Behind the Scenes at Global-Roam

In more recent months, I’ve read a number of books on the topic (seems to be gaining prevalence, at least in terms of people willing to write – and buy – books).

Not that I mind, because it’s an approach that’s close to our heart.

The Book	What we thought
“Little Bets – How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries” by Peter Sims	Worth reading

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Someone suggested I read this book a long time ago.  Apologies that I can’t remember who, or I would note your name here.

The Book	What we thought
“Chasing the Rabbit” by Steven J Spear	An detailed, challenging read, but well worthwhile

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Because of the extensive and valuable discussion provided by the author, the following teaser does not do justice to the book – you have to read it to gain a real context.

PS - I’ve been told that there’s a newer version of the book available (now titled “High Velocity Edge“) that has a new preface and epilogue to reflect on Toyota’s recent issues.

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Read this one late in 2010 – so this is a delayed post (delayed by a number of things, including the floods).

The Book	What we thought
“Strategic Intuition” by William Duggan	Worth a Read

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Unfortunately I certainly was.

Though I have improved, I’m certain I still have much that can still be further improved – hence in some ways I still resemble Chad more than Mike.  I now have more practical tips to help me continue improving.

Let me explain…

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It seems “Openness” means different things to different people…

1)  Some talk about “Openness” as being a state of being, in which:
(a)   They are open to … new ideas, … or innovation, … or new experiences, … or some “thing” else. AND/OR
(b)  They are willing to freely share of themselves, their ideas, dreams & fears, etc…

To me, this view seems like it implies a sort of passivity.  Given where our bus is headed, “Openness” needs to be more active than that to us.

2)  At other times, I’ve seen or heard it mentioned as a form of “seeking out”, which is more active than the above case.

However this is not exactly what we’re looking for, either.

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It is a loaded term – it means different things to different people (here’s the Wikipedia reference, for instance).

To me, it seems that there are two competing “innovation camps” which I sum up as follows: read more »

I’ve recently posted about what some are calling the rise of the “Age of Analytics”, and also posted several times on innovation (such as this note about 5 “discovery skills”).

Not sure how I stumbled upon this article in Business Week – it’s titled “The Design of Business” and is written by Roger Martin (of Rotman School of Management) to coincide with the launch of his new book (which we have duly added to our Amazon cart and will review in due course). read more »

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Following my previous post (book review of “Tale of Two Systems” – but really a consideration of Agile & Lean Software Development) I have continued to read, and think (yeah, dangerous, I know).

The following two posts will be of interest:

1)  This post from the HBR Editor’s Blog titled “How do innovators think?” provides many good points (and some of the added comments at the bottom are great as well) but I want to cut to the chase and highlight the “5 Discovery Skills” included in the article:

Skill 1 = Associating – a cognitive skill that “allows creative people to make connections across seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas”.  Like being able to find your way without needing a map.

Skill 2 = Questioning – like asking the “5 why’s”

Skill 3 = Observation, and (particularly) doing it really well – well enough to pick up nuances in behaviour, etc….

Skill 4 = Experimentation – try a lot of things and keep what works, as noted by Collins and Porras.

Skill 5 = Networking – the post notes that the key is that the networking is done with smart people who have little in common with them, but from whom they can learn.

2)  I read in the comments that someone has already made the link with Agile Software Development.  Here’s commentary by Bob MacNeal on his blog.

In particular with respect to Bob’s post, he has omitted the 3rd skill. I am not sure why he has done this, or if it is deliberate.

However one of the comments underneath sums it up when they note “To write great software you need to observe the detail that’s not included in the written version of the requirements.”  (my emphasis added, as I totally agree)

Given the challenges, opportunities and uncertainties our business faces, we need all 5 in spades!

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Ironically, I read this book back in September up in the Whitsundays (yes, home to the lucky bugger who’s got the best job in the world – at least for 6 months).

You see - in the book, Richard regales the reader of his prized Necker Island (in the Caribbean) and of the value it has represented to him and the group.  Might be a few more years, yet, before we can splurge on our own island!

1)  Binary Review

This book was a quick easy read.

The Book	What we thought
“Screw it, Let’s do it”by Richard Branson	.Upbeat, entertaining stories, with some good lessons

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As you would probably expect (the title’s a bit of a give-away) the book is all about such “simple” concepts as:

1)  Don’t plan to the nth degree – just get started and learn as you go (for me, this resonated with what I have been learning about Agile Software Development)

2)  Have fun along the way.

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