In a Fast Company article, author Leo Babauta describes the process of idea generation at Pixar Animation Studios.
“When Pixar artists create characters, it’s not a matter of one artist sketching out how he thinks a character should look. They all sit around a table, each drawing ideas, putting them in the middle, and others taking those ideas and riffing off them. Dozens and dozens of sketches come out from this process, until they find the one that works best. Everyone’s creativity builds on the creativity of everyone else. Even if you don’t have a bunch of other geniuses to work with – find others who are creating cool things, and riff off them, and share your riffs.”
This is a good description of how The Network-Oriented Workplace™ works, too.
What is a network-oriented workplace? Organizations create a Network-Oriented Workplace by creating a culture that is focused on continuous improvement and collaboration. They hire and train all staff to recognize the value of networking and building relationships throughout the company. Cross functional teams are often used to solve problems, build new products and programs.
In our book, Strategic Connections – The New Face of Networking in a Collaborative World we describe how our 8 competencies can be used to train employees to embrace building relationships with others throughout the organization.
Whether you’re trying to streamline the hiring process, invent new ways to work with vendors, or revamping your process of attracting new clients, it’s smart to adopt the belief that ideas are abundant and spring up faster when you connect, converse, and collaborate with others.
When you work in an organization, no matter now big or small, all your fellow employees can become part of your network. And building a relationship with a fellow co-worker is made easier by the fact you have a big part of your life that is common to both of you. We have a term in Contacts Count that we call "choice points". Every day we have choices about whether to connect with other people. We can choose to connect, or we can choose not to connect. We believe in the power of human connection. So, we believe you should choose to connect whenever possible.
Do you make the choice to say hello and introduce yourself to a fellow employee when you are walking to the office from the parking lot? After a virtual meeting do you choose to reach out to someone on the call who you would like to learn more about what they do?
“When Pixar artists create characters, it’s not a matter of one artist sketching out how he thinks a character should look. They all sit around a table, each drawing ideas, putting them in the middle, and others taking those ideas and riffing off them. Dozens and dozens of sketches come out from this process, until they find the one that works best. Everyone’s creativity builds on the creativity of everyone else. Even if you don’t have a bunch of other geniuses to work with – find others who are creating cool things, and riff off them, and share your riffs.”
This is a good description of how The Network-Oriented Workplace™ works, too.
What is a network-oriented workplace? Organizations create a Network-Oriented Workplace by creating a culture that is focused on continuous improvement and collaboration. They hire and train all staff to recognize the value of networking and building relationships throughout the company. Cross functional teams are often used to solve problems, build new products and programs.
In our book, Strategic Connections – The New Face of Networking in a Collaborative World we describe how our 8 competencies can be used to train employees to embrace building relationships with others throughout the organization.
Whether you’re trying to streamline the hiring process, invent new ways to work with vendors, or revamping your process of attracting new clients, it’s smart to adopt the belief that ideas are abundant and spring up faster when you connect, converse, and collaborate with others.
When you work in an organization, no matter now big or small, all your fellow employees can become part of your network. And building a relationship with a fellow co-worker is made easier by the fact you have a big part of your life that is common to both of you. We have a term in Contacts Count that we call "choice points". Every day we have choices about whether to connect with other people. We can choose to connect, or we can choose not to connect. We believe in the power of human connection. So, we believe you should choose to connect whenever possible.
Do you make the choice to say hello and introduce yourself to a fellow employee when you are walking to the office from the parking lot? After a virtual meeting do you choose to reach out to someone on the call who you would like to learn more about what they do?
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