It’s always enjoyable to read your ‘posts’. They make me very proud. Well written and insightful; You’ll probably never know the number of students you’ve affected.
I still remember the first time an IT colleague (of whom I am quite fond) sat me down and said, “Melody, I hate ideation. Stop trying to get me to do this. Do the design and I’ll tell you what’s not working with it.” Like you, I was no longer in Designlandia.
The environment and culture at IDEO was priceless - and spoiled us while teaching us resilience in the face of resistance. I also experienced the shock of anti-collaborative culture in other orgs. I still think Forkchops were genius, and why I prefer eating salads with chopsticks when they're available.
hi peter! curious if you developed have any specific strategies dealing with anti-collaborative cultures? did you try to move them towards collaboration? did it ever work?
From IDEO work and in other places, I learned you have the most success when you work with people 1-on-1 or in smaller groups, preferably with a larger team that 'gets it' and dominates the culture in the room. They have to know it's a safe place and if they behave in a new way they won't be criticized for or embarrassed by it later. It's also better if you start with the more open or flexible people first - the folks that might want to see a change in the culture. I've seen clients working at IDEO become emotional when they realize how different it is to work in a positive culture where being curious and exploring new ideas is the norm. An approximate quote: "You guys default to 'yes,' not 'no.'"
Brilliant Matt! Had similar experiences after leaving IDEO.. but, unlike you, I quickly gave up and just played ball with whatever culture I ran into. And I never recreated that incredible rush of a new IDEO project, with a new IDEO team, in a new industry, but with a common set of values we had at IDEO in that era.
It’s always enjoyable to read your ‘posts’. They make me very proud. Well written and insightful; You’ll probably never know the number of students you’ve affected.
I still remember the first time an IT colleague (of whom I am quite fond) sat me down and said, “Melody, I hate ideation. Stop trying to get me to do this. Do the design and I’ll tell you what’s not working with it.” Like you, I was no longer in Designlandia.
Exactly
The environment and culture at IDEO was priceless - and spoiled us while teaching us resilience in the face of resistance. I also experienced the shock of anti-collaborative culture in other orgs. I still think Forkchops were genius, and why I prefer eating salads with chopsticks when they're available.
I have a collection of Interesting Chopsticks... love Bosung Kim's version! And agree: salad better with chopstick.
hi peter! curious if you developed have any specific strategies dealing with anti-collaborative cultures? did you try to move them towards collaboration? did it ever work?
From IDEO work and in other places, I learned you have the most success when you work with people 1-on-1 or in smaller groups, preferably with a larger team that 'gets it' and dominates the culture in the room. They have to know it's a safe place and if they behave in a new way they won't be criticized for or embarrassed by it later. It's also better if you start with the more open or flexible people first - the folks that might want to see a change in the culture. I've seen clients working at IDEO become emotional when they realize how different it is to work in a positive culture where being curious and exploring new ideas is the norm. An approximate quote: "You guys default to 'yes,' not 'no.'"
Brilliant Matt! Had similar experiences after leaving IDEO.. but, unlike you, I quickly gave up and just played ball with whatever culture I ran into. And I never recreated that incredible rush of a new IDEO project, with a new IDEO team, in a new industry, but with a common set of values we had at IDEO in that era.