Knowledge To Need by Innové

New Website

Mike Reed — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:07:30 GMT

We would like to invite you to check out new website, Kudos to James Phillips for his hard work and innovation and getting this online.

Speed is the Killer App

KnowledgeToNeed — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:17:07 GMT

Everything seems to be positioned to be delivered as a service over the network. How will this shape the landscape of onpremise service providers?

Unfinished Sentences

Mike Reed — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:42:31 GMT

This is a re-post of one of our oldest posts, but I like to be reminded of our purpose. We would love to hear from you.

Is a painting finished by the artist or the viewer? Is the poem finished by the poet or the reader? Is a song finished by the writer, the singer or the listener? We live increasingly in an age where products are completed by the purchaser. Essentially we buy products without knowing their intended purpose. The initial developer did not and does not know their ultimate purpose. The product is just a platform and functionality is an added property that completes it to a degree, but not completely. It has always been true that other purposes and adaptations have been found for items beyond their intended purpose, but their intended purpose was not that other purposes or adaptations be found. Indeed that is the purpose of the platform.

The Knowledge to Need blog promotes the idea as the platform. We believe the idea is not the end, but the beginning and it truly is not even the beginning, but rather a synthesis of our collective experience and knowledge that precedes its formation. I have often found in the middle of page that I am no longer reading, but that I have been derailed by an idea presented by the author and my mind is pursuing the course of that new idea rather than the written page. I have often found myself wondering whether an idea was mine or someone else’s when the truth is likely neither or both. Ideas, like paintings and poems, exist in two forms, as created and as perceived. We don’t “own” an idea or thought until we have completed someone else’s idea or thought in our mind. Only at that time does the idea become a part of the tapestry of thought that constitutes who we are. We are not capable of owning another’s idea, because the filters of our perceptions and the bias of our beliefs inexorably alter it from its original form. Only after this transformation of perception, does an idea become part of our personal dialectic, a platform, a basis for the further evolution of thought, a transitory phase in the evolution of an idea.

I believe we often don’t present an idea, because it is “half-baked”, not completely formed in our mind. The “idea as a platform” concept accepts that the idea is not ours to complete, but to articulate and to allow someone else to add the next step in the process. This blog seeks to develop a forum for the evolution of ideas, a forum to allow us to finish each other’s sentences. Business ideas are the ones of most current interest to me, so we begin there. If the process works, it is a near certainty that that is not where we will end. Join us in the dialogue.

StrengthFinder 2.0

Mike Reed — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:27:02 GMT

I just took the StengthFinder 2.0 assessment. I found out my strengths are:

1 Strategic
2 Relator
3 Achiever
4 Competition
5 Futuristic

There are 34 possibilities. Theory contends there is a strong correlation in the degree I use these strengths in my job and the passion I will have for that job. I think that is true in my case. There is also the underlying premise that my time is better spent improving and focusing on my God-given strengths than trying to improve a weakness. It's a interesting tool that includes a guide for application and achievement. Let me know if you have taken the assessment and how close you think the results correlated to what you know about you.

StrengthFinder 2.0

"Perhaps", something to think about

Mike Reed — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 21:52:09 GMT

Three Parables

Innospeak

Mike Reed — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 03:59:55 GMT

Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all. Abraham Lincoln

Now we have the internet to show us that most of our original thoughts aren't new at all. At Innové we call these new ideas that aren't "quasepiphanies". The rare real new idea is called a "legitepiphany".

As to the real definition of epiphany, I like this one, "a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience." At Innové we welcome epiphanies, legit or otherwise. As Thomas Edison said, "“We now know a thousand ways not to build a light bulb”. Who knows one of these ideas just might work.

I’ve been there, but I’m not sure I could find my way back.

Mike Reed — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:50:21 GMT

Often times through the passage of time or through lack of attention we are unable to return to a place even though we know generally where it is. Such is the case with Flow. Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. (Csíkszentmihályi) Flow is the way Michael Jordan played basketball, Michelangelo painted, Edison invented and Patton led. My Dad, as an FAA flight traffic controller, would speak of days when he would sense the tap on his shoulder of his relief and realize he had neither stood up nor eaten lunch in his eight hour shift. He was in Flow. You could name your own examples and, chances are, you’ve been there. I encourage you to think of that time when you lost track of time, what were you doing, what was the situation, the task, the motivation, the feeling, the environment? Start to build the framework of your Flow experience, build a trail, leave bread crumbs so you can return. Write it in your journal, share it with friends, tattoo it on your forearm, write it on your mirror. Set goals and make decisions about the future regarding your Flow experience and how you can conform your current job or future job to the characteristics of your Flow experience. If you're there tell us about it, if not, try to find your way back. When you get there I think it will feel a lot like home.

Innove Has a New Vice President

Mike Reed — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:51:45 GMT

I’m proud to announce, effective 1 Feb, Innové has a new vice president. Doug Ferrata is a former Lead Associate with Booz Allen where he was the onsite PASS contract lead at ESC/HNCC and provided acquisition support, program and project management disciplines to the to the Air & Ground Communications Security (COMSEC) Branch. Prior to joining Booz Allen, Doug spent 4 years in the Air Force as an acquisition program manager. Doug is a Program Management Professional and Level 2 Certified in Acquisition Program Management. Doug is a 2000 graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology. Doug will be managing and developing our government business. He and his wife Andrea have two beautiful boys, Cole and Jack.

Alliances

Mike Reed — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:38:29 GMT

The Real Way to Build a Social Network

This article introduced me to a new way of looking at networking and relationships. I'm particularly struck by the terms "allies" and "alliances". These along with weak ties give us common terms of reference on the construct and value of networks. Here is a taste, "An alliance is when a co-worker needs last-minute help on Sunday night preparing for a Monday morning presentation, and even though you're busy, you agree to go over to his house and help. You cooperate and sacrifice because you want to help a friend in need but also because you figure you'll be able to call on him in the future when you are the one in a bind. That isn't being selfish; it's being human." I'm not sure I agree we cooperate because we expect the favor to be returned, but it often is. I suspect true friends and true allies don't keep score, but overall the article provides some excellent ideas and insights. The picture below is from the article and provided for the enjoyment of my son-in-law.

Remembering the Future

Mike Reed — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:00:57 GMT

This seemed like a good topic for the New Year when many of us may be setting goals or making resolutions. I first thought of this topic when studying the minor prophets who are not minor at all, but that is a topic for another blog. In my study I learned that prophesies were not diachronic, (consecutive), they were instead, synchronic, that is with events happening simultaneously. That makes sense when prophecies are of God and not bound by our temporal constraints. Wanting to know more about synchronicity, I searched Wikipedia and found the definition, “Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance and that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner.” That just made my head hurt, but more interesting to me was a quote Wikipedia included from Through the Looking Glass in which the White Queen says to Alice, “‘it’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards”.

For those of you still reading, it is this Lewis Carroll quote that is the motivation for this New Year’s post. How do we overcome a poor memory that only works backward? It seems our great thinkers and innovators have been those they could rise above this human weakness. Ted Kennedy quoted Robert Shaw in his eulogy to his brother Robert saying, "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not." The writer of Hebrews tells us, “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Sounds a little like some have the ability to envision the future with the same or greater certainly that most of us reserve for the past.

For most of us remembering the future is merely projecting a regression line through past events. As we know, if we always do what we have always done, we will always get what we have always got. That may be fine if you are satisfied with every aspect of your existence. However, for those who don’t want to remember a future that looks like the past you must not only dream things as they never were, you must act to change them. As Alan Kay said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

Here is an approach that might help. Remember yourself a year from now. What are you wearing (jeans, suit, swimsuit), what do you look like (healthier, rested, wiser), what are you doing (running a marathon, playing with the kids, praying), where are you living, who are you with, where do you work, what do you do there and what matters most. You get the picture and that is the point—the picture. Bill Hybells in Courageous Leadership said a vision is a picture of the future that inspires passion. I’ve focused a lot previously on the passion, but this is about the picture or pictures. Fix it in your mind. If you have even the slightest artistic ability—draw it. If not, write the word picture. Put it in your wallet on your bathroom mirror, in your car.

Next, take the element you see or remember most clearly and study the details. This is remembering your preferred future. If you picture yourself in jeans and not a suit, what does that say about your desired job, hobby or lifestyle? What are the steps to get there and when will you start and, very specifically, what will you do? More than a list of goals, a list of daily, weekly and monthly actions will help you achieve a future that more closely matches your preferred vision. (Note: actually doing the things on the list helps even more.) Remember things happen rarely by chance and then only by accident. If your memory of the future differs from the present, you can change it, exchange it and invent a new one. I dare say it works ever time it is tried.

Some of you may have noticed in the simple diagram I included that the preferred future includes a portion that extends beyond the possible. If you want one final deep thought as you contemplate in your logical mind how it is possible for you to do the impossible, I will leave you with this…maybe it’s not you who is doing it.

The diagram included in this post is from Turning the Future into Revenue, by Glen Hiemstra

Virtualizing the Knowledge Worker

KnowledgeToNeed — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:31:34 GMT

Nimsoft's O'Malley gets it! The progression of an IT services firm, from consulting to MSP to CSP to On-Demand Knowledge and Business Solutions http://blogs.computerworld.com/19396/virtualizing_human_capital

Convergence

Mike Reed — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:27:38 GMT

Google the attributes of cloud computing and you will likely get a list like this: on-demand self service, scalable and elastic, resource pooling, metered by use and uses Internet technologies. Lately we have been preparing to deliver turnkey cloud solutions and supporting consulting services. This may seem a slight departure from our focus on delivering knowledge to need, but it struck me today that there is a great deal of similarity in the thought processes of each.

The idea of on-demand self service is that the cloud service is ready to use and can be provisioned without any help from the support team. Our thin layer approach to knowledge to need is that the role of the company is to connect people to the problem then get out of the way. The smaller the company layer (support team) the better the model is working. In other words customer value results not infrastructure.

Scalability is the ability to grow or shrink based on the application’s demand and elasticity is how fast resources can be added or removed. Our knowledge to need model is based on the ability to quickly add task specific professionals who have been previously vetted based on skills and passion. Using the knowledge to need search engine we can quickly add resources rapidly in response to job requirements. We then release those independent professionals or companies when the task is complete. Some may not like the model, but to the professional pursuing their passion the process allows the freedom to choose tasks specifically aligned to their interests and work when and where they choose.

Resource Pooling is to the ability of software to be offered to multiple user entities in a way so that each tenant operates as logically isolated, while using physically shared resources. The knowledge professionals in the previous paragraph and increasing in years to come will likely work for multiple entities without a specific company affiliation, but delivering like expertise based on their individual passion.

Metered by Use refers to the measurement of services in a way similar to electricity or mobile phone usage. Also, consistent with our thin layer approach as typified in delivery platforms such as oDesk.com workers set an hourly rate, bid for jobs, deliver and are paid accordingly.

As seems obvious, uses Internet technology refers to the accessibility of cloud services through the Internet. Our knowledge to need model likewise accepts that work in the new normal is not constrained by time or location. Use of the Internet creates a workforce upon which the work never sets.

I may just have my head in the clouds, but I think the ideas around cloud computing and knowledge to need converge. As we begin driving the delivery of consumable cloud service and associated consulting, I think we find great value applying the model. Our success will depend greatly on our ability to identify, scale and deploy passionate professionals to sell, innovate and consult with customers to provide a captivating user experience. Let us know if you see yourself as one of those professionals.

Where is the best place to hide a body?

Mike Reed — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:05:45 GMT

That's what my daughter asked her new iPhone. I'm not worried, I think she was just trying to test the system. In response to her question, Siri on the new iPhone 4S brought up the location of several land fills on the map and asked if she needed directions. I'm not an Apple guy except for Words With Friends on my iPod, but I think Siri is something that bears considerable watching. I also realize that by the time I have heard about something most of you are moving on to the next thing. In this case, I invite to dwell a minute on interactive smart search and where it might lead. When this door opened, did another door close? What technologies wax and what technologies wane as a result? Guess right and place your bets.

Wink 35 - Tornillo 8

Mike Reed — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 19:44:45 GMT

Ballgame over! Wildcats win! Wink 35 Tornillo 8, another football season in Wink is in the history book! You likely won’t see the score on ESPN, but the event is very important nonetheless. For some student athletes it is the beginning of off-season training or another sport, but for the nine seniors it is the end of an era. It is the last time they will be the boys being sent out to fight for their town, their school, their teammates and themselves. Try as they might, I think they are too young to truly cherish or treasure this last game, so I will try to do it for them. Many will spend the rest of their lives trying to equal the competitive zeal and the sense of camaraderie that they shared on the football field, but that is not a bad thing. Football will provide the memory of what it feels like to passionately pursue a purpose. They can apply that memory to prepare, practice and leave it all on the field to the game of life. For those who learn those football lessons, life challenges will seem less daunting and wins and the losses will be viewed with greater perspective. I also have one more bit of good news. In thirty or forty years, they will remember the game, the friends, the fans, the coaches and the lessons through the richness of life experience and appreciate the fullness of the blessing of football lessons.

The coming clouds

Mike Reed — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:32:23 GMT

It’s easy to assume this blog concerns the potential financial collapse of Greece and its devastating effects on the EU and the world. As tantalizing a topic as that is, I’m going to discuss another kind of clouds, Personal or P-Clouds that offer more promise than problem and more silver lining than gloom. Though “disruptive” from a technological standpoint, this type of disruption creates the opportunity to benefit the chaos of change. The Personal Cloud market could reach $12B by 2016 (Don Rowinski citing Forrester) and will require a third wave of major client software, a new delivery channel and the “turbulence selling to individuals”. That turbulence allows the entrance of new market movers who have the ability to move with speed and differentiation. Civil War General Nathan Bedford Forrest suggested the winner is the one who gets “there firstest with the mostest". That “mostest” in this context is differentiated services or the ability to project a differentiated service and the provisioning of the differentiated service in the initial offering.

I see the most powerful differentiation as the ability to simply and elegantly converge or synthesize the spheres of work, personal and social networking. Think of your PC as a planet in your networked solar system, not the hub. Those other planets, just to name a few, include multiple PCs, iPads, iPods, smartphones, automatic back-up, identity protection, Facebook, Twitter, CRM and the other apps/software associated with them. To me the challenge resembles a national intelligence problem where the issue is often not intelligence or information, but the inability to fuse thousands (perhaps millions) of individual data feeds into common operational picture. In our new P-Cloud based solar system, with the right tools, we have the ability to fuse work, personal and social information into a synergistic collective that is technologically transcendent. Think P-Cloud (PC) three dimensional (PC3D). Preparation for a sales meeting with a customer looks more like a hologram than a PowerPoint presentation. A “snapshot” of family includes their location, genealogy, status, birthdates, etc. None these functionalities is that impressive in its own right, but I believe the fusion of the functions is intriguing. It will be interesting to see who can get there the firstest with the mostest.

To Broadband, Everywhere...and Beyond

KnowledgeToNeed — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:06:27 GMT

What do you think are the implications, good, bad, otherwise? "The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has voted to overhaul a decades-old system of telephone subsidies in rural areas, with the funding refocused on broadband deployment."
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/242713/fcc_votes_to_end_telephone_subsidies_shift_to_broadband.html

Seeing things that aren’t there

Mike Reed — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:07:16 GMT

I thought this might be a good topic for Halloween. Sometimes we “see” things that aren’t there because of a behavior that cannot otherwise be explained. By applying the universal laws of physics, black holes have been defined though never “observed”. Astrophysicists infer the existence of a black hole by observing its gravitational interactions with its surroundings. Businesses also have black holes. It could be a disgruntled employee who does nothing overt, but quietly poisons their surrounding environment. Maybe negative comments about you or your company are posted on the web or circulated by a competitor. The problem could also be self-inflicted through poor branding or dated messaging. Personally, if I see websites with news tabs or company blogs that have no updates for over six months, I assume they are neglectful, unaware or have done nothing lately. None of these observations are constructive. In business, don’t believe in chance. Remember Newton first law…if something changes it is likely because something caused it to change. Observe the effect, analyze the effect and search until you have found the cause. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Why Digital Talent Doesn’t Want To Work At Your Company

Mike Reed — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:12:18 GMT

http://www.fastcompany.com/1779120/embargo-1027-why-digital-talent-doesn-t-want-to-work-at-your-company

Greek, fairy tales and fences

Mike Reed — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:16:47 GMT

What do these terms have in common: The Goldilocks Principle, The Sawyer Effect and Autotelic?

Let’s start with the Greek derivative autotelic. The word’s roots are auto – self and telos – end or goal and combined it is used to refer to tasks that have a self-fulfilling purpose. To my wife teaching, or now her work as an elementary guidance counselor, is and autotelic experience. I’m convinced she would do it for nothing, she is not sure how much she makes, commutes two hours each day past numerous other schools, has no plans to ever retire and she is exceptional at what she does. Her work is intrinsically fulfilling and truly an end in itself. She is often late getting home, but never late leaving for work. If her work is not an autotelic experience we may have a problem.

Astronomers apply the Goldilocks Principle in describing the planetary sweet spot where life is possible…not too close the “sun” or too far away. In business it is a match between what people must do and what people can do. When what they must do exceeds their capabilities, the result is anxiety. When what they must do falls short of their abilities the result is boredom. When the match is just right the result is glorious (Pink). As we gain mastery, we can and must continually move the sweet spot to a spot where our reach is just beyond our grasp (Browning).

Finally, let’s examine the Sawyer effect. You may recall the story in the book where Tom enlisted the help of others by convincing them that white washing a fence was such fun that they paid for the privilege. Tom Sawyer posits “work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do and play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” More appropriately for our application Pink defines the Sawyer Effect as “practices that can either turn play into work or work into play.”

Now let’s see what these concepts have in common in our results oriented (or only) work environment. We hope to apply the Sawyer effect to design work that provides an autotelic experience for passionate professionals who are working to achieve mastery within the delicate balance of the Goldilocks principle. My guess is we have all glimpsed this convergence on rare occasion if only be accident. Given design and desire we believe we can apply our knowledge to need model to create a more permanent effect.

Innové 2.0: A company of the people, by the people and for the people.

Mike Reed — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 01:42:01 GMT

What if a company defined its ultimate purpose as meeting the needs of its people for autonomy, mastery and purpose? I’m talking about a company that believed designing the work environment around employee needs was the best way to deliver results to the customer. We might begin with moving away from the concept of humans as resources and moving to employees as partners. We could eliminate the policy manual that defined where, when and how people worked. I’m not some new age Karl Marx building some communistic utopia, I’m sold on capitalism as the best system to create wealth, innovation and excellence for the individual and society, but my belief is this company of the people (partners) could create even more wealth, innovation and excellence by thinking outside the proverbial box? Rather than saying it won’t work everywhere can we debate whether it will work somewhere. We believe companies don’t solve problems, people do and people solve problems best when those problems match their knowledge, skills and passion. We believe matching the right knowledge to the right need provides intrinsic rewards to the knowledge professional and yields the most innovative and valuable solution to the customer’s identified need. Can you imagine a world where knowledge workers were engaged in the decision to accept or reject a task and if they chose to accept the task they were free to choose the time, team and technique they would apply to succeed? I can. (many of these ideas were inspired by Daniel Pink and his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us)