I’m at the New Challenges retreat in upstate New York this weekend. Whereas the last retreat was unexpectedly diverse by background, this one has attracted a geographically diverse audience, both ex-pats living on the East coast as well as visitors from Europe. Pouring rain is expected all weekend, so I expect folks to hunker down into a long stream of conversations.
So far there’s been a lot of explicit mention of organizational culture in the presentations, influenced by everything from translation to business process change. Talking through the MIG “trailmarker” model has resonated with folks who are seeing the bigger ramifications of product and process work. A longer explanation can be found in Design [is not a] Strategy.
Category: Culture
A culture like good improv
We hosted an informal discussion on innovation the other day, and lucky for us Harry Max attended. Harry is good, and I don’t employ those italics lightly. He talked about those elusive aspects of a culture that nourish innovation, that are mirrored in improv…
- Trust
- Listening & self-awareness
- Accepting and making offers (Yes, and…)
- Moving into action with full commitment
- Staying nimble
Niti was kind enough to blog more about his talk.
Purely coincidentally, I’ve been exploring the improv culture in my neighborhood. If you’re in NYC, $8 can buy you this experience at The PIT or the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater.
Monozukuri
“There can be no successful monozukuri (making thing) without hito-zukuri (making people).”
from the The Toyota Production System.