SPOT THE SIMILARITIES!

A recent Forbes article really made me sit up and take notice.?I think when you read it, it will make you do the same.?

In summary, the authors discuss the ramifications of some recent MIT studies that suggest that all the worries about creativity and innovation suffering as a result of remote working may well be unfounded. In fact, they discovered that the opposite is proving to be the case. ?

In the article, a professor at Northwestern University is quoted as saying that, based on his and other’s research, the shift to remote work actually has the potential to improve group creativity and ideation.?

Are you surprised? I have to admit, I was a little, though I’ve long believed that the technology we have now provides a much better ability to be creative and to collaborate on innovations. But it was still exciting to see this born out in Forbes!

But I digress.?Here’s what really made me smile, and let me quote directly: “the massive move to work-from-anywhere actually paved the way to greater interaction, information-sharing and innovation. There’s a caveat that needs to be thrown in here: knowledge-sharing and collaboration between people was a disjointed, problematic process long before Covid. In a?study?of 200 executives I developed and authored as part of my work as an independent analyst, we found only 41% of respondents report that they have confidence that their enterprise’s documented knowledge is the most up-to-date information and a reliable, trusted source. Only 12% report they are completely confident. While a majority of respondents say employees have access to the expertise they need, the depth of such support is limited.”

Forgive me for smiling about this. It’s not that I’m happy about that statement, it’s that I’m happy that there are solutions and it’s completely unnecessary for that situation to continue.

To get back to the creativity and innovation discussion, this professor also points out something that is very, very exciting and exactly aligns with the organic and symbiotic way a successful organization should operate. I’ve spoken about this in brief in a previous article about the ecosystem of an organization.

What I find really interesting is that they’ve now coined a name for this: “prosumers”.?The professor goes on to say that companies which have thrived over the past more than year, are those who’ve ‘seized the moment.’?Of those, 98% are using a platform - read software - based business model which ‘blurs the lines between production and consumption activities’.?What does this mean??To quote the article directly again, ‘These companies embrace a philosophy of “employee and customer becoming one,”’

When I read this, I got goosebumps.?It is as if these words were based on the exact vision and intentions we embraced when developing Nimbulis and its evolution into Optevo.?Wow!?

You have to read the article to get the full significance of this. I think they’ve expressed our philosophy beautifully!?

Another very significant trait of the agile companies discussed is that they believe in removing barriers between employees and customers, which they say increases innovation. This makes perfect sense to me because employees are the ones who are interacting with the customers and receiving feedback daily - your very own focus group if you will!

Not only that, but when interactions and data are all accessible in real-time and on-demand from archives, employee’s contributions are visible. This is important for two reasons. The first being efficiency. No time wasted tracking down data and the second being equally important.?In the studies mentioned, 91% of employees appreciated the fact that their hard work was visible allowing them to take credit for their input. When people are recognized for the value they add it means happier employees!?In addition, those archives often provide future inspiration for further innovation!

This is not rocket science! It’s common sense. And I am sooo excited to be at the forefront in the #FutureOfWork. Not to mention that it’s pretty darn cool to have one’s vision validated by the eminent people and future-thinking companies quoted in this Forbes article!?

What are your thoughts on this??Do you consider this as important?

?#Leadership #HybridWork #RemoteWork #Optevo #CWM #business #technology #innovation #creativity