Skip to content

Our Digital Dust

Reflections on three fathers' experience and lives for our kids

May 2, 2017 – Innovation

admin May 2, 2017 No Comments

I am at a conference today where they are talking about innovation and there was a very interesting presentation from General Motors on how to instantiate and grow innovation in large organizations, and it comes down to (surprise) social networks and four types of people.  I find this interesting because most personality tests tend to group people into 4 primary buckets.  Even the Myers Briggs groups their 16 types into 4 primary types.  

I found it somewhat amusing because it seems self-evident, but is always heralded as unique and new thought.  The fact is, to be successful as a group, everyone has a role to play and those roles are equally important.  From the brokers who connect groups, to the connectors who foster and connect each subgroup, to the energizer who drive the excitement to the challengers who create healthy opposition, each role is crucial to the overall success and growth of the organization.  Again, this is not new thinking, just concepts rediscovered and retaliated by official-looking research by a group of PhDs. 

My personal take on this is that it reinforces a thought I have been teasing out for awhile.  First, I think the reason we have increased focus on personality types and descriptions is that we are all looking for a group that defines us as normal.  We desire our individuality but we still have a need to understand that there is a place for us in the herd.  Second, I think we tend to undervalue the other groups and their contributions because we see them through a lens that does not value the same actions.  For example, we may not value the role of the challenger because they play a devil’s advocate role and push back on us if we are a connector looking to unify the team.

The truth is if we embrace and celebrate the roles we each play, we will succeed, if not we will fail.  Maybe that isn’t an innovative thought, but it is worth remembering. 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Uncategorized

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

May 2017
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Apr   Jun »

Recent Posts

  • Lent, Life, and Liberty
  • February 15, 2021 – Dingo Dogs, Moose, and Retirement
  • February 10, 2021 – Sweetness
  • Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Before…
  • January 24, 2021 – Carpe Annos Singulos (Seize the Year!)

Recent Comments

  • ROBERT HALE on February 10, 2021 – Sweetness
  • Bob Hale on Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Before…
  • June Hale on January 3, 2021 – We are back for 2021!
  • June Hale on January 3, 2021 – We are back for 2021!
  • Bob Hale on Welcome to a New Year?

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • April 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017

Our Twitter Feed

Follow @@ourdigitaldust

Digital Dust
@ourdigitaldust

  • We have a new post at #ourdigitaldust! New post: Lent, Life, and Liberty https://t.co/ZaH7BcXQ2u
    about 5 days ago
  • We have a new post at #ourdigitaldust! New post: February 15, 2021 – Dingo Dogs, Moose, and Retirement https://t.co/CA7u1k9ejn
    about 2 weeks ago
  • We have an updated post at #ourdigitaldust! Post Edited: February 10, 2021 – Sweetness https://t.co/mhcyfJNaNt
    about 3 weeks ago
  • We have a new post at #ourdigitaldust! New post: Sweetness https://t.co/mhcyfJNaNt
    about 3 weeks ago
  • We have an updated post at #ourdigitaldust! Post Edited: Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Before… https://t.co/SgIcjSPXk8
    about 4 weeks ago
  • We have a new post at #ourdigitaldust! New post: Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Before… https://t.co/SgIcjSPXk8
    about 4 weeks ago
  • We have an updated post at #ourdigitaldust! Post Edited: January 24, 2021 – Carpe Annos Singulos (Seize the Year!) https://t.co/RUSFg3hOVa
    about 1 month ago
  • We have a new post at #ourdigitaldust! New post: January 24, 2021 – Carpe Annos Singulos (Seize the Year!) https://t.co/RUSFg3hOVa
    about 1 month ago
  • We have a new post at #ourdigitaldust! New post: A New Day https://t.co/TyMm5AMnEp
    about 1 month ago
  • We have a new post at #ourdigitaldust! New post: Welcome to a New Year? https://t.co/xdeWTPs78Q
    about 2 months ago
Copyright © 2021. Our Digital Dust
Powered By WordPress and Silver Quantum