Making Sense: Substitution
- Apparel is next. Asymco: it’s clear that computers are becoming small enough to be worn. Many prototypes exist and even small companies can build them. All that is needed is a new user interface and a new platform will be born. Once a platform is born, the creativity of millions can be unleashed to expand the problem set that can be solved. So it’s obvious that as a computer becomes wearable it will affect the industry that currently is hired to also be worn: apparel.
- Curiosity Is as Important as Intelligence. HBR: [...] perhaps the right question is not “Is this era more complex?” but “Why are some people more able to manage complexity?” Although complexity is context-dependent, it is also determined by a person’s disposition. In particular, there are three key psychological qualities that enhance our ability to manage complexity [...]
Making Do: Alignment
- Everything Is Bloated, Nothing Is Good. Tom McFarlin: That is, don’t be so quick to write off something as being bloated simply because it doesn’t align with whatever philosophy, vision, or decision that you personally have for a project. Just because something includes an option (or set of options) that you don’t use doesn’t mean it’s generally bloated.
Making It: Saying and Doing Better
- 4 Ways to Fix the Q&A Session. HBR: Ask for reactions, not just questions. When you debrief on the small-group discussion, insisting on the question format makes it awkward for the people who just want to share something. As you open the floor, specifically say “What are your reactions to all this?
- With $30M in new funding, IFTTT preps to take on rivals. Gigaom: IFTTT has created what it calls “channels” for more than 125 different services, and offers users the ability to browse the recipes created by combining the channels. I think it’s one of the easiest ways to help people who can’t program or wrangle APIs try to personalize their digital experiences.
Why are you reading this? Go play outside!
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Valeria is an experienced listener. She designs service and product experiences to help businesses rediscover the value of promises and its effect on relationships and culture. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. Book her to speak here.