Hype Cycles

The technology maturity hype cycles of 2009 from Gartner were just released. Since working as a consultant during the boom years around Y2K the hype cycle model has fascinated.

It is such a simple way to chart a very complex phenomena and convey a smart insight at the same time.

Highlights this year is that cloud computing and e-book readers are at inflated exceptions and are about to crash. Another assertion is that microblogging services like Twitter/Facebook are about to crashing this instant due to spam and noise. Wikis on the other hand are on the return.

Gartner might be right about their predictions and they are probably wrong on several as well, but that is not the only point. Thanks to this model, discussions start and new ideas pop up. Sit down and design your own hype cycle it in your business area, and its almost magical how the pieces fall into place and insights start to flow.

Access to more info at: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1124212

The Medici Effect

The Medici's were a very influential family empire in Florence from the 1300s to the 1600s. An amazing number of scientific discoveries were made during their era - Leonard Da Vinci being one of the most famous and influential of the discoverers. The accepted theory for why this era was so productive is that the culture was very open and cross disciplinarian. That again made innovation more plausible.

The Medici Effect [1] is a book that looks at the innovation from such inhomogeneous processes and how you can accelerate the process. The main thesis of the book is very much in line with what the notes on this blog is about : Innovation comes nowadays from the intersection between disciplines. You take ideas and concepts from different disciplines and combine them into new concepts.

The big question is how you or an organization can step into this intersection. According to the book there are 3 key elements that are important driving factors:

1. By diversifying occupations.
2. By interacting with diverse groups of people.
3. By going intersection hunting.

1 and 2 are fairly obvious. Being in a culture of diversification, curiosity and open mindedness are key factors for innovation. 3 is mostly based in the idea of creating directed randomness in your thought process. One method is to go for a stroll and purchase or pick up objects that are not related to your current problem. Look at these and let your thought roll.

I won't say that the book is very revolutionary, and the fact of the matter is that you need to have a mind that is creative and curious in order to create this effect. Most ideas are created/formulated by a few people compared to the population. These few people make up many ideas - many which never make the test of reality. Still, the thesis of the book is important to remember, so if you want to create an innovative culture it would not be so silly to study the Medici's.

[1] Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation

The Currency of Influence and Authority

Talking to a colleague senior project leader the other day, I learned a very valuable lesson. "Watch up so you do not 'spend' all your authority! It will be valuable to have later down the line", he said. He was talking about the currency of influence and authority.

His statement was the answer he gave after I asked him how he was so successful at reaching agreements in disputes with contractors and conflicting organizational units. He continued to tell me how he tries to delegate various negotiations and discussions to subordinates as much as possible. The obvious reasons for this was motivating his subordinates and more importantly to increase effectiveness by decentralizing authority.

His last reason however, is the key learning point for me. When you meet in negotiations yourself it means that you can never be the man that the issue is escalated to - you have already 'spent' your authority by being there. He told me that if he did not sit in on the negotiations, but instead only appeared if there was a dispute, his natural authority (and the authority he got from his position) was more effective.

So influence and authority not matter what its source is not infinite. Spend it with care, and be serious about where you invest it. The currency of influence and authority can give you big payoffs, but is very often spent on invaluable situations.