Respond to two classmates posts for Business Innovation Course

AT LEAST 200 WORDS EACH RESPONSE…PLEASE SEPARATE EACH RESPONSE…PLEASE COMMENT AND EXTEND OFF THE CONTENT OF EACH POST…DO NOT COMMENT ON THE GRAMMAR OF THEIR WRITING STYLE OR JUST SAY “GOOD POST” OR “I AGREE”….GO INTO DETAILS PLEASE

POST 1:

Hello Everyone,

Inspiration is the first step toward the creation of a product or service. Taking the time to observe the environment and the people in it, to understand how things work, is very helpful for drawing inspiration (Brown 2008). Taking the time to reflect on my office space, including physical location, items in my office, and assessing whether it is conducive to increase productivity has certainly opened my eyes. The inspiration phase starts with understanding the problem and reflecting on it.

The component of my office which is already ideal is where it is located in the hospital. I am easily accessible for our patients and family members. This is key in my role as I am the point of contact for all patients and family members. The convenience of this location is not only beneficial for our patients, but also for the staff members as I tend to be the go to for them as well.

However, interestingly the location also contributes to various interruptions and disruptions in my workday. Which has unfortunately at times led to decreased productivity and efficiency. The physical space is also limited in size and feels cramped with more than 2 people in it. This can pose a huge challenge when there are family members present with the patient. Appearance wise the furniture is mismatched and not appropriate for patients with any physical limitations. There is also no natural light and multiple windows, which contributes to possible breach confidentiality.

I am consistently experiencing interruptions and disruptions. This often times happens when I have someone else in my office for a meeting or if I am on the phone. The limited space for multiple people is also challenging. The patients I am typically seeing are unwell, unhappy, and are looking for solutions. Therefore, it is imperative that there is an environment which does not feel cluttered and disorganized with all the interruptions.

During this phase of ideation, I have learned the importance of letting ideas flow until the end of the brainstorming session (Brown 2008). The following are innovative ideas which can help to resolve or help in meeting the challenge of multiple interruptions while in my office with patients:

Change locations of my office
Have an ‘open-door’ time frame each day where staff can come to me with questions and concerns
Create a list of common questions with answers for the staff to help alleviate the number of times they need me
Meet with patients in a different location
Have a ticket system electronically where staff can send me questions
Have phone go to voice mail or redirected to another colleague while meeting with patients
Have staff schedule times for official meetings
Create a survey for employees to complete to determine how often they need me and what information they are typically looking for etc.
Make my calendar publicly available
Commit to circulating around the office to engage with my colleagues which will allow them the opportunity to speak with me then

If we believe we can make a difference and take the first step where we have a planned process to bring us to new relevant solutions that do actually create a positive impact, we are on the right path. We are getting closer to the point of transforming ourselves and those complex challenges, into opportunities.

Jennifer

Reference:

Brown, T. (June 2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84-92. Retrieved from https://cb/hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/pl/66107934/66107959/1c596f4536a97910a6fa4c095834ee92

POST 2:

If you are anything like me, you spend a lot of time on the computer. But how can we improve the environment around the computer so that we can be productive and creative?

The readings this week remind me of a great workspace that I had in an Internet consulting firm in San Francisco. We were all in cubicles, but the cubicle walls were made of a metal wire mesh frame with several inches between the wires. It’s hard to explain, but it had a very cool industrial feel to it and it was a perfect balance between giving each person some privacy and ability to focus, but also encouraging interaction with others when necessary.

The article from Catmull (2008) that we read and discussed last week also talked about this idea of encouraging conversations at work. The Pixar building, designed in part by CEO Steve Jobs, had a large open atrium in the middle of the building which held the cafeteria, bathrooms, and other general purpose facilities. This meant that everyone was walking through this area every day, and there was always a good chance to have impromptu meetings there. Steve Jobs wanted something similar at Apple, and so their new headquarters that is currently under construction is a huge round building with a beautiful open-air atrium in the middle — all in hopes that it will foster creativity and the spread of ideas inside the company (Elmer-DeWitt, 2014).

References

Catmull, E. (2008). How Pixar fosters collective creativity. Harvard Business Review, 86(9), 64–72.

Elmer-DeWitt, P. (Aug 5, 2014). What architects don’t get about Steve Jobs’ spaceship. Retrieved Oct 2, 2017 from http://fortune.com/2014/08/05/what-architects-dont…