organization. By all standards and measures he was qualified and expected to make decisions and shoulder responsibilities for the whole organization. Utilizing accepted measures and the resulting predictable performance of individuals and the group, he made a statement of objective truth. That this can be only one of many truths and may not be the best is not his fault. He like, many of us, relies on time-tested models, practices and actions. Unfortunately, while our tools for navigation are sound, our changing business and social environment is increasingly exposing our vulnerability to the shifting winds of change. The truth has moved.

In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.

Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

Our attempts to find time and cost saving solutions by identifying key characteristics of high performance people is wanting. Where process and technology can be predictably mapped and measured – the one being only a concept and the other a finite, layered mechanism, with people it is not that predictable. People are both concept and mechanism, and more. We are the author’s of the former two, endowed with additional capabilities who, up to today, have only scratched the surface of our potential. We are all much more capable than our academic grade point average and our professional status.

Given our changing world, how can we find new truths and measures to help us all to create success in our new and changing environment? I welcome your comments.

I Have Smart , Cool Friends

I really do have smart and cool friends. One of them is Leslie Yerkes. She is the President of Catalyst Consulting . Leslie and I have been friends and colleagues delivering Appreciative Inquiry and World Cafe events around the country for quite some time (She talks - I draw!).

She is also an accomplished speaker and author

Her latest book is Beyond Kicks and Carrots: Motivation in the Twenty-First Century. This is a two sitting book (I am a slow reader) and it is a GREAT READ on the subject of motivation! The information is presented in an easy visual format which one can use as a quick reference when finished. Short paragraphs and lots of bullets make it easy to find the pearls of wisdom within. Quotes are always great anchors for learning, her use of quotes is pertinent and many are different from the old saws repeated over and over again in other books, articles and papers. The chronology of topics build to a useful and actionable set of tools for motivation. All in all Beyond Kicks and Carrots is a book I would highly recommend to organizations - great for developing cohesion among and between teams, as well as individuals looking to self improve. Leslie Yerkes latest offering is big information in a well summarized and brief book.

To see more of her books check out Mark's Leslie Yerkes' List on Amazon