Category Archives: Innovation

Can you see the whole picture?

Cognitive Strategy, Cultural Strategy, Futurist, Innovation, Strategic Foresight, Strategy

Most times when looking for a response to a long term problem we approach it with the same frame of view. Its almost as if we perpetuate the problem we are trying to solve because of some type of limitation in our ability to see things from another perspective.

Well, there are frameworks and models to assist us in our thinking.

One such model is based on Ken Wilber’s “Integral Theory”. Where integral implies seeing the whole picture.

In essence Wilber argues that there are four perspectives to any phenomena:

  1. the systems we share (ie, the exterior collective, social)
  2. the beliefs we share (ie. the interior collective, cultural)
  3. the systems that are me (ie, the exterior individual, behaviours)
  4. the beliefs that are me (ie, the interior individual, intentions)

So, how does this apply in practice?

For example, a team seems to continually come up short with respect to its customer service KPI’s. All previous attempts at improving have been focused on training. Well, how about seeing if other actions would work?

How about reflecting upon the intentions of those in the group. How might those be aligned with what you are trying to achieve? What about considering the systems that the people are working with. Are the IT systems that the team are using fit for the job? And what about the culture of the group? What words and metaphors can you use to describe it?

So, by looking at the problem from a different vantage point the keys to unlocking that issue can be found.

 
For more, visit Dellium Advisory, follow on Twitter, connect using LinkedIn, or review my IT-centric blog.

A different perspective of your organisation

Innovation, Strategy

What is the perspective that you have of the organisation you are part of, that business you run, that not-for-profit you give yourself to?

Could you change your view to seeing it as either:

  • an information processing system, or
  • a decision making system, or
  • an interpretation system

If so, what tools will you need to get the best out of the system? What leadership will you need? What strategies will you need to take you into the future?

For see, you take inputs and transform them using the, if you will, intelligence, of the organization.

You take the materials, the information and energy and produce something different.

So, if you are an information processing system:

  • how well are you processing the information?
  • how well have you defined the information?
  • what other information do you need?

And, if you are a decision making system:

  • what decisions are you making, or not making?
  • are the decisions made in a timely manner?
  • what decisions can be outsourced?

Finally, seeing the organisation as an interpretation system implies that:

  • you need to have the correct perspective
  • that the rules of interpretation need to be consistent
  • that the language has to be understandable

What is the perspective that you have of your organization?

For more, visit Dellium Advisory, follow on Twitter, connect using LinkedIn, or review my IT-centric blog.

An Introduction to Environmental Scanning

Cognitive Strategy, Futures, Futurist, Innovation, Strategic Foresight

Based on extracts from one of my recent essays: “What is the impact upon donations of this technological age”?

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Choo (1999) states in the seminal article “The Art of Scanning the Environment” that “environmental scanning is the acquisition and use of information about events, trends and relationships in an organisation’s external environment”. It, environmental scanning, is broader than competitor intelligence and competitive intelligence, which are used to analyse a competitor’s actions and the shared market environment respectively. In fact, environmental scanning is used to scan every sector of the external milieu.

From the perspective of further understanding environmental scanning it is helpful to differentiate between the scanning modes. These modes broadly viewing and scanning. Of the two, scanning is more deliberate and focused:

  • Undirected viewing:       information used for sensing
  • Directed viewing:             information used for sense making
  • Informal search                information used for learning
  • Formal search                   information used for decisions

So, for the  purposes of categorisation, the scanning modes that you use could be a mix of directed viewing and informal search. Perhaps because you know what the area of strategic need is, undirected viewing isn’t appropriate. Likewise with formal search. As the output won’t be directly used for decision making, the formal search category won’t be used.

Now, with respect to the process of environmental scanning, using directed viewing to gather a breadth of information about the area of strategic need and informal search to strengthen the case for further understanding of the initial hits. For example, a “scanning hit” on philanthropy was the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Analysis of the work they do, giving for specific outcomes, should lead to informal searches returning articles about this topic.

It is through its outcomes that the value of environmental scanning can be realised. It can be seen that the outputs of environmental scanning or the same as information acquisition in the sphere of Organisational Learning (Sanchez, 2008). Sanchez goes onto to conclude that the activity of organisational learning creates value in and for the organisation.

However, as Choo points out, the quality of environmental scanning may be affected by internal perceptions of either the information source’s credibility or relevance of the information itself.

Therefore, by being cognisant of the both the inhibitors to scanning quality and the process of scanning, highly relevant outcomes, or hits, can be realised.

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Choo, C (1999). “The Art of Scanning the Environment”, Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science, Feb-Mar 1999 p21-24

Sanchez, J (2008). “Organisational Learning and value creation in business markets”, European Journal of Marketing , Vol 44, No 11/12, 2010, pp1612-1641]]

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For more, visit Dellium Advisory, follow on Twitter, connect using LinkedIn, or review my IT-centric blog.