WEBVTT - Be innovative virtually

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to innovate virtually. As more

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<v Speaker 1>organizations keep work from home arrangements or adopt hybrid models,

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<v Speaker 1>people are figuring out new ways to collaborate and innovate.

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<v Speaker 1>The good news is that it is quite possible to

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<v Speaker 1>come up with new ideas even without seeing each other

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<v Speaker 1>in person, as long as people are a little strategic.

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<v Speaker 1>Before the pandemic, working from home was seen as a perk,

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<v Speaker 1>something people could earn over time if they proved themselves.

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<v Speaker 1>Even so, it tended to be reserved for Fridays, which

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<v Speaker 1>are generally seen as the least productive day of the week.

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<v Speaker 1>The thought process was that people who work from home

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<v Speaker 1>aren't really working, so best to minimize the opportunity cost.

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<v Speaker 1>The pandemic changed all of that as offices reopen, though

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<v Speaker 1>some of the old arguments against remote work are resurfacing. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>people might be more productive when they are not distracted

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<v Speaker 1>by colleagues in their cubicles, and yes, people might be

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<v Speaker 1>more comfortable in their homes when they can set the

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<v Speaker 1>temperature where they want but aren't people more innovative in person.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess the idea is that you bump into someone

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<v Speaker 1>random in the ladies room, have a conversation, and the

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<v Speaker 1>two of you come up with a new billion dollar

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<v Speaker 1>line of business as a result. I am kidding, but

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<v Speaker 1>that is the argument. And yes, there is some literature

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<v Speaker 1>showing that proximity can allow people to cross pollinate their ideas.

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<v Speaker 1>But there are plenty of ways to innovate virtually too,

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<v Speaker 1>especially as new tools allow for virtual collaboration and as

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<v Speaker 1>people supplement virtual collaboration with meeting in person. One of

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<v Speaker 1>the best ways to get good ideas is to generate

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<v Speaker 1>lots of ideas. That's why places do brainstorming sessions, where

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<v Speaker 1>people are supposed to write lots of ideas on the whiteboard. Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>the dynamics of in person and often hierarchical groups means

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<v Speaker 1>that people don't suggest ideas, or people criticize ideas prematurely,

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<v Speaker 1>and the boss's ideas get taken way. More seriously, here's

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<v Speaker 1>an idea, create a Google doc or something like that

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<v Speaker 1>where everyone puts at least a dozen ideas. Now you've

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<v Speaker 1>got sixty ideas from the five of you that all

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<v Speaker 1>of you can leave notes on. By the time you

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<v Speaker 1>have a zoom meeting to discuss them, you'll have a

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<v Speaker 1>few leading contenders that you can rely ponder and come

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<v Speaker 1>up with ways to make them work. Good ideas also

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<v Speaker 1>come from casual conversations, so have those. I'd point out

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<v Speaker 1>that many people are going to be in their offices

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<v Speaker 1>at least two to three days per week in this

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<v Speaker 1>new world, and so those days should feature lots of conversations, coffees, lunches,

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<v Speaker 1>happy hours, those random conversations in the ladies room. Then

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<v Speaker 1>people can buckle down and focus on work from home days. However,

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<v Speaker 1>it is quite possible to have virtual conversations to bounce

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<v Speaker 1>ideas off people, so set up a few calls with

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<v Speaker 1>your office friends. Ask your work friends to pair you

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<v Speaker 1>up with people that they know and you don't. Everyone

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<v Speaker 1>should be networking anyway. Form a mastermind group with a

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<v Speaker 1>few folks who are similarly oriented for more than one

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<v Speaker 1>every week. You can be debating an idea with a

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<v Speaker 1>group and coming up with new ideas together. And of

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<v Speaker 1>course you can participate in any industry virtual conversations. You

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<v Speaker 1>write a blog post for an industry website and people

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<v Speaker 1>will email you their thoughts about it. This can help

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<v Speaker 1>you refine your ideas. You can also create virtual events

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<v Speaker 1>that will get people thinking. Host a virtual conversation with

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<v Speaker 1>an expert in your organization or industry and get people

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<v Speaker 1>to listen in and ask questions. This will spark some

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<v Speaker 1>new ideas too. In any case, I would point out

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<v Speaker 1>that my team and I don't work in the same place,

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<v Speaker 1>and yet the enterprise that is my business, with feedback

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<v Speaker 1>from friends and colleagues, comes up with a new Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast topic every weekday morning, multiple blog post per week,

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<v Speaker 1>a weekly newsletter, new books every two years, and so forth.

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<v Speaker 1>You can get new ideas anywhere. In person conversations are great,

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<v Speaker 1>and so are all the other methods. They aren't an

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<v Speaker 1>opposition at all. They can all work together. In the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's B the number four,

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<v Speaker 1>then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i heeart Media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.

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