All posts by gabrielroszak

A letter from your older self

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“In whatever sorrow you may be, however inconsolable and irremediable it may appear, believe me that the old woman in the cottage, with the young eyes, knows something, though she must not always tell it, that would quite satisfy you about it, even in the worst moments of your distress.”

-from Phantastes by George MacDonald

Dear you,

Have you ever noticed that most of the heartbreaks and hurdles you face in life always seem so much more navigable after you’ve gotten past them? I think about the bullies in junior high, or dating and worrying that I’d wind up alone, or that year I lived in the cold north with that joyless job and the three hour commute. So often I’ve wished I could dispatch an older version of me into the past to stand up to those (probably wounded) little sadists and to tell junior high me that I don’t need…

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Business 3.0 Manifesto

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Gene Roddenberry was a visionary. In Star Trek he depicted an Earth where there was no labour. Where due to both emotional and technological progress everyone was free to do whatever made them truly happy. They were free to explore the world and their own selves. His vision was of a humanity which, while not problem-free, exceled both economically and ethically.

We believe the cultural development in many countries and the development of management as a science have reached the point when the building blocks needed to rebuild the economy in a smarter, leaner way are available. What’s necessary is a will to change, to explore possibilites and final frontiers of how we organize.

A new, healthier economic system is needed. And below is our interpretation of this need, our dream.

Roadmap to Star Trek Economy:

▲ #1 Collective management

The idea derives from early models of Participatory Management but the word is not consensus but UNANIMOUS. Let people engage to their own cap.

▲ #2 Open Company

Give your friends a real possibility to look at your work and help you with it. Let negotiations be a “prisoner’s dilemma” no more.

▲ #3 Product co-creation

A collective of actual users is involved from the very beginning to engage the clients and deliver a fitted solution.

▲ #4 Give-What-You-Feel

In experience economy a product’s value depends on its significance to the user. The payment model reflects this.

▲ #5 Receive-What-You-Feel

To have sustainable, lean flow, the RHYF model must follow GHYF. Let everyone engage themselves to their fullest potential, no cap.

▲ #6 Imagination Work

Work in a company should be a Huizingan “game”. Gamify it on the level of emotions and imagination. Make it truly interesting for ALL the agents.

The above concepts are not immediately applicable in many industries. However, the main theme is universal: SPACE, SPACE, SPACE and more SPACE. Space to allow the shift from external, formal structure, duty type control to internal control. Space to the point where motivation comes from following one’s passion and being ready to monetize it.

After the initial growth the company and its staff should slow down and use deep embedded patterns to determine which plans are outdated. They need to learn to stay still for a space to form. In that space new ideas can be channeled. Ideas more aligned with both the job and the client markets and more informed by the Zeitgeist. In an environment where the majority of companies follow a project-based paradigm, almost every digitalized market with low entry barrier and good information synchronization between agents is a hit-driven market.

The old management/business paradigms are irrelevant in a growing number of contexts. The old structure-/control-based paradigms have reached their critical mass rendering them useless, devoid of utilitarian power. For example it has been proven that it is impossible to effectively control a knowledge worker in high-velocity markets in knowledge industries.

In some countries there are industries that already operate on ^ #6 Imagination Work. Gamification has laid remarkable foundations but needs to evolve to result in a genuine interest in one’s work. Imagination Work is the ability to immerse oneself in storytelling and metaphors thus activating the right brain hemisphere in order to tap the unused potential. It is through heightened intuition that businesses will be able to escape the cycle of information overflow and paralysis by analysis, and to boost their cycle frequency.

In short, the effect observable from the outside is:

✰ Low Frequency Firms (i.e. brick & mortar business):

work->get paid

✰ Middle Frequency Firms (high tech, creative sector):

play->work->get paid

✰ High Frequency Firms (???):

play->get paid

The search for working practical models has already begun. This is a perfect opportunity for entrepreneurs, geeks and social scientists to engage in a dialogue and try out new approaches based on complementing, not competing, perspectives on how things can be done.

These changes happen a step at a time. At this point it’s not about perfection. Many hybrid models will lead us through the changes. New paradigms will rise and fall broken by our kids when they have their own ideas on running things. But as long as there’s progress it’s good enough until critical mass is reached.

We are the “???”. But STE is just a theory, a set of concepts. So let’s share them and play with them. Let’s see how much fun emerging business models can be and how many more people will be able to shout “MAMA I MADE IT!” Success doesn’t have to be exclusive. Reality is not a zero-sum game. STE is for all of us. Together let’s boldly go where no one has gone before.

10 Principles of Good Design

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This Rules were created by Dieter Rams https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Rams

We try to use them even in the most ornamental illustrations and the richest aesthetics.

1. GOOD DESIGN IS INNOVATIVE
There are endless ways to innovate and new technologies are offering exciting opportunities to do so.

2. GOOD DESIGN MAKES A PRODUCT USEFUL
A product is meant to be used. It must satisfy certain needs, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic . Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product and removes anything that can detract from it.

3. GOOD DESIGN IS AESTHETIC
Products we use every day affect our personality and our well-being. Hence, their aesthetics are critical. However, and this is very important, only well-executed designs can be beautiful.

4. GOOD DESIGN MAKES A PRODUCT UNDERSTANDABLE
Gone are the days of RTFM. You didn’t need a manual to operate the iPhone, did you? Rams used to say that good design can make the product talk and be self-explanatory.

5. GOOD DESIGN IS UNOBTRUSIVE
Products are neither decorative objects nor works of art. It’s important for the design of products to leave room for the user’s self-expression.

6. GOOD DESIGN IS HONEST
Our favorite! Good design does not make a product more valuable or innovative than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with false promises.

7. GOOD DESIGN IS LONG-LASTING
Do you know the IBM logo? Did you know it was designed 43 years ago? 43 years and it was never redesigned. Like Paul Rand (the designer of the IBM logo), Rams believes that good design avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears old fashioned. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years.

8. GOOD DESIGN IS THOROUGH, DOWN TO THE LAST DETAIL
Think that Steve Jobs was a details lunatic? Well, he had a great teacher. In good design, nothing is arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in designing a product show respect towards the user.

9. GOOD DESIGN IS ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY
Good design conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.

10. GOOD DESIGN IS AS LITTLE DESIGN AS POSSIBLE
Less, but better. Good design concentrates on the essential. Everything else is left out. In Rams’ words: “Back to purity, back to simplicity”.

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