How many times have you received an email from someone less than 100 feet away? Then you reply and they reply, and on and on. Is that really more efficient or effective than just getting up, going over there, and speaking with them face to face (what—see someone in person—gasp!)? Unless it’s a yes/no question, you might want to consider it. If it’s about an idea, you might want to demand it.
A major source of innovating is making connections—connections between people, ideas, and things. The people connection is especially important and actually putting in face time in interfaces makes a huge impact. Getting up and going over to the person provides several advantages:
- You can see the person’s facial expressions, hear intonations, play off each other’s thoughts, and build on each other’s thoughts much faster than electronically possible
- You can deepen your connection with them so each interaction becomes more effective
- Others might hear what you are talking about and contribute
- You get some dang exercise
That second to last one is very important for innovating on purpose. Stories abound about chance secondary interactions that lead to innovations, like the guy in the office who hears two coworkers discussing a design problem in the shoe industry in the hall and goes out and solves the problem with a solution from a medical device. Thomas Edison did this on purpose by putting all his muckers in one large room. Everyone knew what everyone else was working on and could make valuable connections from different viewpoints, even though some were working on telegraphs, some on railroads, and some on mining. I doubt that the innovation factory at Menlo Park would have cranked out 400 inventions in six years if the muckers stayed in their cubes quietly emailing each other.
Have you ever noticed that really big deals boil down to two people in a room making sure they trust each other before they sign the agreement? They are making a connection with each other. How many deals happen over lunch? A friend of mine who manages several billion dollars for a large corporation told me one time that the biggest deals happen at parties where all the people know each other or know somebody in common. Humans are built for connecting and some of the best innovations arise from purely human interaction.
For an idea to be put into valuable action—a good definition of innovation—somebody needs to make a connection between a problem they are trying to solve and the solution you have. Many times that requires some discussion. How do you handle that? You talk to the person and make a connection.
If you want to innovate, get up, go out, and start connecting. Observe people, read new things, play, surf, and then find someone to discuss it with over lunch. People are interested in stories and experiences; humans are wired to best share them face to face. Those interactions will result in more ideas and better thoughts than delayed emails or instant messaging. Make sure you put your face in the interface.
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