June 30th, 2007
Why I recommend “Virtuoso Teams: Lessons from teams that changed their worlds”
by dave [permalink]
Virtuoso Teams: Lessons from teams that changed their worlds
by Andy Boynton
Boynton and Fischer’s book is about teams that excel above and beyond the capabilities of each individual team member. They draw stories from a wide range of subjects: the arts, science and industry. The teams they describe are all about creating massive change and they accomplish this by bringing together the absolute best people for each required function. These teams are not meant to work together amicably and produce consistent results over the long haul: they come together for a specific purpose (to drive massive change) and most often they dissolve after their task is complete. Example teams include Miles Davis’ bands, Thomas Edison’s workers and Norsk Hydro’s engineering team.
The book is great for giving perspective on how to bring teams like this together and how to handle them so that they are as effective as possible. The case studies are entertaining and informative and they gave me lots of ideas about how to make this work in a corporate setting.
The lessons you can draw from this book are invaluable: if you need to really change the direction of your business it definitely deserves a read.
I will say that the last chapter or two on how to apply this to your business are the weakest of the book: after reading that the critical factor in any Virtuoso Team is that you get the best possible people (not just the people available) it is a little of a let down to read that you can use the same techniques with your current team.
The section on “Deep Dives” also seems a bit out of place. Although this is an effective means of designing products and developing new ideas, it seemed somewhat disconnected from the ideas presented in the case studies. It was valuable information, but seemed like a topic for another book.
See more about Virtuoso Teams: Lessons from teams that changed their worlds
June 28th, 2007
Teaching Creativity
by dave [permalink]
Sir Ken Robinson’s talk from 2006 at TED is a fantastic explanation of what is wrong with today’s education system. But I think that it also applies to what is wrong with the cultures of many of our corporations. Most organizations value productivity (which is often measured against very linear and specific goals) over creativity. So the challenge for many people is that they get an education that does not encourage true creativity and then they get a job that follows along the same lines.
For organizations that choose to go a different route and really encourage creativity in the workplace, they face a huge hurdle: the mindset of the employees who have been trained in an educational system based on the needs of the industrial revolution. It is one thing to expect your designers to be creative, but another entirely to expect it from everyone in the company. How do you convince people to take risks and make mistakes when they have been trained to avoid them? How can you convince people that they are indeed creative even if they don’t consider themselves “artistic”?
So if you are in an organization that wants to be all about creativity, Sir Robinson’s talk can be very instructive because it gives you insight into how most peoples’ education formed the rigid thinking that they use day-to-day on the job.
June 28th, 2007
It’s All About Me…
by dave [permalink]
Remember those personality tests that you took in high school that told you what sort of job you should take? Actually, I may be dating myself with this one, but I remember those tests being on Scantrons (”Number 2 Pencil ONLY, please!”) and the results being, well, not particularly useful. How many of those tests spit out “ditch digger” as the best career? There are of course many more recent examples that give you scores based on some factors (usually four factors so they can map you nicely into a quadrant on a graph). When you are looking for a job I suppose it is useful to know that you are an extrovert or introvert, but does that really tell you whether a company/hiring manager is going to value your unique skills? Case and point is the Jasper system used over at Monster.com. You can take a survey (which is not as boring as it sounds and definitely a step from the Scantrons of old) and it will give you a full report on your personality. This is what it told me:
So what do I do with that information? The results are interesting for comparing yourself to others and might make good copy for your resume summary or cover letter. I do like some of the write-ups in various sections like comparing “questioning” vs. “trusting” among various age groups:
(I like how the questioning goes up until age 45 when people get nervous about job security, then back up again when we get crotchety and don’t care what anyone thinks).
All of this is useful for finding more about what I feel my own style is but it still does not tell me much about what sort of culture I should look for or where I might find that culture if I were looking.
June 25th, 2007
Living Workplace - 10 Dogmas
by gscott [permalink]
This is an excerpt from a book, "Living Workplace - 10 Dogmas," from very interesting design company from Denmark, Bosch & Fjord, that have the most unique ideas for office design.
"Dead or Alive?
A living workplace? Yes, because who would prefer a dead one? We spend a large part of our waking hours at work. Work has a great influence on our lives. Our well-being and behaviour are frighteningly dependent on whether or not we have a job, on whether we feel good or bad in our workplace. The one common feature that all kinds of work should share is that going to work should somehow feel like living - rather than being deadly dull…"
They design offices that make the word "office" seem inappropriate. It might be better to say, they design gathering places to stimulate your life’s work. That is where I want to be because I don’t want to go to "work."
"…They have put forward the 10 dogmas based on their own experiences as well as on a number of dialogues with a group of experts in the fields of the working environment and working conditions. This exchange of knowledge and opinions has now been transformed into the language of art, because art can serve as a catalyst to set off a process."
You shall meddle in what your colleagues are doing GRAPHIC DESIGN: Tilde Aagaard
Jiibe will be writing more articles about this company I am sure. Check out their site and explore their incredible ideas. Denmark is in my travel plans now.
June 25th, 2007
Sexy Workspace
by gscott [permalink]
This was developed by Knoll. It is very light and easy to move around the office. I am pretty sure that I would prefer this to the standard office cubicle.
Do you know anyone with a Knoll A3 office? I would love to hear their comments.
Here is an interesting article that I came across, “What Will Our Offices Look Like?” It discusses the office space of the future. It was written in 2000, so funny enough, many of these ideas exist today in companies like Google. The author even writes, “workers might find themselves in a tentlike structure,” just like the A3 picture here. Really it’s all about making the office more interactive, otherwise what would be the point of having an office at all. Consider the fact that we can all work remotely it only makes sense that the office will be the place to share ideas. If you want privacy head to Starbucks, they probably have WIFI and chances are it will be more private than your open concept, tent city office.
June 25th, 2007
Life in the Googleplex
by gscott [permalink]
I really loved the photo essay about Google. Google is pushing the boundaries of office life. I love how they really embrace and promote creativity! See this photo essay - click here.
June 25th, 2007
Electronic Arts Cube
by gscott [permalink]
My Cube (Mouse Over for Details)
Originally uploaded by zenrender
Even Electronic Arts has cubicles! They are one of the most progressive companies when it comes to technology and recruiting, however this is what office designers always resort to. Over the next few days I will be looking for office designs that are more innovative. I am sure his PC is maxed out!
June 20th, 2007
Where would you rather work? Google or Meetup?
by gscott [permalink]
The CEO of Meetup created this document on Google Docs (ironic) to compare the Meetup culture to the Google culture. It is very funny and at the same time very compelling. I am curious where would you rather work? It made me think that living in NYC would be a great place for an office. It is a truly inspiring city that will stimulate creativity for your employees. Also, you get a sense of what the world is really interested in not just the people that love technology. Obviously, Meetup has made an impression on me. When can I start?
It also raises the question, what happens to companies as they grow? At what point do the employees lose their ability to relate to each other on a personal level? Malcolm Gladwell said in his book, The Tipping Point, that the magic number is 150 people and then the social group no longer functions at its peak. How many employees does Meetup have? How will growth affect their culture?
I am making a leap here, but wouldn’t your life be better if you just worked for companies that had less than 150 employees? What do you think? How is Google meeting this challenge?
June 20th, 2007
Hilarious Workplace Video! Bean Bag Office
by gscott [permalink]
Improving office morale is very simple! Just make the workplace fun. Everyone knows that, so get everyone a bean bag chair and your revenues will skyrocket and turnover will plummet! Isn’t that obvious?
June 19th, 2007
“Chief Yahoo!” - 12 Great Job Titles - I want more!
by gscott [permalink]
I asked this question on Linkedin.com, “what is the most unusual job title at your company?” and got some great answers! I wish I had the company name for all of them. Add your own to the comments and tell me what company!
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Factotum |
I work with a guy who knows everything. |
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Implant Manager |
The best I have seen has got to be “Implant Manager” for a curvaceous lady leading a small team of travel agents. These people worked in the offices of large company X, but were employed by a third-party organisation arranging all the travel for the employees of company X - hence they were “implanted” into the larger company, I suppose. |
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Paranoid |
Paranoid (a.k.a. Information Security Experts) |
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Dictator |
My favourite one was “Dictator” for “The Republic of Cappuccino.” |
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Conductor of Magical Printing |
Perhaps the most unusual title at Rastar was my previous (and still favorite) job title: Conductor of Magical Printing. |
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People Development Group |
In my present job we don’t have HR department, instead that department is know as “People Development Group” (PDG). |
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Monster Diva; Chief Yahoo |
At Monster our receptionists were “Directors of First Impressions” and our founder’s PA was “Monster Diva”. I also love Jerry Yang’s title at Yahoo! “Chief Yahoo”. |
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Director of Sales and Smiles |
He’s always “fabulous.” The company is Visual Goodness, and the holder is one of my partners, Edward Cox. His title fits him like a glove. |
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Chief Instigator; Worker Bees |
The CEO of our company goes by “Chief Instigator” We used to refer to our content people on the site as “Worker Bees.” Ahhhhh…..the good old days! |
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SPOC |
SPOC (at TELUS) - Single Point of Contact - The IT department and yes that is their official title. |
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