Revelnnovation

The Mayo Clinic is doing some amazing things in the innovation space, using service design. Mayo has a three year track record for holding an annual Innovation conference that engages the whole organization with social media tools. Features of the gathering that helps spur on energy, creativity and innovation include:

• Diversity, 400 or so executives & thought leaders in diverse disciplines of large enterprise innovation are invited mix & mingle at the conference

• Tools, using new engagement tools in social media, such as SocialText, (described on a business page on Facebook)

• Processes: Fostering "microsharing" - a process using the above two factors, in order to extend creative thinking to the whole organization, 50,000 people

• Engagement, Mayo staffers not at the conference appoint themselves as connectors and advocates of new ideas and innovations to carry ideas forward to further development and possible implementation

• Published, Mayo cited as a case study cited in ~ The New Social Learning, Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner, 2010

Check it out and see what you think:
http://blog.centerforinnovation.mayo.edu/

As for me, I'm including them in my presentation at the local OD Summit this week in Michigan (organization development) with the title: Social Media: Choosing Change Leadership & Strategic Agility over Chaos.

More about the local, Michigan OD Summit conference is available here: www.odsummit.com

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Benevolent hacking is the duct tape of the work world.  - the Hacking Work Manifesto

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There is a reason I generally like to hang around techie types, and am married to a particular brand of one.  For some, there's a lovely, dry sense of humor, a particular type of irreverence and "fight the system" and "fight working for the man" that enriches and adds proper balance to my anti-corporate (I'm not the Borg*) side. Yet, I do and will continue to choose  to work with and for corporations.  They are filled with lovely human beings that, like all of us I hope, desire to feel fully human and not herded into mechanistic silos and tunnels in order to make their numbers and pay the rent.  They have families, children, dreams.   Hackers provide great insights into this aspect of productivity when the bureaucracy turns sour, does not serve the masses, and just plain gets in the way.

God bless 'em (many agnostics and atheists and alternatives to my mainline religious views, out there, I'm glad to say.)  I'm glad they are out there to make work do-able when the normal ways of doing work just DON'T work.

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 That all said, I'm actually one of them. 

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Also:  Some of them make enough money that their salaries rival that of bank V.Ps.  There's a certain delight in that.  Especially when seeing their videos and reading their blogs, where they say anything they want.

That all said, I'm actually one of them.  I'm a shallow nerd type.  I love technology & gadgets.  I can do basic html and embed stuff.  I can create social media empire structures.  I can figure stuff out, with a little help from my deep techie friends including smartie pants, socially adept types.  I can see where technology accelerates human capabilities and builds relationships.  More power to we all in building our techie side, with every smart phone and iPad we buy.

--Deb

PS:  The Borg are race of 1/2 robot - 1/2 human hive-oriented creatures from the iconic show, Star Trek.   The Borg are also a symbol in popular culture for any type of juggernaut against which "resistance is futile".  I am a Trekker from way back.  Seen all the movies.  Have opinions of the spin offs.  Love sci fi.  Even love Babylon 5 but not BattleStar Galactica.  Convinced I belong to the club?