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The Inspiring CIOCurtis Franklin Jr., Executive Editor | 4/20/2012 |
How do you inspire your team? It's a question that's particularly important when the team is supposed to do something creative. Whether the creative thing is designing an automobile, developing an enterprise application, or figuring out why the network isn't performing up to its potential, many of the things we do in IT involve more than simply plugging data into an algorthm and catching whatever falls out. The question for business leaders is how to inspire the members of their staff to do work that isn't just good enough -- to do work that's great.
 23 commentsI started thinking about this when I saw a photo of the Harrier jet that sits in the Dyson parking lot. James Dyson, who's been known to lead a creative team or two, explains in a Wired.com article that the jet is there to provide inspiration to the engineers in his company. Now, the geeky part of my brain would love to park a jet in my front yard, but the part that wants to stay married says there has to be a better way to get an engineering or project team excited, inspired, and ready to do great work. Let's look at some options... When the team at Pixar was working on the early stages of Finding Nemo, a number of the artists and directors went to Australia on an extended scuba diving trip. Not everyone has a trip to Australia in their project budget, but the idea of taking the entire team out to see where a product will be used isn't a bad idea at all. Offices are fine, but if the final product will be used in, say, commercial dairies, then taking the team to mingle with cows (and dairy farmers) could pay huge dividends. A computer design firm where I once worked had a different approach to providing inspiration. Every four to six weeks, the CEO would take the engineering team and senior management to a shooting range for an afternoon of target practice. The idea was that we'd all spend time doing something that required us to concentrate on things other than our day-to-day tasks. During breaks, we could sit around and have casual conversations about problems we were working on, and then we would return to work with new ideas. Shooting might not be right for every group, but there are other off-site activities, from whitewater rafting to bowling, that could serve the same purpose. A third option is a variation on the "Harrier in the parking lot" plan: an object or design element in the office environment that offers inspiration for those who would do great things. Whether it's a wing from a 747 stretched over a break area or a simple Zen garden, if it allows an engineer or designer to look at problems a bit differently or think that the limits of the possible are beyond what was previously thought, it's a good thing. CIOs in manufacturing organizations have roles to play far beyond the datacenter walls. Inspiring teams to do great things is one of those roles. How have you inspired your teams to go beyond what they thought was possible? Other CIOs would love to know. The blogs and comments posted on EnterpriseEfficiency.com do not reflect the views of TechWeb, EnterpriseEfficiency.com, or its sponsors. EnterpriseEfficiency.com, TechWeb, and its sponsors do not assume responsibility for any comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose. |
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More Blogs from Curtis Franklin Jr.
Curtis Franklin Jr. 5/22/2013
8 comments It's the dawn of a new age in helpful machines. It's the first step toward Skynet. Smarter, more intelligent computers are here. How will you use them?
Curtis Franklin Jr. 5/21/2013
10 comments If you're old enough, you will remember when "Service with a smile" was a common company slogan. In the enterprise datacenter, it just might be the new mission statement.
Curtis Franklin Jr. 5/20/2013
1 comment Two weeks on the road, two major conferences, lots of info -- and three key lessons for CIOs.
Curtis Franklin Jr. 5/15/2013
17 comments Remember the old highway safety slogan, "Speed Kills"? In today's business environment, it's lack of speed that's fatal.
Curtis Franklin Jr. 5/14/2013
1 comment Between webcasts, con calls, and Internet chats, you need a pretty good reason to actually get on a plane and go to a meeting. Last week's Interop gave me a lot of great reasons to be in ...
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