Management theories

I read Stephen Downes' posts because of his connections with education, but it was another interest entirely that led me to the post he referred to recently. I have always been fascinated with innovation and creativity, expecially when it came to the theory that one was either a creative thinker, or one could be taught to become one. And I have presented sessions on creative thinking techniques. But one of the techniques I include is that it is always possible to use ideas form other organisations or individuals - that taking ideas from one meilleu to an entirely different one, is creativity in itself. Now Stephen Downes has pointed to this blog post which reinforces that concept of innovation. It also looks at the concpet of the creative work group - that one person cannot do all the innovative thinking on their own, and that a group will produce far more creativity. The author introduces the concept called "Structural Holes." The theory is that often the creativity occurs outside a particular workgroup, by individuals crossing the Structurel Holes between disparate work groups. Part Two of the Blog continues. I find it a very plausible and fascinating theory.

Email for schools

I remember when we bought a computer and installed email. Less than ten years ago. Until then, I had been working on a nation-wide committee where all the other members had fax and email. They were being as patient as possible with me, but it was obvious I was a nuisance. The quickest way to communicate a document to me was via fax at our local print shop. I had to type on the typewriter, then deliver the document to the print shop and pay for it to be sent. Now I’m on the other side of the ”fence,” and probably use email too easily and often. But it is difficult to send copies of an email to most of the members of a team and then have to post to the others. At work, it is so much easier to email material and yet even there, there are those who cannot or will not access their emails. I listened to a segment on talk-back radio recently about a school who had sent home a note about an incident involving a stranger in the girls’ toilets. Is that the best they could do, the radio host was asking? I had an appointment and missed the talkback. But the option is certainly there to use email to communicate with parents by email. Whether it would be appropriate in that particular case is up to the school. Would you email report cards? Could a parent email in information about a child’s absence from school? Could a parent book an interview with a teacher by email? ESchool news had put together a compilation of articles relating to email use by schools. …”As technology plays a greater role in education, it can also change the way those inside school buildings address key stakeholders on the outside. State officials, district board members, the local press, and students' parents are just a few of the groups that desire constant information and updates. And there is no faster or more inexpensive way to reach a vast number of individuals than via eMail or the web.
At eSchool News, we have seen how effective communication through eMail and the web takes weight off an educator's shoulders. Now, with the support of e-Mail Networks, we offer a collection of stories and features about this important issue.”

"A word wrapped in light"

It remains a concern that coming generations are not reading as deeply and widely as we thought we should. They spend hours idly absorbing from images and reacting with images. It was a pleasure, then to read this article, though it may have had a commercial prompting. So eloquently written ....
"It is true that the written word has been pushed to the periphery by the advance of new media over the past few decades. Certainly we read less, and read less challenging material, than we used to. Medieval learners, with their Latin studies and familiarity with the works of antiquity, strike us as either masochistic — or simply alien — today…. We disagree with the notion that images cannot be as cognitive as written words. In our work, we have found that images have a tremendous capacity for conveying content. We wonder if there mightn’t be a visual avenue of expression — a visual language — which does force the brain to translate symbols into concepts. Which does require one to engage his or her faculties of reasoning and analytical thought.Read the whole article

Logic Happens

Everybody's seen the Kombi vans and old Holdens with their Magic Happens stickers. This Logic Happens sticker is an alternative to alternative. . . . .How to get the sticker

The Power of Word of Mouth Marketing

I came across this item when I was researching for News Bytes.
JupiterResearch Reports 20% of Online Consumers Turn to Other Online Consumers For Advice on Health and Medical Treatment
According to the JupiterResearch report, online consumers use support groups, live chat, instant messenger and e-mail, among other online media, to discuss health issues, including information about medications and treatments, with other consumers. "Online consumers reach out to their peers for concrete information, not just emotional support," stated Monique Levy, Analyst at JupiterResearch. "Eighty percent of consumers that use consumer created health content (CCHC) said these interactions influenced their behavior, emotional well-being or attitudes," added Levy.

And of course this has direct implications for e-marketers. But why should it come as any surprise? We know of the power of word of mouth. In an organisation like ITC, it is the most powerful membership-building tool we have. In this world of advertising overload, we all rely on word of mouth. And it applies just as much to the medical product mentioned in the article as it does to service providers. So as an organisation, we need our sneezers, as Seth Godin called them who will spread the word (or the idea virus) about our product or service. And if we have no system of referral, as suggested by John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing, then we are missing out on the greatest marketing tool.

Target Market?

Well, another presentation completed. It was good to follow up the last session I presented on Target Marketing. I had been asked to focus on the techniques of targeting the young this time - more focussed. Of course the most powerful point of the whole session was that no matter how well, or how hard you market, the success lies in making the sale - converting the prospect to client. But that's another story. Council meeting as a whole was a success. I had to leave before the speech contest. The standard was high, I gather. The winner now goes to Canberra to the Region conference. Again, for family reasons I will miss that. I enjoyed presenting a session based on The Purple Cow last year.

The fate of the missing socks

In the midst of the game of life which can get hectic and close-to-deadly-serious it's so refreshing to come across an article like this one: The fate of Missing socks or A Quantum approach to Laundry. It is so quirky-clever. I'm still not convinced that it works. My mathematical powers are too small. My Grandmother always said it was a one-legged man and his one-legged son stealing the socks from the laundry. And then to discover that this is a viral compaign for environmentally friendly laundry products only made it seem even cleverer. I passed it on to you didn't I?