The Greater IBM Connection Blog

Quick Screencast Overview of the SmarterCities Scan

A quick screencast overview of the Smarter Cities Scan project, created with the excellent new service/tool Screenr.

YOUR GREAT IDEAS: How are they doing?

If we traced the path of GREAT IDEAS in the finest of organizations, we would probably all be astounded at the rate at which NEW THINKING is unintentionally squelched, squashed, smashed, stifled, smothered, misunderstood, ridiculed or just ignored.

Ever had this experience?
Ever felt like this woman looks?

This is what I wrote in an article a few years back. Around the same time, I was invited to speak at an ONLINE leadership forum with a focus on How to Get Buy-In for New Ideas. Over 550 leaders and innovators showed up to explore this topic, representing twenty countries. They came from major companies from every industry, as well as entrepreneurs, government, military, education, health care, and community organizations. I discovered the group was a cross section of CEOs and senior leaders, managers of every type, as well as educators, business owners, ministers, and consultants. Imagine all this diverse talent coming together, peer to peer, meeting on common ground, because they were brimming with NEW IDEAS to bring to their respective organizations. Following the online session, I conducted some follow-on dialogues. Three key themes were identified as BIG BARRIERS standing the the way of introducing the participants' NEW IDEAS:

• Culture isn’t open to new ideas. Resistance to change. There is a lack of interest in change and innovation. Everyone sees the need; no one wants to take the risk. New approaches aren’t welcomed.
• Gender, race, and age still play a role in acceptance of new ideas in our organization. If you think differently or ask too many questions, it leads to losing the respect of senior leaders.
• Senior leaders/managers take ideas and present them as their own. The focus from our leaders is on execution of strategy; they’ve forgotten people are leading it for them. It would be great if they showed more interest in what people have to say.

This begs a question...
What are the chances that you or other leaders in your organization might be leaving similar impressions about sharing NEW IDEAS? No one would purposely want to have members of their teams or constituents thinking this way. But perception is everything and this kind of breakdown in communication isn't uncommon. It erodes trust and impacts all organizations ability to put differences to work to generate new thinking, creativity, and INNOVATION. At this time in our history, we can't afford it. Too much is at stake.

A CONTINUING SAGA
What is alarming is that this reality doesn't seem to change --- at least in the perception of many of those with the GREAT IDEAS. I remember these same barriers coming up now and then throughout my career too. Last week, I partnered up with futurist and filmmaker Joel Barker to teach a professional development class on this topic. It focused on examining resistance to change, providing detailed guidelines, examples, and a step-by-step process that demonstrates how to get ideas accepted. Interestingly, we again discovered a similar result in a poll we took. A new issue did surface --- 23% identified "information overload -- breaking through the noise as a major barrier. However, a whopping 84% brought up issues similar to those noted above as standing in their way of introducing and seeding NEW IDEAS in their organizations.

Even before my time at IBM circa 1969, Thomas J. Watson, Jr., wrote in one of his well-known Management Briefings: "There's an old saying that when you talk --- you teach, when you listen --- you learn. There are a lot of ideas worth listening to in this company. Let's be sure we're paying attention --- we are never so rich in ideas that we can afford not to..."  It should be noted that this quote was preceded by him sharing a personal leadership story where he hadn't listened to an employee's idea to solve a critical business problem. "...Because I was frustrated and tired, I gave [the employee] a short interview and a non-sympathetic rebuff. ...Later that evening, I began to worry about the area which he had pointed out, and by morning, I realized that at least constructive and appropriate attention to his idea was the minimum he should expect from me." Hmmm...Big leadership at work!

What about YOU?

For those of you who never have this kind of experience...
What best practice can you share to help others who do?

I look forward to listening your points of view...

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Contributing author
Greater IBM Connection Blog
Co-Founder, GIBM Women's
International Network for
Leadership (GIBM WIN-L)

Founder, President & CEO
Global Dialogue Center and
Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
IBMer 1970 - 1991 L.A.; Anchorage; Seattle; San Francisco
Twitter:@debbekennedy   @onlinedialogues

THINKing and other IBM inspirations

I suppose one of the highlights of working for IBM for twenty years + was learning how important it was to THINK. From my first moments, THINKing was an important part of any task or assignment. The word THINK was on notebooks, signs, and painted on walls. Looking back, it seemed that it was a kind of tap-tap-tap indoctrination into the founder's passionate belief in the power of THINKing. Taken to heart, it was far from the misconception that IBM was a place for conformity. It inspired something bold and independent to come to life inside. Admittedly, I have been forever grateful for the many opportunities I was given to develop this powerful skill in a vast array of wonderful jobs, working with the best in people, and leaders that believed in me.

Over the years, I've collected wisdom here and there from IBM's founder, Thomas J. Watson, Sr. I have always admired his candid way of speaking, giving us a personal moment of truth with each bit of wisdom.  Here are a few timeless favorites...

“Follow the path of the unsafe independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the danger of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot'' than the stigma of conformity.”

"All the problems of the world could be settled easily if [we] were only willing to THINK. The trouble is that [we] very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think."

“If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.”

“Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous - not just to some people in some circumstances - but to everyone all the time.”

On my very first day working for IBM in my first career, there was a nameplate on my desk when I arrived. My name had been engraved on the front on a brass plaque. On the back there was quote. It has stayed with me and kept me striving to follow the unsafe path of the independent thinker.

"If all objections were considered, nothing would ever be tried." -- Unknown

How about you?

Do you have a favorite inspiration from IBM?

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Contributing author
Greater IBM Connection Blog
Co-Founder, GIBM Women's
International Network for
Leadership (GIBM WIN-L)

Founder, President & CEO
Global Dialogue Center and
Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
IBMer 1970 - 1991 L.A.; Anchorage; Seattle; San Francisco
Twitter: @debbekennedy   @onlinedialogues

New Paradigms in Using Computers: NPUC 2009 Webcast

Catch the external webcast of NPUC 2009 (New Paradigms in Using Computers) from IBM’s Almaden Research Center, tomorrow, starting at 12 noon Eastern, on the GBS New Intelligence Video Studio

AI: Analytics Innovators Series Video

This web video series features examples of groundbreaking companies, services and products that epitmize the age of smarter analytics, pervasive computing and new intelligence that IBM's new Business Analytics & Optimization Services was created to advance.

See more BAO content and clips at the Global Business Services New Intelligence Video Studio.  Know of other analytics innovators we should feature? Share in comments here!

Episode 2:

• RecycleBank a kind of "frequent recycling" rewards program
• Earthmine a 3D city mapping service based on Mars Rover technology
• FitBit Tracker a $99 wearable health monitoring device that measures your bodily activity and sleep patterns

Jack Mason, Strategic Programs & Social Media
IBM Global Business Services
http://smarterplanet.tumblr.com

BusinessWeek: The Family Doctor: A Remedy for Health-Care Costs?

How making primary-care physicians the center of America's health-care system could drive down costs

Interesting story in BW that includes some discussion around IBM's patient centered medical home model. Here's an excerpt:

This medical home may sound like the "gatekeeper" model of the 1990s, a managed-care creation that was all about holding down costs. But advocates say the new concept is designed to help patients, not insurers. It's more like doctoring 1950s-style, when a Marcus Welby figure handled all the family's medical needs. This time it's juiced up with digital technology.

It also represents a politically painless way to streamline a disorganized and wasteful system that chews up a crippling 18% of the U.S. gross domestic product. That burden is felt particularly by private industry, which covers 60% of the nation's insured. Since most businesses try to ferret out waste and disorganization in their own operations, the medical home is a concept they can embrace in good conscience.

One of the biggest advocates is IBM (IBM), which shelled out $1.3 billion last year on health benefits for its U.S. employees and retirees, equal to one month of the company's net income. Dr. Paul H. Grundy, 57, who holds the unusual title of director of health-care transformation for IBM, is a medical-home evangelist who led the company to start the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, a coalition of some 500 large employers, insurers, consumer groups, and doctors. Part of his goal, he says, is to show that "employers can drive the medical-home idea as buyers of care."

Jack Mason, Strategic Programs & Social Media
IBM Global Business Services
http://smarterplanet.tumblr.com

Analytics Innovators: txteagle, Mobile Metrix and Pachube

As IBM is building its new Business Analytics & Optimization consulting group, we wanted to highlight or showcase some examples of small companies, startups and organizations who are breaking exciting ground on this frontier: turning mobile phones in Africa into connected work tools (txteagle), building the open infrastructure for an "Internet of Things" that can help instrument the planet (Pachube, pronounced "Patch Bay") or starting to measure and count the billions of virtually invisible people in the developing world that have no official records (Mobile Metrix.)

Jack Mason, Strategic Programs & Social Media
IBM Global Business Services
http://smarterplanet.tumblr.com

Smarter Planet Widgets: Analytics, Healthcare, Cities & Energy

We've developed a set of widgets on key Smarter Planet topics that you are welcome to add to your site, page, or blog, or share with your contacts and network.  Simply copy and paste the embedding code that works for your site.

 

We've also made these widgets available as Facebook applications.  Please feel free to put these to work and enable our community to function as a social media catalyst.

Smarter Healthcare Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/smarterhealthcare/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/smarter-healthcare

Smarter Cities Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/smartercities/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/smarter-cities

 

Analytics Album Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/analyticsalbum/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/analytics-album

Smarter Energy Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/smarterenergy/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/smarter-energy

Jack Mason, Strategic Programs & Social Media
IBM Global Business Services
http://smarterplanet.tumblr.com

Sharing stories to change the world

Expect to be pleasantly surprised if you go looking for ways to make a difference. A couple of years ago I thought it would be a good idea to find and connect with IBMers who were exploring innovative ways to use technology for social good. So, using our social networks I found and 'friended' some people around the world using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on IBM's community driven social networking sites.

What started as a search for minds that want to use technology to make a difference, turned into whole new way of working and communicating. Driven by a motive to explore the possibilities, I discovered some wonderful people around the globe who find ways to use social media and virtual worlds for communicating, teaching, solving solutions and creating important communities.

I was so inspired, I decided to ask some women from my social network to share short stories about their experiences using the web to change the world for an ebook - Worldshapers. I'm really grateful to the 16 women who shared their stories and I hope you are inspired too.

As one of the contributors Amy Sample Ward shared in the ebook "Online communities aren't just about finding people from high school. The new wave of online communities are focused on social issues, cause areas, and making social change".

To me, that's what creating a Smarter Planet is all about. I'm really enjoying connecting with people around the world who not only think about these things, but also share their ideas so that others can benefit and add value. How about you?

Jasmin Tragas
IBM (Australia)

aka wonderwebby
@wonderwebby

Building the Smarter Enterprise with Business Analytics & Optimization

IBM's new service line Business Analytics and Optimization is capturing information and turning it into intelligence. It's identifying patterns faster, pulling insights from noise, converting data into action, analyzing, optimizing, mitigating, finding and preventing. Business Analytics and Optimization is helping people predict with greater confidence.

For more, see the Smarter Enterprise channel on the Smarter Planet site on Tumblr.

Jack Mason, IBM Global Business Services
Strategic Programs & Social Media