CAD Monkeys, Dinosaur Babies, and T-Shaped People by Warren Berger

Author:Warren Berger
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2010-11-08T16:00:00+00:00

BECAUSE THE whole concept of “openness” is so central to design—designers must be open to new possibilities, open to a wide range of influences, open to constant feedback—a company that wishes to adopt a design-driven business approach must “open up” in ways that go beyond architectural floor plans. Becoming more open to risk and experimentation is particularly important, and can require a shift in thinking. Many executives were trained in business school to limit risk as much as possible, says Whitney. And that risk-averse attitude can permeate a business culture.

To counter this, companies must create what the Rotman School’s Heather Fraser calls “a culture of courage” (IDEO uses the term “culture of optimism”) in which risk-taking is not only tolerated, but encouraged. Fraser says that, in such an environment, a company and its leaders consistently exhibit “receptiveness to new ideas (good and bad) and an interest in every new insight.” Experiments should be going on in plain sight and should be celebrated by the company, regardless of outcome.

Google’s Irene Au characterizes that company’s workplace as “an ecosystem of ideas where we just build stuff and see if it works.” People get rewarded and promoted at Google “based on what they build and how well it works,” she says. “And if someone, from any level or anywhere in the company, feels strongly that a certain thing should be built, you can make it happen here—even if the people at the top of the company don’t necessarily think it’s a great idea.” Google’s celebrated “20 percent time” policy gives engineers at the company one day a week to work on projects they are particularly passionate about (but at the same time, Google carefully measures and tracks experimental projects from the outset, and the company doesn’t hesitate to pull the plug if interest in a new idea is slow to build).

In a market recession, there’s a particularly strong tendency among businesses to limit risk by pulling back on creative experimentation. But lean times can actually be the best time to innovate—because bold and distinctive offerings will tend to stand out even more in a market where others are playing it safe. Experimenting in tough times is “like steering into a skid—it’s counterintuitive” yet very effective, observes Marty Cooke, a creative director at the marketing and design firm Shephardson Stern + Kaminsky.

And it’s important not only in terms of getting through present difficulties, but also for creating future opportunities. The iPod was initially developed during a down market, but later rode to success in an up market. Google CEO Eric Schmidt says that, in a recession, “if you tighten up too much, you eliminate future innovation and then you set yourself up for a really bad outcome five or ten years from now.” Which is why, Schmidt told the New York Times as the financial market was reeling in late 2008, “we are going to continue to invest in small teams to do wacky things.”

Whether in good times or bad, this commitment to exploration and experimentation requires a certain level of faith.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.