Blog
The ability to quickly make data-based, informed decisions is a definite competitive advantage.
Data visualization enables decision makers to see new ways to interpret data.
While data is being generated faster than ever, without organization and analysis there is no relevance or value. Data visualization is the most effective way to present data in a meaningful way and inform decision makers.
I created this data visualization based on one I accessed in the Tableau Public Gallery.
(more…)
Blog
What’s it like when employees know to fear failure at work?
While there will be low, and probably constrained energy, whoever has the most on the line will bear the biggest impact: new ideas stop coming. Employees stop taking risks, and the responsibility for new solutions falls on the highest up.
Working there is probably not a positive experience and there’s a noticeable lack of fun.
Innovation cannot, and will not, exist in this kind of culture.
Language Impacts Idea Generation
The language we use is not only a reflection of our internal states, it also has a significant affect on the culture and energy (and therefore ideas) that an organization experiences. When IDEO, the innovation consultancy, noticed that new ideas could be killed off with as little as an eye roll, they created a very specific feedback loop to keep energy up, ideas flowing, and innovation a constant occurrence.
(more…)
Blog
Amy Poehler thinks so. She has a non-stop reputation for being incredibly nice, smart and hilarious.
She says learning Improv taught her most of what she knows about the best way to run her life as well as any organization. There are three important rules.
1. Say Yes And.
It’s really THE Golden Rule of Improv. She gives a great example of your improv partner walking on stage and saying, “Watch out! There’s a scary alien behind you!” You could say, “What alien? I don’t see an alien.” OR you could say “Oh, that alien over there? That’s my chemistry partner Alison.” Which one is more fun? Which one moves you forward? The Yes answer.
The key to work situations is to add to ideas and contribute…instead of criticizing and killing ideas. Innovation and solving complex problems require a limitless imagination.
2. Don’t Apologize. Admit You Made a Mistake, Applaud Yourself and Move On.
Can you imagine taking all the sting out of making a mistake at work? Imagine how much faster your organization could move forward, and how much more forthcoming people would be. New language would have to be used because mistakes wouldn’t need to be problems anymore – it’s possible there’d be a lot of talk about new learnings!
One of Amy’s teachers required her group to clap when someone admitted to a mistake. I can’t imagine how much my inner dialog would change if all the self-criticism for making mistakes (or almost making mistakes) went away.
Disallowing failure in organizations hinders creativity and growth. If you want to move forward faster, the key is to welcome the new learnings!
(more…)
Blog
The power of saying Yes far outweighs the power of any No. That’s as true in marketing as it is in life.
I’ve taken a few Improv classes, and when you or your partner says Yes, the scene is fun! It might be weird, but it moves forward and it’s fun. When there’s a no, everything slows way down or stops and waits to go in another direction. It’s just awkward to be in and it’s awkward to watch.
Some of my favorite people have written about the power of Yes in life, including Tina Fey and Seth Godin.
Tina Fey wrote about how the Yes occurs in real life as respect or acknowledgement for what your partner brings to the table. It sounds simple, and you can almost miss the significance of it until you remember those conversations where people didn’t even acknowledge your position. They just blasted through with their own agenda. Their No just killed your willingness to participate in the conversation. You might continue because you have to, but the No can function like a pretty big spirit killer.
(more…)
![Dashboard 1](“https://public.tableau.com/static/images/We/WeatherNOAA/Dashboard1/1_rss.png")
