Open Solutions Society - Greg Dees - Portland - November 9, 2012

On Friday evening, Greg Dees, professor at Duke University's Center for Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship and who many call the godfather of social entrepreneurship, introduced a group at the Pacific Northwest College of Art to the concept of what he calls the open solutions society. The concept, which I believe will soon be laid out thoroughly in book form, is an all hands on deck approach to collectively solving the issues we face.

The lecture (more of a conversation) was hosted by PNCA's Collaborative Design program and Portland State University's Impact Entrepreneurs. Prior to the conversation, there was an open house at the Collaborative Design space where we learned about three projects that current graduate students in Don Harker's Social Entrepreneurship class are working on. Three groups presented their projects that proposed collaborative design solutions to the opportunities of urban connectivity in East Portland Neighborhoods, the re-purposing of tsunami debris washed up on Oregon shores, and the introduction of systems thinking to the education of our educators.

Dees framed the conversation of the open solutions society with the economic notions that: (1) The world's history is of constant adaptation. (2) Entrepreneurs, risk takers, innovators, must be able to test new ideas. (3) There must be institutions and systems in place for new ideas to be supported and absorbed.

So what does an Open Solutions Society look like? Greg Dees posed the following questions to spur the conversation.

What do you think?

The Scrappy Shall Inherit the Earth

The Merriam Webster Dictionary definition of the word scrappy is: having an aggressive and determined spirit : feisty

The definition I prefer is one that I found on a slightly less official source, yet a source that, I believe, more accurately represents the way people use the word currently. 

Urban Dictionary, more specifically the user skippy88, defines scrappy as: "seemingly small and unthreatening but shockingly able to kick your ass and anyone else's." Here's how it reads in a sentence: "Look at that scrappy lil dude over there. He just beat the crap out of those punks."

The young Hebrew David hoists the head of the Philistine Goliath -
Gustave Doré (1832-1883)

Nilofer Merchant recently wrote a series of blog posts for the Harvard Business Review laying out the new rules of doing business in what she, and many others, are calling the social era. The social era is defined by our society's move toward social media to connect and how our ability to be so connected and in contact is shaping our expectations and experiences. She states that the new rules of the social era are based the fact that companies must now be fast, fluid, and flexible to thrive. Rather than gaining superiority through size, companies now must be lean; rather than linear (like Porter's value chain model), the social era is fluid and conversational; and, rather than telling customers what they need, companies must share and collaborate with their community.

I agree. I like to think of the companies that will define the new economy as scrappy and these rules paint a high level picture of how a company can best thrive in it.

So, what does product innovation look like in a scrappy economy where to thrive our companies must be lean, conversational, and collaborative?

I work for an organization who's model of problem solving (design) is based on collaboration. We know that we are nothing without the communities we serve. This approach has allowed us to build trust with our stakeholders and grow and learn with our community as they grow and learn with us.

I believe people are increasingly wanting to feel connected to the brands they support and increasingly see purchases as investments, not just in quality products, but in the companies that produce and sell them. This is especially true in the local movement. People want to support their neighbors' restaurant, the farmer they like talking to at the farmers market, and the local retail establishment that goes out of their way to make their favorite products available.

Local businesses (some) are able to innovate at a high rate, in part, because they are in close contact with their customers and other stakeholders. Small local businesses are inherently lean, conversational, and collaborative. Small local businesses are the original scrappers, able to learn quickly, adjust, and innovate solutions as new market pressures and opportunities arise.

In this new economy, to stay relevant, companies must have the ability to innovate products at a high rate. Because the times we are operating in are also increasingly social in nature, collaborative development of products is crucial to the success of companies making and selling goods.

The below graph represents the rate of product innovation increase as new stakeholders are included in the process of the development of new products. Consider the example of a small manufacturer of high-end shoes that has grown from a small local shop to a company selling their products to customers in multiple countries through their website. The founder working by him or herself can innovate at a certain rate, add employees and the rate increases. Enter vendors, and now their working with new resources, capabilities and understanding of the market. Next, to increase the rate of innovation, the company seeks product partners, each invested in the others' brand and success, innovating products together, sharing knowledge and resources. Finally, what does it look like if customers are intentionally involved in the innovation of new products?

Of course, customers are always considered when new products are developed by any company but  consideration is no longer enough. For customers to be truly invested in a company and their products they must feel invested in. Just as customers of small local businesses have always had a voice in the establishments they support, because of technology and the connectedness it brings to society, everyone has a voice that can be broadcast and picked up almost anywhere at anytime. Because everyone has the ability to broadcast everyone has the opportunity to be heard. This connectedness allows for the incredible opportunity to not just consider customers in the innovation process but to collaborate with customers.

This ever increasing interconnectedness allows lean, conversational, and collaborative businesses to thrive. It allows the scrappers to kick some ass.


A high rate of innovation is not the only key to success. Over the coming weeks, we'll explore what else it means to be scrappy.

Cynicism

"Too often, in established cultures, cynicism is a way to attain status, and cynical responses to ideas seem justified because they are more “realistic." It is much easier to critique than to build. Yet equating cynicism with realism shrinks the imagination."

- Excerpted from "Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons from Jazz." Frank J. Barrett.

Conscious culture change

Every culture changes over time. They change to adapt to new pressures, they change to allow for new opportunities, they change because members of the group leave or enter, and they change for countless other reasons. The change that fascinates me is that which is conscious. How can an organization look inward and not just shift aspects of its operations or reorganize its structure, but change its very core - change the things that seem inevitable, the most subtle of things. Over the next few months, I'll be seeking out examples of such change and I look forward to sharing what I find.

Caleb

Design = Intent

We're all talking about design but what does it mean? And, how important is it to incorporate design into an organization's culture?

John Hockenberry explains that design is more than creative problem solving, using the Adobe suite, or reinventing the pen, it's having intent in what you do - values and focus and being thoughtful in your actions. These traits are crucial to a high performing culture. 

Polarities within self and company

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

I've been thinking about the balance that organizations must maintain to stay consistent and adapt. Just as a first rate intelligence is able to hold two (seemingly) opposing ideas in the mind at the same time, an organization's culture must balance the need for linear logical behavior that maintains structure and consistency with opportunistic multidimensional thinking that allows for growth and adaptation.

Much of the time, this polarity looks more like a struggle than it does a balance. I believe that highly functioning and successful leaders allow for an ebb and flow - a fluid movement between the need for consistent structure and change.

How will the battle in the workplace end?

Dag Hinrichs explains the constant battle between zombies and visionaries in corporate culture. Will it always be this way?

From TEDxDanubia 2011