Eli 2008 Fall Focus

Spaces to Learn Spaces to Innovate ELI Fall Focus Session 2008 Malcolm Brown Educause Learning Initiative [email_address]

“ If I’d have asked my customers what they wanted, they would have told me ‘A faster horse.’ ” attributed to Henry Ford

“ Well… how did I get here?”

“ Well… how did I get here?” North Carolina State http://www.ncsu.edu/PER/scaleup.html

“Well… how did I get here?” Columbia University Teachers College, Gottesman Libraries

“Well… how did I get here?” Georgetown University Law Center Eric E. Hotung International Law Building

Steps Educause Quarterly , No. 1, 2003, pp. 14–15

Steps Educause Quarterly op-ed piece: 2003 ELI LS focus sessions Classrooms Fall 2004 Informal Spaces Fall 2005 Mobile Learning Spring 2006 LS eBook: 2006 Educause LS constituent group: late 2006

Technology Learning theory (how people learn) we are here social web NetGens: students and young faculty

How did we get here? We’ve innovated

But what is innovation? What does it “look” like? Feel like? How does it work? How can we be better at it? What are all the moving parts?

Innovation seems cool it seems to be about ideas BMW ad here about BMW being all about ideas

Our LS works seems to be innovative

Apollo 13 Excerpt from the movie Apollo 13 here

a square peg in a round hole… rapidly

It feels like innovation No formula Adoption to rapidly changing circumstances Working with teams Often handed odds & ends Funding can be uncertain New ideas not always received well

1 Innovation = Epiphany or does it???

“ The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas.” Linus Pauling

Implementation “ The elaboration of idea into function… [is] ‘ the one that takes up the most time and involves the hardest work.’ ” Berkun, Myths of Innovation , p. 13

1 research thinking work more work 2 “ missing link” idea 3 implementation thinking work trial & error

Also… Innovation ≠ Serenpidity Percy Spencer (1896–1970)

Innovation Epiphany = ≠ + lots of hard work, trial and error, research, etc.

Thought “ Every innovation is difficult.” Christensen, Innovator’s Dilemma , p. 154

2 Understand the diffusion process

What influences diffusion Relative advantage Compatibility Ease of use Trialability Observability following Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations

Analyzing diffusion’s prospects Example 1 relative advantage very high compatibility somewhat low

Analyzing diffusion’s prospects Example 2 relative advantage modest ease of use very low

Analyzing diffusion’s prospects Example 3 compatibility very high relative advantage very high ease of use OK

Analyzing diffusion’s prospects Example 4 relative advantage moderate/high compatibility somewhat low trialability low

TED talk: Technology’s Long Tail

Towards better brainstorming Sharpen the focus Number your ideas Build and jump Write it out: “space remembers” Get physical: draw a diagram, make a model Mental yoga & warm-up exercises following Kelly, The Art of Innovation

Towards “badder” brainstorming The boss speaks first Everybody gets a turn Experts only Gotta do it off-site Write everything down No silly stuff; “we’re professionals ” following Kelly, The Art of Innovation

4 Understand the challenges of disruption

Thought “ If, at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” Albert Einstein

“ I can’t waste my time on this stuff.” Disney exec on Pixar, c. 1987 (NYT review)

“… we just cannot divert ourselves from the business at hand.” — GM vice chair www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-01/ff_100mpg

“ Search doesn’t matter. Portals do.” Yahoo execs, 1998

Disruption is hard Limited market capacity for disruption Disruptive tech won’t fit Our orgs our less flexible than we want to believe Failure and iterative learning are keys Reluctance to invest in disruption: not something you “can bank on” following Christensen, Innovator’s Dilemma

Managing for disruption Align disruptive tech with the right customers so there’s tangible demand Align to small, independent units for small growth Fail early and inexpensively Search for markets not technological breakthroughs following Christensen, Innovator’s Dilemma, p. 113–114

“ You can observe a lot by just watching.” Yogi Berra

Learning to see Don’t rely on surveys and focus groups Focus on what they do not on what they say Experts may know too much Customers may lack the vocabulary to say what is wrong or missing

“ It’s not that we build such bad cars; it’s that they are such lousy customers.” Auto executive, 1930’s

Being left handed Customers have “jobs” They “hire” products and services to do them Target circumstances, not customers Carefully observe what people are trying to achieve Danger in asking people to “change jobs” following Christensen, Innovator’s Solution

Thought “ If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied.” Alfred Bernhard Nobel

http://www.wd40.com/about-us/history/

8 Look for blisters and rule-breakers

“… your customers may lack the vocabulary or the palate to explain what’s wrong and especially what’s missing .” Kelly, Art of Innovation , p. 27

“ We all had cell phones. We just hated them, they were so awful to use. Everybody seemed to hate their phones.” Steve Jobs on the idea of the iPhone

Team building Lone genius most often a myth Team’s charge and frame Not about defending status quo Sense of something is at stake Flatter the better Select for ability not seniority Create energy: fun

Team motivation “ A specific performance challenge that is clear and compelling to all team members is the greatest motivator.” Wisdom of Teams , p. 269

10 Aim for the wet napkin interface

What is it? “ Open and use.”

Getting there More is less Rigorous limits on user options One click is better than two Give users feedback Don’t trust your interface entirely Emphasize essentials

Eli 2008 Fall Focus

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Eli 2008 Fall Focus

Recently uploaded

Eli 2008 Fall Focus

Editor's Notes