Life’s Too Short
Posted: April 13, 2015 Filed under: Change, Technology | Tags: service design 1 Comment
Portland has awesome street art and signage that complement the city’s reputation of being quirky, diverse, and progressive. This billboard caught my attention.
All photos by Mark Baker
The exploding world of mobile apps has set a new benchmark for how technology should work. In our daily lives, there is an app for every purpose: to check the weather, get sports scores, catch up on news, read a magazine, share updates with friends, book travel reservations, shop, or track workouts. One of my favorite examples is the Amazon mobile app with its ability to dynamically scan a product or barcode.
As apps have gotten increasingly easier to use and more refined, the same progression cannot be found in the traditional software that most businesses rely on. There is usually a distinct difference between applications written from the ground up after approximately 2008 and those written earlier. Earlier applications (think airline websites, like United) have lots of functionality on single screens, require training to use, and come from a “one size fits all” mindset. Even programs that have received a “face lift” can’t compare in terms of ease of use, personalization, and multi-functionality.
New approaches (Uber, an interface to a ride service, is a perfect example) are proliferating, but lots of traditional services can’t get from here to there. Unfortunately, I think we’re going to be stuck with the legacy of these systems for some time.
Life is too short to stick with outmoded technology when there is something new and better available. Consumers will continue to gravitate to the tools they find more accessible and efficient. In an upcoming post, I will address one of the fundamental toolsets that will help us get there: service design. This holistic approach focuses on the user experience when designing process, tools and service. Stay tuned.
Exploring Solutions Together
Posted: January 15, 2015 Filed under: Change Leave a commentDuring times of rapid change, exploring key questions allows us to learn together. Consider:
- What is happening here?
- Why is it happening?
- How is it different or similar than the past?
- Why does the past solution not work anymore?
- Are we clear on what we are really trying to accomplish?
When there is a need for a new solution to a new problem, we have to explore together. Picking up the old solution to a previously defined question may not even be close.
This takes time and patience—two very valuable commodities. Without it, however, we will remain stuck in the new world with old maps.
The Seven Most Influential Things I Read in 2014
Posted: January 12, 2015 Filed under: Business, Change, Leadership, Misc. | Tags: agile teams, continuous productivity, Davos, holacracy, mindfulness, self organizing, Theory U Leave a comment
Amidst the flurry of year-end recaps, several bloggers did an iteration of “This Most Influential Things I Read This Year.” This is a very interesting question—here’s my take.
Theory U. “Theory U proposes that the quality of the results that we create in any kind of social system is a function of the quality of awareness, attention, or consciousness that the participants in the system operate from.”
Continuous Productivity: New tools and a new way of working for a new era. “Continuous productivity is an era that fosters a seamless integration between consumer and business platforms.“
Davos: Mindfulness, Hotspots, and Sleepwalkers. All the signs are present that mindfulness is reaching the tipping point.
The Re-working of “Work”. “This report analyzes key drivers that will reshape the landscape of work and identifies key work skills needed in the next 10 years.”
Build a change platform, not a change program. How to make change the status quo, not an interruption.
Lost and Found in a Brave New World. At a time when so many feel culturally, organizationally and/or personally “lost,” how can we find our way back to the values and beliefs we hold dear? In the new world, new maps are required. The first step is to realize and admit you’re lost.
The Last Re-Org You’ll Ever Do. Three new approaches to doing business are showing promise (Holacracy, Agile Teams and Self Organizing). Viewed as way out there by some, but, nonetheless, they are happening.
ZMAB15 