Why is systems thinking an important competence in the 21st century? Where does your organization stand when it comes to innovation? Can you do without your to-do list? Inspiration to these questions and much more can be found in treasure 86, this week in time for Sunday afternoon coffee.
Nugget #1 is an interview with Julia Duwe, Chief Agile Manager at Trumpf. The job description sounds a bit like bullshit bingo, but her answers have excellent quality. I would like to pick up three aspects from the interview that resonated most with me.
First of all, this is the fascination with technical, social and economic systems. We will need skills in all three areas in the future. In technology today it is no longer enough to sell a component. Customers expect a complete solution to their challenge. And for that I have to understand the entire system. We are noticing more and more that we are reaching our limits with hierarchical organizations and functional teams. Understanding social systems can help us to work together and organize more effectively.
The second aspect is the productivity killer Excel lists. Today there are so many easy-to-use tools that are tailored exactly to the task. Thanks to SaaS (Software as a Service), I usually don’t even have to install anything. Then why is Excel used all over the world? I don’t use a hammer to drive screws either. Is it convenience? Or the ease-of-use? Or is the barrier the support by IT and corresponding rules?
The third aspect is the motto “Do one thing everyday that scares you” (Eleanor Roosevelt). Or as my former colleague wrote to me when she said goodbye: “If it frightens you, it might be worth a try”. What are you afraid of or respectful of? What is stopping you? (8 min, text, German)
TRUMPF-MANAGERIN UND VORDENKERIN JULIA DUWE
Nugget #2 is a small tool from Strategyzer. With the Innovation Readiness Assessment you can quickly check how fit your organization is for innovation. In the three categories Leadership, Organization and Practices you evaluate three questions each. Thus you have already a first reference point, where your organization (team/business/company/…) stands and where you can begin. Of course you can also do this in a workshop with Strategyzer. For example, I have decided after the assessment to promote innovation tools in the company. Specifically, I used the Value Proposition Canvas for stakeholder analysis in a workshop. Which of the nine points would you like to start with? Contacts me for an exchange on how to approach this. (3 min, text, English)
Innovation Readiness Assessment
Nugget #3 made me reflect. Heidi Lampret aka Lady Cupcake wrote an entertaining blog article about ToDo lists. She has decided to quit completely. I can’t imagine to completely skip tracking of actions. To be honest, there are some that I’ve been dragging around with me for quite some time. From now on I will simply delete three pieces from my weekly planning. (7 min, text, German)
As I said in Nugget #2, if you would like to work with me on innovation, contact me through one of my channels. More about possible forms of cooperation in the next weeks on this blog. To stay in touch, it’s best to subscribe to my message in a bottle.