Apparently the world of business has finally cottoned on to what we’ve all known for years: managers are crap. And before all my friends with ‘manager’ in their title get upset, don’t worry, I’m one of you…
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Culture
No Rules Rules OK
A study in New Zealand suggests abandoning rules and letting children take risks might be better for everyone in the long run. What lessons can we learn if we hold this example as a mirror to the adult world?
Can HR Influence Creativity and Innovation?
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: successful businesses are all about creating ‘cultures of creativity’. Noble though this cliché is, it’s not exactly explanatory of what organisations should really do to achieve it.
Enabling a Culture of Creativity
In HR circles, second to the phrase ‘people are our greatest asset’; perhaps one of the most over-used work clichés is that organisations – whether they employ fruit-pickers or silicon-valley computer geeks – all claim to want to foster a ‘culture of creativity.’ What does it mean and how can you do it?
Holacracy: work without managers
Can you imagine going in to work tomorrow and being told you don’t have a manager anymore? Now imagine how that would impact your own role, and whether that is for better or worse. Welcome to a working environment where roles overlap instead of being stacked on top of each other.
Good taste is bad news
You’re a creative. You live at the edges, in the grey areas, beyond the well defined and clearly structured. You are an insurgent and the establishment doesn’t like you.
The serious business of laughter
Stanford’s Eric Tsytsylin believes we should be taking laughter seriously. He explains why laughter is a powerful tool for individuals and organisations to boost happiness, creativity and productivity.
A Look at Facebook’s Innovation Culture
Facebook has gone from zero to a billion users in less than a decade. With that much success in such a short time, it must be doing something pretty creative to keep ahead of the game. What, exactly?
Does Google’s 20% time work?
Google’s 20% time has gained a lot of attention over recent years. Employees can take up to one day a week to work on something unrelated to their work, something they are passionate about. But does it work?
In asking that question, we have split it in two: how does it work and does it actually work? The latter can be interpreted to mean does it work for the employee and does it work for Google?
As an employee incentive, Innovation Time Off (as it is formally known) can be taken by any member of staff. Some people save it up so it can all be used at once, some don’t take it at all. It has certainly caused a stir and marked Google out, yet again, as an innovative company that understands what clever people need to stay inspired at work. Apple and LinkedIn followed suit. Apple called theirs “Blue Sky” and lets employees take two weeks to work on projects outside their normal responsibilities. Software company Atlassian openly calls their programme ‘20% time’.
An open Valve for creativity in business
The Valve handbook for new employees explains the ‘flatland’ approach of having no hierarchy, no boss to impress of be scared to speak up in front of, no pattern of employing talented people and then just telling them what to do.
Can creative thinking thrive in the office?
Working from home has lost its revolutionary status. It used to be seen as progressive, something forward thinking companies did. It was predicted that emails and Skype meetings would become the main method of colleague communication and remote working would be the...