Do you have a chore you hate? For me, it's been packing lunches.
I think it's the relentlessness of it! It's a constant. Every night. We meet again, apple slices…
I've been challenging myself to see frustration as an innovation opportunity. So I asked—how can I hate this chore less?
In all honesty, it doesn't save me that much time. But the joy I have when I get a night off from this chore (or when I am packing lunches and feeling smug about my life hack!) is well worth it.
- Dr. Sarah Glova, Co-Editor of 8&21 and PB&J Chef
Constantly looking…
I teach ethical data storytelling (both writing and speaking) classes— mostly to analytics graduate students, but also to undergraduates, other faculty, staff, and industry professionals. Although I have taught for (ahem) let’s just say many years, I am constantly looking for ways to improve my teaching, improve outcomes, improve the experience.
Students, who moments before seemed anxious about their upcoming presentation, seemed to relax. I saw smiles instead of stress on their faces. The energy in the room went from nervous buzzing to energized. Of course, it did not erase their anticipation or worry about the presentation, but it had an impact.
Small creative changes really can pave the way for big innovations in the future.
- Dr. Sarah Egan Warren, Co-Editor of 8&21 and Dance Video Aficionado
A Simple Adjustment
“When an employee comes to you and has an issue with the current status quo for the team, company, or a product, take this opportunity to get curiouswith them and ask these questions:
Is there something that isn’t working?
Why isn’t it working?
How can we fix it?
Where do you see opportunities for improvement?
Maybe a major overhaul isn’t even in order, and it’s just a simple adjustment that can make everyone more engaged.These one-on-one opportunities with your team are great ways to, little by little, shift away from the current state of affairs towards something more meaningful.
- Pulled from “3 Easy Steps as a Leader to Challenge the Status Quo” on the Fierce, Inc. blog at fierceinc.com
Small idea, big impact
“Organizations trying to innovate are wired to think big. They want to make a big impact, set big goals, and talk about big plans and big successes. No one is interested in anything that appears small. At first blush, this makes sense: in order to move the needle on your P&L you need to have a big success. Small is uninteresting.
This thinking is flawed. My research on innovation has shown that a vast majority of the ‘big’ innovations we admire started as something small.”
- Pulled from “For Big Innovation, Think Small” by Kumar Mehta in Forbes
Great job!
Way to take a pause and give 3 minutes to your practice of pursuing awesome
by exploring this issue's theme. You rock!
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