Permanent Innovation Blog

Sustainability Evolves from Fad To Force

2009-07-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Sustainability is evolving quickly to become a major force in business practices and in business models. One of the best ways to think about sustainability is the triple bottom line model. This model speaks to developing business models that can show profit in three major areas - environment, economic, and social.

Sustainability holds the seeds of much of the major innovation we will see over the next 100 years. Every aspect of business can, should, and will be transformed. This represents a serious opportunity for competitive advantage in the short term and significant profit in the long term.

On June 30, 2009, Langdon Morris, one of the founders of InnovationLabs was quoted in a CNBC article about sustainability. He mentions that for most large corporations today they need to develop what we call 'edge competence' in order to see where innovation will take place for them. This capability is challenging for large organizations with so much investment in their 'core' business.

“The problem is that change rarely originates in the core,” says Morris. “It originates at what, for them, is the edge. So while they all talk a lot about core competence, what they really need to do to maintain a viable business model is to develop ‘edge competence,’ which is the ability to see change coming and respond to it before it becomes a huge problem.”

You can read the entire article here.

(the image above was taken from AM Consortium - an energy and environment consultant).

Planning for the Unthinkable Through Relentless Innovation

2009-06-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Joshua Cooper Ramo’s new book, The Age of the Unthinkable, provides a useful portrait of our difficult times, and an even more useful set of frameworks for how we ought to be dealing with it.

Ramo shares insights he has gathered through dialog with some of what appear to be the world’s most interesting thought leaders in the military, business, science, philosophy, and economics, and together they enable him to define the nature of the challenges we face in a compelling way that justifiably should attract attention.

The strength of the book is not necessarily that his thesis is stunningly new – the warnings have been increasing for decades that Western society has been following a dysfunctional set of decision-making strategies. But Ramo links his analysis of contemporary events such as the financial collapse and the failed US occupation of Iraq to broader issues that relate ultimately to the very models of reality that decision makers use, and then to illustrate how flawed models lead to disastrous outcomes.

In the end he proposes to a set of strategies that converge on a single conclusion: the only way we’re going to survive in the world of the future (which, by the way, has already arrived) is through innovation.

More specifically, “steady, intense, relentless innovation.”

Having identified the “what” and “why,” however, Romo does not deal with the “how,” leaving it to the reader, and perhaps to the literature on innovation, to deal with that aspect of things.

We may have a few suggestions in that regard, starting probably with the book that this blog is designed around, Permanent Innovation.

Hydrogen Car going Open Source

2009-06-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Whether you have much experience with open source or have explored the potential in engaging a community in co-design and develop or not - it sure is a good idea to pay attention to possible disruptive nature of open source business models in every industry.

The manufacturer of a hydrogen car is going to make their designs available online so the cars can be built and improved locally. This in itself is a unique innovation in a business model for cars but they aren't stopping there. In addition, they are going to lease the cars and the lease includes fuel and repair costs. In order to make refueling easy they are planning a very specific city by city roll out and partnering with a company that will built hydrogen refueling stations in these cities - making it easy for customers to refuel.

You can read the whole article about taking the hydrogen car open source by clicking here.

Honda Foresight

2009-05-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

I was doing some research the other day on Honda, and I found the following fascinating piece of information:

In a Business Week article from 1992, the head of engine development for Honda is quoted as saying, "We don't have much time," referring to the need to develop new, low-emission engine technology.

His assessment of the future market (I'm paraphrasing): We have about 20 years more with gasoline before we will need to have alternative fuel technologies in place.

Yes, the article was from 1992. It makes those guys at Honda look pretty darn smart.

What do you have to do to see the future that clearly? It's probably not 'planning,' at least not planning in the conventional sense. Scenario planning could be more useful - that is, the process of looking at multiple futures, and developing strategies that are effective for many different sets of circumstances.

It also helps to be working an organizational culture that takes the long view, and invests according to real priorities with patient capital.

Honda is not a perfect company, but this small example of thinking ahead is nevertheless impressive for its accuracy, and for its strategic importance. I wonder what they're expecting for 2032? Robots, for sure. Flying cars too?

"Honda Sets Its Sights on a Different Checkered Flag," Business Week, August 19, 1992, p 45.

Armano on the move - to Austin and a new career

2009-04-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has followed my scribblings has recognized my appreciation for David Armano's work and his generous contributions to the creative commons of impactful visuals to explain the reach and power of social media. David epitomizes the values of the Creative Commons.

Here's a quote from his blog announcing a major change in David's life and work:

"There has to be a systematic bottoms up and tops down transformation starting with strategy and supported by the right types of technology which can enable more effective human and system interactions. This is the place we hope to play in.

I look forward to playing with David in that same place.

Logic Emotion: And Now For Something Completely Different:

Idea Generation

2009-03-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

Idea Generation is one of the stages in any innovation process. There are many techniques that can be used for idea generation but how do you know which one is the right one?

Set the Context
Most likely, the right method to use for idea generation is based on the context and reason you are generating ideas. Take time to understand what problem we are really trying to solve. "Creating the Problem" is one way to think about this part of the process.

Develop the Question
Once the reason or context is known it's a good idea to 'develop the right question' to focus your idea generating processes. What question will drive your idea creation process?

Generate Ideas
In many idea generating processes the goal is lots of ideas - without evaluating or judging the merit of those ideas.

In the book, Permanent Innovation, we outline a number of different ways to approach the idea generation phase of an innovation process.

There are six major categories of ideation processes to consider:

The Universal Search Methods
Trend Gathering
Idea Hunting
Problem/Solution Finding
Outside in and Peer to Peer
Future Dreaming

Within each of these categories we offer a total of 44 different 'methods' to generate ideas.

Eliminate Ideas
After generating the ideas there will likely be a process of 'eliminating' those ideas that might not be suitable in this context. We view the elimination process as a creative act as well (there is a lot of creativity in figuring out what to eliminate!).

Here's a simple technique to consider using in a meeting where brainstorming is one of the agenda items:

The purpose of brainstorming in a group is to gather the greatest number of ideas possible. A little quirk of the human mind, however, is called “anchoring” – we are heavily influenced by our first impression of things. Therefore the first idea tossed out in a group setting tends to lead the group down a particular path of thinking and creativity, eliminating a huge range of options that might have been considered with a different “first idea” as a starting point. To minimize this problem, start a brainstorming session by having everyone in the group brainstorm a list of ideas individually on their own sheet of paper. Then start the group brainstorming session. As the energy around one idea path winds down, ask for someone else to call out one of the ideas they wrote down – this will seed another round of group brainstorming.

Assignment: At your next brainstorming meeting, take five minutes at the beginning of the brainstorming to have everyone write down their own ideas first.

Put these ideas up where everyone can see them and then continue the brainstorming as a group. Try to generate as many new ideas as a group as were created by the individuals working separately. It’s important for the group to push itself past the hard spots where it gets hard to think of new things. At this point it’s tempting to give up and the stretches of silence may feel embarrassing. But push through the embarrassment and the silence and keep adding ideas. Even silly ones. Just don’t stop. Good ideas are not a dime a dozen. They’re not easy to come up with. It takes a lot of work—more than most people realize. There are times that feel like failure and these must be worked through. Everyone in the group needs to transcend any emotions that would make them quit. If the group gets totally stuck, grab one of the ideas that’s already been generated and ask, “what other ideas does this make us think of?” Remember that a professional photographer may take 20 or more pictures to get one that really captures the subject. It may take 50, 60 or 70 ideas from the group to find one that is the best. Edison tested over 1,000 different kinds of filaments for his light bulb before choosing one. Diligence and dogged determination will usually win out over technique when it comes to brainstorming.

The Innovation Economy - INGENESIST

2009-02-17T11:10:00.001-08:00

IN this slide deck (embedded below) , Daniel Robles explains his unique vision for an Innovation Economy. His concepts of information, knowledge and innovation shown in the slide above are the driving forces for his Open Source project : Ingenesist - . You can view his presentation on this page or see a larger size version by clicking on the slideshare logo at the bottom right of the presentation .

I had run across Dan's vision over a year ago and posted on it here Thoughts Illustrated: The Great Train Wreck of Social Networks - can we be saved?

Here's the slide deck:

Innovation Economics Next

View more presentations from ingenesist. (tags: innovation economics)

Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the web | Video on TED.com

2009-02-16T16:37:00.000-08:00

These are the last two slides in a 20 minute presentation by Kevin Kelley - IMO a person who articulates our web experience now and in the future better than anyone.
I think his whole talk ( from TED Talks) is worth listening to so you will understand what ONE means.

Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the web | Video on TED.com

##

A Glimpse of the Future (that is now)

2009-01-29T23:41:00.001-08:00

The virtual conference center was bound to happen - and now it's here. This video shows a conference held in a full service virtual convention center. What is your organization doing in the area of virtual collaboration and virtual meetings?

Macintosh 25th Anniversary

2009-01-26T23:07:00.000-08:00

In honor of the Macintosh's 25th Anniversary - and a little more Steve...

On January 24th, 2009 Macintosh is 25 years old. This video is Steve Jobs introducing the Macintosh back in 1984.

Innovation in Tough Times Survey

2009-01-24T07:55:00.000-08:00

We've put up a survey about innovation in tough times. Please take a moment and give us your input. We'll share the results with you once they are tabulated.

http://www.innovationlabs.com/innovation_survey_0109.html

Inside Apple Computer

2009-01-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

This is a lovely little book that I heartily recommend for anyone who's interested in innovation.

It's a detailed study of the innovation process at Apple Computer, which author Leander Kahney reverse engineered by talking to people – not including Steve Jobs, apparently – and reading through the press for clues about what's goes on inside the notoriously secretive company.

I found useful ideas on nearly every page, including discussions of how the iPod was designed, the role of marketing, the story behind Apple's phenomenally successful retail stores (which many retail observers incorrectly predicted would be a total failure), and useful discussions of many other topics.

There's also the amusing nugget that "Apple doesn't have a system to harness innovation," which is obviously completely untrue. It may just be Jobs' intuition (although I doubt it), but there is definitely a system there, clear stages in the conceptualization and development process, as well as a powerful guiding philosophy based on simplicity and elegance of design.

And unfortunately, while Kahney doesn't integrate all the information he collected into a complete model of the innovation process at Apple, I've been remixing the book's many insights into a case study, and I'd be happy to email it to you if you're interested.

Contact me at lmorris [at] innovationlabs [dot] com.

Bye Bye Circuit City

2009-01-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

Quick, which of these TVs is the best one? And how are these poor consumers are supposed to figure out which TV is the right one for them? It's darn near impossible to know, and often you only realize in hindsight that you bought the wrong one....

Operating in the depths of this quandry, Circuit City has officially bitten the dust. This comes about 21 months after laying off their most experienced sales staff in an effort to cut costs, so now the second largest US electronics retainer is letting its 30,000 employees go as the company closes its remaining 567 US stores. (Competitor Best Buy’s stock got a temporary bump from the news.)

Circuit City was founded in 1949 to sell televisions, but found itself unable to compete in a new world of digital TV, video games, and personal electronics. Why did it fail?

Only the insiders know the real story that the numbers tell, but some indication comes from a Dutch study of consumer electronics, which found that nearly half of all products returned by consumers are working fine, but the customers couldn’t figure out how to use them, or set them up, or connect them to the other gear they already own. According to the study, on average Americans are willing to invest only about 20 minutes fumbling with new hardware before they give up and bring it back.

This astounding information gives some indication of how important service and sales consultation is in this increasingly complex market sector. So when Circuit City gave the heave ho to its most experienced sales staff, it was probably already too far gone to save.

And although the Circuit City management certainly holds some responsibility for the collapse of the company, the broader picture of increasing complexity and confusion points to a great opportunity for any manufacturer that can simplify the process of getting the thing out of the box and making it useable.

This is a market niche that Apple has been faithfully developing since Steve Jobs returned to the company, as simplicity has been one of the primary design criteria that the company has applied with great success. So why aren’t more companies imitating Apple? One wonders …

For one thing, the discipline of product design in the consumer electronics world is notoriously mis-directed. Products are designed by engineers – who know what they're doing and are renowned for their willingness to tinker around until it works. Quite unlike consumers, who may not know what they're doing and have no interest in diagnosing the finer points.

Which means that products should not be designed for engineers; hence, greater attention during the design process is mandatory. And the sales process is essential, too, so by getting rid of its experienced sales people in 2007, Circuit City consigned its own collective IQ to a level below the minimum required to function; the minimum, that is, necessary to give customers suitable advice about which TV to buy, and how to set it up.

We're at the Bottom of the Top (Alltop)!

2008-12-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

This blog is now listed on Alltop.

Not familiar with Alltop? Check out their site - they aggregate news and blogs under specific topic headings. It's a great service for busy people.

We're listed in the innovation section - http://innovation.alltop.com/ (it's at the very bottom - right next to Richard Branson's blog - but hey, at least we're there).

What The F**K is Social Media?

2008-12-19T10:30:00.001-08:00

Many organizations are attempting to get their hands and arms around social media and what social media might mean to business. Internet marketing experts are saying that social media is as revolutionary as the internet - meaning social media will have a huge impact on the way we live and do business.

This presentation will give some perspective and data about how and what social media is.

How are you using social media in your innovation process?

What The F**K is Social Media?

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: socialmediamarketing marketing)

Innovation Metrics - a new white paper by Langdon Morris

2008-11-13T15:18:00.000-08:00

Langdon recently presented a webinar on innovation metrics and developed a new white paper to go along with that presentation. To download a copy of this white paper see the publications section of the InnovationLabs web site.

Here's a short synopsis:

Innovation Metrics

The Innovation Process and How to Measure It
By Langdon Morris

Like everything that businesses do which involves the investment of capital and time, innovation has to be measured. But unlike many other forms of measurement in business, measuring innovation presents problems for the process that is to be measured. We might call this ‘innovation uncertainty principle:’ many ways that we might want to measure innovation can significantly impede the innovation process itself. This is because innovation involves a venture into the unknown, and if we try to pin these unknowns down too fast we may make them harder to recognize and realize.

For example, we have to look at the very concept of ‘return.’ ‘Return on Investment’ is a standard and accepted measuring tool that managers have relied on for decades. But it’s now an accepted joke in the research and development community that the term ‘ROI’ really stands for ‘restraint on innovation,’ because ROI-based assessments tend to embrace short term thinking, and to exclude the development of long term, breakthrough, and discontinuous ideas and projects. Using ROI to measure innovation thus endangers the very thing you want to measure, and makes less likely the end goal of the process, which is better innovation.

This presents difficult problems for R&D managers. At a recent meeting at HP Labs, a manager commented that they could not even look at any project that did not have the potential to be at least a $50 million business. The problem, of course, is how you can know. What do you include in your research plan, and what do you put aside? Did the researcher who’s work led to the creation of HP’s multi-billion dollar inkjet printing business know what he was getting into when he became curious about the burned coffee he noticed on the bottom of a coffee pot? Could he have said his idea about superheated ink would be worth $50 dollars, much less $50 million? Unless he was inspired by a fit of hubris, probably not. So if someone had asked him for the ROI on his research work, he could either guess, lie, or say he didn’t have any idea.

Yet innovation has to be measured, surely, or else it cannot be managed. So what to do? Exploring some of the best options is the purpose of this White Paper.

Contents

Introduction
Innovation Methodology
The Innovation Funnel
Stage -1: Strategic Thinking
Stage 0: Portfolios & Metrics
Stage 1: Research
Stage 2: Insight
Stage 3: Ideas
Stage 4: Targeting
Stage 5: Innovation Development
Stage 6: Market Development
Stage 7: Sales
Inputs, Process & Output
Conclusion
References

When the Improbable Comes Crashing In (Like Now)

2008-10-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a very interesting book called ‘The Black Swan,’ all the more timely because it’s about events that are ‘highly improbable,’ and also significant. Such as the current global financial crisis.

Author Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s basic argument is that most statisticians and economists have adopted a quantitative approach to risk assessment that is mathematically elegant but incomplete, and relying on their misguided models they have created a series of debacles, of which our current crisis is one.

Being neither an economist or statistician myself, I am not qualified to judge his argument from a professional perspective. However, as an observer of the modern world (as indeed we all are), his comments make eminent sense. And more importantly, they have significant consequences for the strategic thinking that every business leader must be agonizing over amid the tumult.

If you’re like me, you’re thinking, ‘This had better not ever happen again,’ followed immediately by, ‘But if it does, I’d better be ready …!’

Here are a few quotes that embody the pertinence of the book (remember, the book was published in 2007, ergo written before that):

1. “Regulators in the banking business are prone to a severe expert problem and they tend to condone reckless but (hidden) risk taking.” (p 209)

2. “The government-sponsored institution Fanny Mae, when I look at their risks, seems to be sitting on a barrel of dynamite, vulnerable to slightest hiccup. But not to worry: their large staff of scientists deemed these events ‘unlikely.’” (p 225)

3. “We have a paradox. Not only have forecasters generally failed to dismally to foresee the drastic changes brought about by unpredictable discoveries, but incremental change has turned out to be generally slower than forecasters expected.” (p 168)

The book isn’t the easiest reading, but it is enormously helped by Taleb’s remarkable candor (he goes on a multi-page rant against the Nobel Prize committee, among other amusings) and his self-confident irreverence (as evidenced in the quotes).

What does all this mean for strategy? A lot, I think. I’m still sorting it out, as these are not simple issues and the models that Taleb provides are so different from what we have been accustomed to that it takes time to digest. Nevertheless, it’s clear that a deterministic approach to strategy is surely doomed.

Of course we know this already - that’s why scenario-based planning is superior to the prediction business. It’s better training for the decision makers, and provides better ground for assessing risk because it attempts to account for the massive and unpredictable events that give the book it’s title.

Still, we mollify ourselves with the annual forecasts made by trend-watching firms (what will be ‘in’ next year?), economists (when will the housing market turn around), and governments (‘social security will be broke by 2025. No, make that 2040. I mean 2030. Actually, we don’t know.’)

Taleb is getting a lot of attention these days, deservedly. And I (and probably many others) will be thinking about what his models mean for the organizations we manage and consult with.

If you have grappled with these issues I would welcome your input.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. Random House, 2007.

Turn Here - A business model innovation that should prosper in a down economy

2008-10-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

I first saw TURNHERE: internet video several years ago when they were just starting to build their innovative outsourced network of free-lance video story tellers ( now including over 5000 trained videographers globally) and a quality array of web distribution partners like Yellow Pages.com, a number of other online directory partners and a list of top web distribution channels like google,Yahoo, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

TurnHere creates low-cost, high quality short video promos for the global hotel and travel industry, book publishers, and companies and individuals who can benefit by presenting their short stories on the web to highly targeted viewers.

With everyone's marketing and ad promotion budgets constrained by the growing financial crisis , Turn Here could be a recession-proof business model .

To Learn more about this innovative business model, watch Robert Scoble's video on TurnHere embedded below.

Turning Points: Important events change how we think

2008-09-26T05:21:00.000-07:00

While we experience of accelerating change when a lot of events happen one after another, there is a second type of change that also affects how we feel. This is the huge event that in one moment changes how everyone thinks. Sometimes this is called a ‘turning point.’

Examples of these big events from past would of course include the attacks of 9/11. Following 9/11 millions of Americans were sad and even depressed for many months, and the social and political dialog around the world continues to refer to 9/11 as a landmark event that permanently changed our perceptions of reality.

Another big event was for example, the day of the first atomic bomb was exploded. And what about the first human steps on the moon, or assassinations of well-known public figures? These have all had profound and lasting impacts on our values, beliefs, and attitudes.

We know these things have occurred in the past, and they have been, for most part, unpredicted and unpredictable. As we think about the future of society, it's worthwhile to imagine turning points in the future, consider what sort of reaction there would be to them.

What would happen in the US if there was another large terrorist attack like 9/11? Or what if it happened in Europe?

What would happen if the governments of the world instituted environmental regulations to halt global warming, and the new rules changed how everyone lived and did business?

What if there was a massive Global Economic Recession on the scale of 1929 - 1935?

What if the food supply is poisoned? This in is happenign right now in China, as thousands of young children are hospitalized because their milk powder was poisined with industrial chemicals. Once the immediate crisis is over, you can be sure that there will be a large investigation, a big trial, and perhaps also a lingering trauma across Chinese society. Something similar happened in the US in 2007, when 800 metric tons of poisoned wheat was smuggled into the US from China and used in pet food. More than 4000 pets died.

•••

This blog post is number eleven in a series on key trends for innovators.

Nations, Corporations, Churches, and NGOs

2008-09-24T05:21:00.000-07:00

While government remains critically important in the modern world, and becomes perhaps more important each day as we careen from crisis to crisis, many other forms of social organization also have increasingly significant social impact.

Corporations wield increasing power through their control of resources. The giant corporations are now thought of as global entities, and they are less and less tied to the values or policies of a particular nation.

Similarly, many religious groups have increasing influence over the beliefs of their members, and display that influence in elections and other social forums. The Catholic Church, for example, has more than a billion members, and its ideological and religious views play a key role in the political lives of the nations where many Catholics live.

And now we are seeing that non-governmental organizations such as Greenpeace are increasingly influential in shaping world opinion, playing an advocacy role for issues and causes that they feel are important.

These four forces - nations, corporations, churches, and NGOs each have their own viewpoints, goals, and needs, and as they seek to fulfill them, they come into conflict over their different visions of the future, creating tremendous complexity in our world.

•••

This blog post is number ten in a series on key trends for innovators.

War Among the People: The trend in modern warfare

2008-09-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

Retired British General Rupert Smith has written a very interesting book about the evolution of warfare throughout history, entitled 'The Utility of Force.'

He points out that in the past, war was fought between nations, largely over the control of territory. World War II, was the last big territorial war. But today the roots of war are different. Now war is not predominantly between nations, but between ethnic or religious groups, and the goal is not to gain more territory, but to impose cultural, ideological, religious, or ethnic values.

He cites as examples the Balkan War of the 1990s, which was driven by ethnic conflict, as well as the current conflicts in Afghanistan, which is an ideological conflict between the fundamentalist Taliban and those who would have a more open society. There is also the continuing conflict in Israel, and of course the War in Iraq, which involves numerous ethnic, religious, and nationalist groups with conflicting visions for life in their future society, and who are willing to fight one another to assure the predominance of their own vision.

•••

This blog post is number nine in a series on key trends for innovators.

The Virtual World: Living a Second Life

2008-09-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

What if you were too frightened to go outside of your house? Then what? Well, you might be able to live a decent life in the virtual worlds like Second Life. Perhaps it would even be an interesting one.

And even if you’re not exploring the virtual possibilities out of fear, you may still find a lot of interesting things there to entertain and educate yourself. But you could also just find experiences to reinforce your existing world view.

There are now people in Japan, primarily young people, who stay in their rooms 24 hours a day, afraid to leave, and spending all their time in online worlds. This is an extreme reaction to the stresses of the modern world, to be sure, but the fact that there are enough of these people to constitute a trend gives us a glimpse of the how people can be psychologically damaged by modern society.

And many companies are experimenting with Second Life to conduct meetings, so that people don’t have to travel. British Petroleum has its own private island in Second Life where an advanced research group is experimenting with meeting spaces and project team rooms.

If people stopped going to real meetings, and only went to virtual ones, what would happen to the travel industry?

•••

This blog post is number eight in a series on key trends for innovators.

Fear & Creativity: Responses to Modern World

2008-09-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

Research by the British firm Henley Centre labels the modern world ‘the risk society,’ because there is so much uncertainty, change, and a loss of traditional institutions and support structures.

The modern world evokes two powerful and very different responses from people. Some react to change by becoming afraid to take risks, pessimistic, and constrained in their lives, and they therefore feel the need for more security.

But many individuals also feel they have the power and freedom to live as they want and to shape their own lives. They embrace risk and assert control in their lives. They feel free, and they are optimistic. They turn to creativity and the desire to create and experience new things.

Almost everyone experiences both at one time or another, and many of us switch between these feelings, depending on what’s happening at any given moment. But these two psychological models have a strong impact on choices that we make as consumers, voters, and members of society.

•••

This blog post is number seven in a series on key trends for innovators.

remote collaboration - the video version

2008-09-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

This 8 minute video provides insight into the virtual collaboration methodology that is evolving from Ilabs F2F experience. It is worth watching the progression - and how Jay positions the process. This links to Jay's previous posts below, and provides some structure to what Ilabs would provide in a remote setting. Link direct to Youtube for a larger version which is necessary to see the details of Jay's presentation.

A Virtual Collaborative Design Process

2008-09-05T05:53:00.000-07:00

Based on these inputs, here is a possible model for a Virtual Collaboration Process.

1. Assemble a Core Team
Instead of gathering 50 or 100 or more participants for a multi-day session, we will start by assembling a Core Team of decision-makers. This might be 10-20 people, and should include some diversity.

2. Define Objectives and Outputs
The Core Team will work with us to define their objectives for this collaborative process and the output they want to receive at the end of the project. We will also define with this group the diverse perspectives that we want to explore through this process (stakeholders, time frames, models of solutions, etc.)

3. Distributed Model-Building
The Core Team will then distribute model-building assignments to small teams and individuals throughout the organization (and beyond). These teams will be asked to spend a small amount of time to build a model, document their work and send their outputs (models) back to the Core Team. This activity could be assigned to existing project teams or other groups. They could be asked by top management to spend an hour on this task during a regularly-scheduled meeting. We can engage a very large population with very little disruption to normal operations.

4. Processing the Models
The Core Team will then have to explore the models that have been created and use them in some way. The Core team would then send out the next round of assignments to the same or different teams throughout the organization. The outputs from these teams is again returned to the Core Team for processing.

This process can engage a huge population, but the primary transformation, insights and decision-making will happen in the Core Team. They are the only group that sees all of the divergent models being created. They are the only group exploring the ramifications of these different models. The Core Team will need to get together periodically during this process, but much of their work can be handled remotely as well. This will significantly decrease the client's cost for travel, lodging, etc. compared to large face-to-face meetings while at the same time increasing the breadth of participation and the depth of the exploration of divergent perspectives.

This process looks very different than a traditional face-to-face collaborative experience. But it uses the same core principles to achieve superior results through different tools and methods.