diversity in groups & organizations. 2 diversity is a double edged sword diversity on...
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3 Steve Jobs on diversity When I went to Pixar, I became aware of a great divide. Tech companies don’t understand creativity. They don’t appreciate intuitive thinking, like the ability of an A&R (Artists and Repertoire) guy at a music label to listen to a hundred artists and have a feel for which five might be successful. … On the other hand, music companies are completely clueless about technology. They think they can just go out and hire a few tech folks. But that would be like Apple trying to hire people to produce music. We’d get second-rate A&R people, just like the music companies ended up with second-rate tech people. Isaacson, W. (2011). Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster. P. 397TRANSCRIPT
Diversity in groups & organizations
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Diversity is a double edged sword
Diversity on job-related dimensions seems to – Bring more ideas & skills into a group– Increase contact with stakeholders outside the group– Increase innovation and problem solving– Decrease internal communication quality
Effects of many types of diversity (including functional area)– Increases tension & conflict– Decreases cohesion– [Henry Tam case]
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Ideo: A model for positive diversity effects
Handspring | Visor
IDEO is an international design and innovation consultancy
550 employees in of human factors, mechanical, electrical and software engineering, industrial design, interaction design, and communication design.
Has won more of the BusinessWeek/IDSA Industrial Design Excellence Awards than any other firm, ranked in the top 25 most innovative companies by BusinessWeek and does consulting work for the other 24 companies in the top 25.
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Open ideo: Design thinking for global problems
Wind tree SunSaluter
Childcare franchise Charger swap box
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IDEO
How do you institutionalize creativity? Creativity = application of old ideas to new
context & combination of old ideas + transformation
Brokering: Combining old components from other industries and transforming them to fit new problem in a new industry
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Innovation thru recombination
How to pack a 25 meter-diameter solar panel in a in a 2.7 m space capsule
Use folding design principles from origami
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Origami for space
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IDEO Shopping Cart Project
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Hargadon & Sutton Model of Innovation at Ideo
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Organizational memory
• Stored information from an organization's history that can be brought to bear on present decisions
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Components of an organizational memory
• Structure of a retention facility + the information in it
• Processing information • Acquisition• Storage • Retrieval
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Creativity through network position, diversity + memory structures
Source of relevant solution components– Network position: Diversity in clients– Diversity in skills & background of employees
Organizational memory storage– Hiring– Working with clients– Consultants– On the job training, to become an instant expert
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Acquisition: Where do the “memories” come from?
Working with variety of clients from many industries Hiring for functional diversity Encouraging employees to “have a life” and bring it to
bear on the present problem– Farm background, bikes, toys, skiing
Reading the trades Competitive analysis Consultants On the job training, to become an instant expert
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Ideo embraces diversity Achieving harmony between human life
and technological design requires a strong understanding of the diversity and variety in both people and technology, as well as processes for bringing the two together. At IDEO we strive to embrace diversity.
– David J. Gilmore– Velma L. Velfizquez
– IDEO Product Development
IDEO is considered distinctive for its ability to integrate the disparate cultures of engineering and design: It routinely combines creative innovation with pragmatic engineering and manufacturing. IDEO's success rests not just on the abilities of individual designers, but even more on an overall approach to design that emphasizes group work and cross-functional development.
– Bradley Hartfield – Terry Winograd
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Organizational memory storage
In employee’s heads Documentation of prior projects Personal and corporate Tech Boxes of “cool
stuff” Organizational routines (e.g., seminar series)
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Kelley: How to cross-pollinate1. Hire people with diverse backgrounds. Sift through the job applications
looking for someone who will expand your talent pool or stretch the firm's capabilities.
2. Cross cultures and geographies. A well-blended international staff seems to cross-pollinate naturally from other cultures.
3. Seek out diverse projects. A broad range of client work allows you to cross-pollinate from one world to another.
4. Create multidisciplinary project rooms and create lots of space for accidental or impromptu meetings among people from disparate groups.
5. Show and tell. The IDEO Tech Box, a collection of hundreds of promising technologies, is a systematic approach to collecting and sharing what we know.
6. Host a weekly speaker series. Nearly every week, a world-class thinker shows up to share their thoughts with us.
7. Learn from visitors. Listen to what clients or prospective clients say about their industry, their company, their point of view.
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Retrieval: Organizational routines to turn components into new products
Organized brainstorming to share ideas & locate expertise
Emphasis on analogy Climate of “wisdom” (share knowledge & help each
other) + humility (be willing to ask) Reward system, including reputation &
compensation, to support these
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Organizational Culture at IDEO
Respect for quality not status– Flat organizational hierarchy– Rotation thru project groups– Rotation thru leadership positions– Brainstorming to learn who knows what
Culture of playfulness– $ for toys, decorations– Celebration of “cool”