Breaking System Constraints

During a class discussion this week the idea of ‘constraint’ came up- how we’re constrained by elements of our environment and the systems within which we work. I think we’re coming to an interesting point in the cycle of development for those systems. For hundreds of years, we’ve  worked to make processes more efficient and to make life easier. We’ve developed systems to accomplish this. But as these systems have grown, they’ve become so efficient that, in many cases, we’ve placed constraints on our ability for organic innovation. This is especially true in business systems.

What I find extremely interesting is how current technologies are beginning to explore this tension between business systems and innovation- and are trying to use systems to push innovation rather than stifle it. Social media is a great example of this, per my summer experience at NewsGator. NewsGator’s solution echoes informal online interactions that are a part of our personal lives – and transfers that form of communication to a company setting. The goal is to allow firms to leverage the speed and sharing capabilities of online systems like Facebook, thereby driving communication and innovation throughout the company.

So while Facebook turned informal in-person chats into a system of online communication, new technologies are turning that system of personal online communication into a system of business communication. What organizations that adopt NewsGator (like Citi, the US Air Force, etc.) realize are that the typical business systems they use are placing constraints on innovation and that something needs to change. By leveraging communication that allows faster sharing of information, greater informality in brainstorming, additional freedom in visual expression and the ability to create teams, NewsGator (and like companies) provide a system through which companies can replicate the informal interactions that can lead to fertile ideas while managing the process of that creation in a searchable, repeatable way.

This construct (using next-generation technology to take systems to another level of human interaction replication) becomes really interesting what you consider what companies like Oblong are doing (watch the awesome video below):

Once our operating systems begin to visually replicate how our minds and bodies work, we’re breaking a big constraint in a very cool way.

Growing the Soil

My “Corporate Innovation & Design” class is one I’m pretty excited about (taught by Professor Jeanne Liedtka) and in our first week’s reading, a quote jumped out that blew me away. It was from a VP of Innovation at a big pharma company who said:

“It’s not just about the seed, but it’s about the soil…You know, it’s not just about having the idea or the project or the initiative, but it’s also about the conditions in the organization that enable that idea to actually flourish and get to market successfully.”

As I thought through that idea, I realized- that’s why I came to business school! That’s why I like entrepreneurship! That’s why I want to work in technology! Throughout my life and career, and in my first year at Darden, I have never worried about the ‘idea.’ I’ve never sat there and said, I really need to think of something killer- of the right idea. I’m not saying that’s not important (it obviously is)- it’s just that the idea has never been as interesting to me as what you do with it. The jobs I’ve loved, the clubs I’ve had fun in, the friends I have- these are all grown from the enjoyment I have in the soil. I like the growth, I like the development, I like the J-curve.

What is most interesting to me, and most inspiring, is how that idea becomes a thing. How that idea grows and succeeds (or fails!).

Luckily for me, I’ve always been able to find an ‘idea’ that’s interesting enough that I can jump in and try to do what I love more- build something with that idea.

What I need to learn is how to be the best at fertilizing the soil- that’s why I’m here. I couldn’t think of any awesome metaphor, but basically, I need to know finance, decision analysis, marketing, strategy, leadership, ethics, innovation, operations. I need to be even better at the soil; I’ll find a seed to grow somewhere.

UPDATE***It’s not an awesome metaphor, but I did think of a way to express it- it’s the South Park Gnome episode! I’m in school to get better at Phase 2. The underpants I care less about.

AdoptUSKids gets it right

I’m always impressed when a company manages to pair a good ad campaign with a crisp online presence. When it’s not a company, but a government agency, I’m floored. And “Adopt US Kids”* has done an absolutely amazing job of this by staying funny, keeping it simple and staying on message- “You don’t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent.” Their Twitter team tells quick but compelling stories (“It’d take less than 1% of the US population to find a forever family for every child in foster-care available for adoption”) and no spam.

In other words, they have a pretty straightforward recipe for success:

• Create great commercials
• Build a good website (not fancy but clean and pretty easy to navigate)
• Be Interesting on social media

One of the most surprising things about working at NewsGator this summer was realizing just how many government agencies are actively trying to figure out social media and how to best exercise it (click here for a cool case study on how the Air Force uses a NewsGator platform).

Initiatives like Adopt US Kids offer an exciting, and very unique opportunity for the government to speak directly to the people, and it’s fun to watch them figure out how they’re going to use that opportunity. Especially when it’s for something as important as this.

 

*AdoptUSKids is a cooperative agreement with the Adoption Exchange Association, Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children & Families, and the US Department of Health & Human Services. I don’t know the details on which agency/NGO manages which part of the campaign, but regardless, they’ve split the work/outsourced it well. Other agencies should take note.

Hiding Your Head in the Sand

Digital presence has been a hot topic at Darden lately, coming up in several classes- in fact, @CarlosRCamacho and I will be talking to first year MBA students at Darden about building their personal brand next week.

While students are more open to social media as a means to do so, most companies (at least the banks, consultants, consumer products, pharmaceutical firms, etc. that recruit here) still aren’t fully comfortable with student’s social media profiles. While these companies have marketing & PR departments active in this sphere, those are corporate and controlled accounts; companies aren’t comfortable with individual profiles. I think they’re missing a valuable opportunity to honestly learn more about whom they’re hiring, create a positive grassroots network effect, empower employees and applicants and get ahead of the curve.

But that’s easy for me to say, since I want to work for tech start-ups that are more accepting. Regardless, I thought I’d share the 4 basic rules that I always follow- feel free to chime in if you have more/disagree.

1. Be consistent with the lines you blur: I’m ok with expressing some personal beliefs that might be seen by colleagues/clients, but I’m consistent. For instance, I’ll mention activities I do with my family, but not items about health, finances, etc. I made a decision as to what social and political beliefs I’ll share- I’ll advocate for LGBT rights on my accounts, but won’t talk about abortion. I’ve simply made a few choices as to what I will share and am staying consistent with that. Decide what you’re comfortable with.
2. Built a platform for integration: There are a lot of services out there; I chose what I wanted to use and integrate. I publicly blog and Twitter, and have linked those accounts to both a Google and Linked-In profile, then directed them all to a public email address. That’s on purpose. My Facebook account I keep private; you can’t access photos or posts without being my friend.
3. Be controversial, but don’t be rude: I’ll challenge things I don’t agree with and post controversial links, but I always treat conversations online as if I’m having them in person.
4. Know what’s out there about yourself: I’m not saying you should hire an SEO firm, but at least know what’s out there. I know what’ll come up if a potential employer Googles me; I know exactly what they’ll see. And I’ve spent some time developing the content that comes up so it shows off the skills and experience I want to emphasize. That’s just common sense.

I understand why firms would rather play it safe and how those preferences affect how MBAs look at Twitter and Blogs. And I’ve heard the execs who come to school and say “be very very careful what you put online.” I agree- be careful.

But you can’t hide your head in the sand- like it or not, you now have an online resume. We all do. And as time goes on, more content will bleed- family, clubs, high schools, colleges, hospitals, etc will all be putting info about you online, and those items will become the frontline of what people see ….unless you take control. Decide what content you want to share- be honest, don’t create false expectations- and then showcase that in a way you control. If I were hiring an MBA I’d like to see they had an understanding and control of this technology, as well as the ability to generate content and sell themselves.

Is my iPhone fueling war in Africa?

“Only after the last tree has been cut down
Only after the last fish has been caught
Only after the last river has been poisoned
Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.”

That’s a Cree Indian prophecy I read for the first time today on the “Travels With a Nine Year Old” blog (it’s seriously awe-inspiring; a mother traveling round the world with her 9 year old son).

While not directly related to my post, the quote convinced me to write about an issue I don’t have a clear opinion on. The issue is  “conflict minerals” and their use in consumer electronics (the below Mac/PC video gives some background).

(I offer several article links in the below; if you’re only going to read one, make it Jason Stearns’)

It’s an issue that strikes especially close to home given my fascination with tech, and off the bat, it seems extremely clear – if buying minerals assists a group or government in fueling conflict, genocide, murder, rape, etc, then we should stop allowing the companies to buy them. That’s the point of the US legislation passed in July. But critics of the bill are pointing out that sensationalism may cloud the fact that legislation will not stop these conflicts – and in fact, may make it more dangerous because we think  it’s going to (Laura Seay at Texas In Africa posts very clearly on this). Jason Stearns (as mentioned above) responds to that here.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this isn’t a question I have an answer to. I am against conflict minerals. I don’t think the legislation can hurt as long as we’re honest about what the impact of it can (and cannot) be. But I also don’t believe it offers a clear solution; nor do I think we can ignore the economic ramifications for these countries and the U.S.were we to immediately halt all purchases of these goods.

What I do know is that this is a cautionary tale.

The proliferation of stories/photos/blogs in the Age of Information we live in has definite negatives- we’ve all seen and commented on this (why is Lindsey Lohan in the news? why is CNN telling me this non-news? etc.). Because we live in an age of instant information, we expect instant answers and solutions. And so we draft bills, issue statements, and build committees that may not actually solve the problem- but they quickly appease the ravenous news cycle of the moment. So the machine churns on to the next story, leaving problems half-solved, partially addressed, but believed to be finished. Whether a bill will or will not help this problem is a question. What will help answer that question is our ability to provide continued pressure and examination of the issue as we implement this and other laws. It is the danger of our times that information moves so fast.

As our continued use of mineral resources ravages the planet and we are forced to make tradeoffs, speed of information will continue to become a double-edged sword. On one hand, we are lucky to live in an age where information is this available- we are more informed about issues than ever before. On the other, speed can result in poor decisions, half-executed plans, and the abandonment of yesterdays crisis for the story du jour.

The class I am most grateful to have taken this year at Darden is Ethics, because I learned very quickly that I am like most people- I default to a given position without truly thinking it through and then defend it out of sheer ego. I was lucky to have a class setting in which to realize this, and lucky to have a professor that helped us develop our own frameworks for preventing this (creating the focus and patience to think through and challenge the position I was defending). Without that class, though, I don’t know if I would have realized how often I fall into that trap, and how restricting that trap is when faced with complex and challenging problems – like conflict minerals.

Challenging one’s own beliefs is a skill that is not only valuable in the careers/hobbies/relationships/lives we each build, but is also one that is absolutely necessary if we want our actions and decisions to make a true and sustained difference in the world.