Office politics, infighting, turf wars, they can take up more time and energy than the actual work in the work place! Humans have lots of variables, sometimes we have good days and sometimes not, sometimes we work smart and are very productive other days we barely think at all. These are all reasons that replacing humans with machines can seem so appealing. Machines don't complain they do their work no matter what's going on around them and if you don't like them you can throw them away or sell them. But machines don’t complain enough and that can be a problem!! As painful as complaints can be (I am not talking about whining) they are actually a great source of innovation ideas! Without a complaint or a problem there is nothing for us to fix and we wouldn't know where to start to look for improvement opportunities. Machines are very appealing to those who believe they have reached the pinnacle of process perfection but if your processes need to be flexible and constantly adapt and if you are looking for help with improvement ideas then don’t hire a machine.
In Tom Kelly's book “The Art of Innovation” he shares a brilliant IDEO success tool that is available to all would be innovators, it is just a simple “BUG” list. The IDEO team meticulously add to their long list of things that “BUG” them and this treasure is the spawning ground for many ideas and solutions that have developed into great new innovations. So, as much as we might despise or dislike complainers we need to be grateful for those who are willing to bring attention to the things that bug them because they can be a real boon for innovation. (Try to get that out of a machine!) If we think back through life just about everyone can recall some difficult times that brought about great new learning and insights and the solutions that came from those times are usually some of our most creative moments.
The workplace isn’t just about work it is also about connecting and learning and overcoming adversity and growing and influencing. There’s been many a futurist who has predicted the obsolescence of the modern city because it is so costly and inefficient to bring workers to where the work is. In the information age it's much more cost-effective and efficient to move information (work), with modern communication technologies, to the worker but most of us still spend lots of time and money traveling to and from work. However the social aspect of work is often ignored in these predictions. Machines don't communicate and we humans (in spite of all of our flaws and infighting) are still fascinated with each other and energized and influenced by our interactions. Next time there is disagreement and complaint, bring out your bug list and look for opportunities to improve and innovate!! Start a complaint box and visit it weekly with your team, mining for opportunity!
By: Kevin Minne
InnovationGrowthSystems.com
720-354-0291
In Tom Kelly's book “The Art of Innovation” he shares a brilliant IDEO success tool that is available to all would be innovators, it is just a simple “BUG” list. The IDEO team meticulously add to their long list of things that “BUG” them and this treasure is the spawning ground for many ideas and solutions that have developed into great new innovations. So, as much as we might despise or dislike complainers we need to be grateful for those who are willing to bring attention to the things that bug them because they can be a real boon for innovation. (Try to get that out of a machine!) If we think back through life just about everyone can recall some difficult times that brought about great new learning and insights and the solutions that came from those times are usually some of our most creative moments.
The workplace isn’t just about work it is also about connecting and learning and overcoming adversity and growing and influencing. There’s been many a futurist who has predicted the obsolescence of the modern city because it is so costly and inefficient to bring workers to where the work is. In the information age it's much more cost-effective and efficient to move information (work), with modern communication technologies, to the worker but most of us still spend lots of time and money traveling to and from work. However the social aspect of work is often ignored in these predictions. Machines don't communicate and we humans (in spite of all of our flaws and infighting) are still fascinated with each other and energized and influenced by our interactions. Next time there is disagreement and complaint, bring out your bug list and look for opportunities to improve and innovate!! Start a complaint box and visit it weekly with your team, mining for opportunity!
By: Kevin Minne
InnovationGrowthSystems.com
720-354-0291
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