Learning Decision Making from Alessi

Explaining the decision making skills of a professional or experienced manager to newcomers to the role, is one of the most difficult challenges I face as a learning designing, and the most satisfying when it is done well. Long ago, I learned that people are frustrated when they hear “it depends” but that’s usually what experienced people offer as an answer.  So even though it’s true – good decisions do depend on assessing a number of factors in the situation – the key is to simplify those factors, without creating simplistic formulae that don’t actually work.

A recent Fast Company article describes how  Alberto Alessi, the Head of the Alessi design house, analysed over 300 of his “gut feel” decisions to create a mathematical model he called “The Formula”, which predicts the reaction (i.e. likely buying volumes) of customers. (more…)

Continue ReadingLearning Decision Making from Alessi

How / can we learn from our creative mistakes?

We all know the supposed benefits of learning from our mistakes.  However, movie producer Nora Ephron – producer of chick flicks such as Sleapless in Seattle and When Harry met Sally – questions whether we can learn any lessons from the duds.  In an article by Gerald Wright in the SMH, Ephron’s argument is: if, after a movie she realises that an actor was miscast, she can’t say she’ll never miscast again, because at the time she thought she was casting well.  Similarly, as a a writer she cannot learn not to write bad scripts in the future, because at the time she didn’t think she’d written a bad script.

Ephron’s quotes raises some important issues about evaluating the business outputs of the creative process and raises implications for managing performance when creative outputs are not delivering the desired outcomes.

(more…)

Continue ReadingHow / can we learn from our creative mistakes?

Possibility Conversations

(Note to audience today’s blog is a mind wander, not a coherent story – yet)

I had been having a bit of a struggle these last few weeks with a myriad of tasks that I’ve promised to clients and I noticed my internal conversation with these tasks was one of duty and necessity, which generated a heavy feeling in my body and heart. Then in two sparkling hours I had conversations with University colleagues and the world of possibilities opened up again. After these conversations I noticed a lightness and joy in my body and heart and the other tasks didn’t seem so hard anymore because they are only one part of my work life, not the whole of it. For me, possibility and new ideas are as essential as food and water (and chocolate).

Again this morning I had a different sort of conversation with CTSC colleague Linda Yaven about turning possibilities into some form of documented reality i.e an idea for a product or service. She even came up with an attractive metaphor for how to start – mapping out the landscape – yes, I can see the high peaks and murky valleys and twisty windy roads in my mind already.

Now I’m reading her latest article – Innovation as Community Conversation – which really resonates because it describes the effect on me of these different conversations – excitement that we are building new creative futures through the possibility conversations we are having together.
(more…)

Continue ReadingPossibility Conversations