RAFFIAPALM

Resources for product teams from industry experts

Excerpts

  • Human Centrality: A common view is that science has consistently been correcting our overly inflated view of our own significance. Stephen Jay Gould said, “The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos.” But it turns out that we are central, after all.

    Our ability to create models—virtual realities—in our brains, combined with our modest-looking thumbs, has been sufficient to usher in another form of evolution: technology. That development enabled the persistence of the accelerating pace that started with biological evolution. It will continue until the entire universe is at our fingertips.

    — The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil

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  • So what do you do when there is a real need for a culture change “…”? Ideally, you introduce a new story while also valuing and honoring the old one. This is a little like having one brand identity while recognizing the power of the category essence. An organization’s fundamental story is usually derived from its product line, its founder, and early decisions that were made and encoded in an oral history that becomes its story.

    Over time, the company hires people who have the right chemistry—meaning that they live by the same story. You can introduce new stories, but they are like new software. At this point, it works best to think of the historic brand identity as the operating system, which is inevitably still defined by the old story. All the new software needs is to be compatible. You can update the operating system, but replacing it requires you to start over, losing your brand equity.

    — The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes by Margaret Mark, Carol S. Pearson

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  • Open systems have no boundaries. All systems are connected. There are no separate individual systems. This is a difficult concept to wrap our heads around.

    Boundaries are artificially created by people to help them separate and clearly examine one problem at a time. There is no such thing as one correct boundary of a system. The boundaries we decide to draw around systems are based on the questions we are trying to answer and the problems we are trying to solve. The boundaries we draw can lead to problems if we fail to keep in mind that they are of our own making and were artificially created by us.

    Ideally, we would study a problem and choose whatever boundary best helped to meet the system’s needs. But we are creatures of habit. We become comfortable with the boundaries we typically use. To get a more accurate picture, we should create a new boundary for each problem, have an open mind, and judge every situation on its own merits.

    — The Systems Thinker: Essential Thinking Skills For Solving Problems, Managing Chaos, and Creating Lasting Solutions in a Complex World by Albert Rutherford

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  • Create a culture that rewards people who show that they care. Seek the input of people who have shown a tendency to take risks and share big ideas. Prove that you value your employees above all else by giving them the freedom to ask for what they want, to experiment, and to be themselves.

    — The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk

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  • Visionaries take a greater interest in technology than in their industry. Visionaries are defining the future. You meet them at technology conferences and other futurist forums where people gather to forecast trends and seek out new market opportunities. They are easy to strike up a conversation with, and they understand and appreciate what high-tech companies and high-tech products are trying to do.

    They want to talk ideas with bright people. They are bored with the mundane details of their own industries. They like to talk and think high tech.

    — Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers by Geoffrey A. Moore

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