Gen Y’s have the perfect attributes for innovation

Business StorytellingJust so this is clear, I have no hidden agenda in singing the praises of Generation Y’s.  I am a Gen X and my children are Gen Z, or Gen Next or Gen Now, whatever they are called.  But I do admire and even envy Gen Y’s and am excited about the difference they will make to society.

In my previous post, I discussed Victor Finkel’s presentation at the Creative Innovation 2011 Conference and the three questions that a typical Gen Y asks employers.

The three questions all start with ‘why’.

Why am I doing this?

Why does it have to be this way? and

Why can’t I cite Wikipedia?

With this mindset they are the perfect people to drive innovation.

Finkel argued that the Gen Y’s ask ‘Why?’ and unlike the baby Boomers who also asked why by defying and rebelling against everything, that Gen Y’s at least listen to the answer!

A previous speaker at the ci2011 conference James Moody talked about waves of innovation and that there have been 5 to date.  He explored the fact that each wave ends with a global recession which leads to a new wave of innovation.

So looking at where we are at and feel excited that we are most likely to witness the start of the 6th wave of innovation.  Moody believes this will be the ‘Resource Efficiency’ wave were we need to figure out how we live in a world with scarcer resources such as food and water.

If Moody is right and we are at the dawn of a new wave of innovation and we have a generation entering the workforce that have almost been bred for innovation and been told they can achieve whatever they want …imagine what the future will hold.

Exciting or scary?  Perhaps a bit of both.  But regardless, we should all buckle up for one helluva ride.

Communicating Strategy to Gen Y’s

As you know from previous posts we recently attended the Creative Innovation ci2011 Conference, and one of the speakers was Victor Finkel presenting on the Why’s of Gen Y.

There is no  consensus over the exact definition of Gen Y’s, but the generally accepted range is from 1980 to 1999.  So pretty much anyone who is 12 to 30 years old today is considered a Gen Y.  On reflecting on Finkel’s presentation I was struck by a major challenge companies will need to address that perhaps they are not even aware of.

Business StorytellingFirst let me take you through the three questions that Finkel believes a typical Gen Y’s is asking.

Why am I doing this?

Why does it have to be this way? 

Why can’t I cite Wikipedia?

It is the first two questions that will have a significant impact on the way organisations not only communicate strategy but how they develop it.

Finkel explained that Gen Ys want to do rewarding and stimulating work and they want to do it from day one.  They need and want a higher purpose.  Yes they understand the need for profit but it has to be a purpose behind the profit, not profit for profit’s sake.  This strong desire in the whole new generation entering the workforce will see the dawn of a new age of organisations.  You will still have you Not For Profits (NFP) but organisations will need to become Purpose For Profits (PFP).

If companies don’t have a purpose, apart from greater profits and returning wealth to its shareholders and if they cannot communicate that purpose, then they will have a whole generation of their current and future workforce not wanting to work for them.

Companies without a well articulated purpose will have very little hope of attracting and retaining talented Gen Ys.

And if you think having a workforce devoid of Generation Ys is not a problem, think again.  Because Gen Ys have the perfect attributes for innovation …but that is a whole new post.  Watch this space.

The desires that drive us to connect

 Recently we had the pleasure of both presenting and attending the Creative Innovation 2011 conference in Melbourne.  The theme was ‘Challenges and opportunities in a super connected world’ and expert after expert presented cutting edge ideas from the present as well as  glimpses of the future…including do you want to live for ever (Raymond Kurzweil)?

But what are conferences if not to be provocative and present us contrary points of view?  Hugh Mackay, leading psychologist and pioneering social researcher did just that, in his session ‘The desires that drive us to connect’.

Hugh Mackay presented the double paradox of a super connected world.  The illusion that technology brings us together, but actually keeps us apart.  He gave the example of face book friends who met up for coffee and had nothing to say to each other as they already knew everything that was happening in each other’s lives!  The other paradox is the more we connect online, the more likely we are to frustrate our deep human desires to connect. So what are our 3 deep human desires?

One of our key desires is to connect with each other. Not through data transfer but through communication that nurtures us, connects us.  We need to see and feel the expression on people’s faces, their posture, the tone of their voice, how they are dressed, and their words and we take all this into account when we are trying to interpret meaning from each other.  Technology that uses just words, is stripping out the connection and communication that happens through the conduit of personal relationships not through cyberspace.  He used the paradoxical fact that we all choose to physically attend the conference, which could have easily been done online, and also was available via face book, twitter etc as illustration of this desire!

As part of this desire we have to understand that the key to effective communication is not brighter, smarter technology but brighter, smarter listening. Yes that old chestnut.  The barriers are not technology based but based in our ability to listen. Mackay also presented research that showed there was a direct correlation between increasing workplace boredom and time spent at the screen… we always suspected that!  My take on this is even though people grumble about the number of meetings they have to attend, attending meetings no matter how tedious or boring might be tapping into this desire of ours to connect with other people face to face.

Our second deep desire is to connect with the natural world.  That is why even in high rises you can spot a struggling pot plant on the 14th floor.  Some of us express this through our pets, our gardens, bush walking etc.  This explains me seeing this as a self indulgent photo opp for my dog!

Our third desire is to connect with ourselves and unless this happens or has happened the other two won’t work.  This brings to mind the old adage ‘Know thyself’, which the esteemed psychologist Carl Rogers described as a life long project.  So what are ways in which we can connect with ourselves? Mackay cited meditation, psychotherapy,and creative self expression, art, music, writing.  To this list I would like to  add laughter, and for me personally both exercise and reading help me connect to myself. So any regular creative activity that both stimulates and stills us.

Hugh Mackay is by no means a Luddite and is not presenting this as a  dichotomous view of the world but cautioning us to do both – while we embrace technology not to forget what our three desires as human beings are.

Mackay’s presentation actually filled me with optimism, as some things never change.   We are all afraid of getting left behind by a relentless technology tsunami.  But now no matter how fast or rapidly technology changes, being able to connect face to face with other people, being able to connect with nature and with our own selves will always be the key.  And fulfilling these desires will enable us to thrive and connect with what matters most…of course while still lugging our iPad from conference to conference.

Storytelling is Essential for Innovation

Business StorytellingIt was day 2 of the ci2011 Global Conference in Melbourne.  We had just presented our masterclass on storytelling the day before with some pretty positive feedback.

I was excited about what the next 2 days had in store for us with some of Australia’s and the worlds leading experts in their field.

One of the opening speakers was Professor Allan Fels AO and his words were music to my ears.

Professor Fels started talking about the power of storytelling and that “as humans we are hardwired to tell stories and hardwired to listen to stories”.

He said “70% of what we learn is through stories” and that “storytelling is essential for innovation“.  I withheld my urge to run up on stage and kiss the man …JUST!

But let’s look at Professor Fels two statements and why they ring so true.

“70% of what we learn is through stories”- Think of the last presentation you went to, or conference.  Was it the stories you remember?  Stories are how we make sense of the world, it is how we learn and it is what we remember.  Stories have the ability to not only help people understand what we are saying but they also allow people to remember what we have said and retell others without losing its meaning.  These are the three universal challenges as leaders, as teachers, as presenters and even as parents.

Do they understand what I am saying?

Will they remember what I am saying?

Can they share what I have said with others?

Stories will help you achieve traction on all those three challenges.

“Storytelling is essentional for innovation” – During the conference we heard many views on what is essential for innovation, such as diversity, collaboration and culture of risk taking …and these are all important.  But once we have that culture of risk taking and once we have brought together a diverse group of minds in a collaborative environment it is the stories that are shared that will generate real innovation.  Why?   Because stories of what is possible sparks other stories of what is possible.  When people hear stories, they suspend judgement and stories when done right provide a glimpse of future possibilities and opportunities.

So thank you Professor Allan Fels for showing us the power of storytelling so succinctly.

Reframing the problem? Let’s drink to that

Business StorytellingAs an entrepreneur I am fascinated (unhealthily?) by what sparks ideas in other entrepreneurs.  Most people would be familiar with wotif, an Australian success story.  In 1999, Graeme Wood was a consultant when hotels presented him with their problem of last minute room availability.  He saw this as an opportunity and founded wotif to make these rooms available at discounted prices…and now we have a global business.

I was presented with this same ingenuity when listening to Simon Griffiths  (pictured) an engineer, economist turned entrepreneur.

Simon knew that biggest bug bearer for ‘not for profits’ and ‘charities’ is fund raising.  They constantly have to get us to donate money and we on the other hand suffer from what is described as ‘compassion fatigue’.  We are sick of constantly being asked for money or already have hand picked a few causes we support, but feel guilty or resentful and really altruism should make us feel better about ourselves and the world!

Simon then thought about this problem differently and came up with the concept of the ‘consumer philanthropist’.  Instead of asking people for money, what if we looked at what they already consume and  tap into that?  So he set up ‘Shebeen’a non-profit bar in Melbourne. It sells exotic beer and wine from the developing world. The profit from each drink sale supports a development project in that drink’s country of origin.  A drink for Kenya?  Go for it.  Today Shebeen supplies its beer to various venues.  But then he hit his next hurdle, not everyone drinks beer and not everyone is happy to drink African beer.  So what other consumer product could he tap into?  He has now come up with his next venture, called ‘Who Gives A Crap’, which produces toilet paper manufactured entirely from recycled materials. 50% of the profits of this toilet paper will be used to build toilets in the developing world.  Ingenious and the name always makes audiences roar with laughter.

Simon’s concept could revolutionise the globe – turning everyday consumers into philanthropists – let’s drink to that.

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Melbourne VIC 3000.

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