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Psychology Influences Social Networking, Innovation and Collaboration
Who you're talking to on your social network will make a
difference in your results.
difference in your results.
Short Term vs. Long
Term Rewards. There is a human
inclination to take the short term reward. Given the choice, a kid will take one cookie
now over two cookies later, every time.
Term Rewards. There is a human
inclination to take the short term reward. Given the choice, a kid will take one cookie
now over two cookies later, every time.
This leads to lots of incremental innovation
in the workplace and makes it harder to achieve breakthroughs.
If you ask a bunch of your coworkers for ideas, you're going
to get a slew of suggestions on how to do the tasks they are already doing'
better. The good news about incremental
innovation is your organization will rapidly achieve paybacks for those suggestions.
to get a slew of suggestions on how to do the tasks they are already doing'
better. The good news about incremental
innovation is your organization will rapidly achieve paybacks for those suggestions.
But this short sighted thinking will handcuff you from
taking leaps and bonds in the marketplace.
taking leaps and bonds in the marketplace.
This is the perfect place to insert the buggy whip analogy'Our company keeps making better and better buggy
whips, in fact we bought out all our competitors, now we own the market. But no one stands up to say 'Hey wait a
minute, maybe we ought to be in the automobile business instead'.
whips, in fact we bought out all our competitors, now we own the market. But no one stands up to say 'Hey wait a
minute, maybe we ought to be in the automobile business instead'.
We want breakthrough thinking even if it is disruptive.
Powerful People. One great bet is to make sure you've got the
more powerful people on your team involved with your collaborative innovation
effort. Those with power are willing to
put a higher value on future rewards; to take risks; to avoid the temptation of
immediate benefits. Those with power on
your team can appreciate the value of future benefits. More senior people are frequently resistant to
joining social networks but their input is very valuable.
more powerful people on your team involved with your collaborative innovation
effort. Those with power are willing to
put a higher value on future rewards; to take risks; to avoid the temptation of
immediate benefits. Those with power on
your team can appreciate the value of future benefits. More senior people are frequently resistant to
joining social networks but their input is very valuable.
Natural Allies. Another problem in the collaborative process
is that those we're connected to look an awful lot like ourselves. We tend to flock to those who share our
values. Our common areas of interest
outweigh all other attributes in our connection selection process. Think about the last election and how many
people were un-friended because they were blue while you were red or vice verso. These like minded people are not
necessarily your allies!
is that those we're connected to look an awful lot like ourselves. We tend to flock to those who share our
values. Our common areas of interest
outweigh all other attributes in our connection selection process. Think about the last election and how many
people were un-friended because they were blue while you were red or vice verso. These like minded people are not
necessarily your allies!
To get great ideas off the ground we need to find natural
allies to collaborate. People on my
team, my immediate work group, may have competitive reasons for less-than-ideal
input into my ideas. They have their own
agendas, perhaps in conflict with my goals.
Contributors who have no skin in my game are likely to give more
trustworthy advice.
allies to collaborate. People on my
team, my immediate work group, may have competitive reasons for less-than-ideal
input into my ideas. They have their own
agendas, perhaps in conflict with my goals.
Contributors who have no skin in my game are likely to give more
trustworthy advice.
It's always good to have connections in your innovation social
network that have different backgrounds from you. In fact it might be beneficial to have
connections who outright disagree with you.
You need to have holes poked into your theses to test their validity. Trustworthy advice might be gleaned from
strangers who are neither potential partners nor competition. They are Natural Allies.
network that have different backgrounds from you. In fact it might be beneficial to have
connections who outright disagree with you.
You need to have holes poked into your theses to test their validity. Trustworthy advice might be gleaned from
strangers who are neither potential partners nor competition. They are Natural Allies.
The social networking technology we use for the front end of
innovation is a tricky piece of business.
How we collaborate, with whom we collaborate, the results of that collaboration
have human psychology thoroughly interwoven into the process.
innovation is a tricky piece of business.
How we collaborate, with whom we collaborate, the results of that collaboration
have human psychology thoroughly interwoven into the process.
Joshi, P.
& Fast, N. 'Power and Reduced Temporal Discounting,' Psychological Science
(forthcoming).
& Fast, N. 'Power and Reduced Temporal Discounting,' Psychological Science
(forthcoming).
Russell, E.
et al., 'Friends with Benefits, but without the Sex..., ' Evolutionary
Psychology (February 2013).
et al., 'Friends with Benefits, but without the Sex..., ' Evolutionary
Psychology (February 2013).
Ron blogs, researches and
writes about emerging enterprise technologies focused on social media,
innovation, voice of the customer, marketing automation and enterprise feedback
management. Ron Shulkin is
Vice President for Global Sales and Channels for CogniStreamer', an innovation
ecosystem, a Social Network for Innovation. You can learn more about
CogniStreamer here http://bit.ly/ac3x60
. Ron manages The Idea Management Group
on LinkedIn (Join Here) . You can
follow him Twitter. You can follow his blogs at this Facebook group. You can
connect with Ron on LinkedIn. You can read
more about Ron's history at his curriculum vitae web site www.shulkin.net.
writes about emerging enterprise technologies focused on social media,
innovation, voice of the customer, marketing automation and enterprise feedback
management. Ron Shulkin is
Vice President for Global Sales and Channels for CogniStreamer', an innovation
ecosystem, a Social Network for Innovation. You can learn more about
CogniStreamer here http://bit.ly/ac3x60
. Ron manages The Idea Management Group
on LinkedIn (Join Here) . You can
follow him Twitter. You can follow his blogs at this Facebook group. You can
connect with Ron on LinkedIn. You can read
more about Ron's history at his curriculum vitae web site www.shulkin.net.