By Lisa Hochgraf
Great things have been produced via online collaboration. Take Linux as an example. This free, open-source (that is, owned by no one entity) operating system was developed by a large number of people who didn't share office space--and often didn't even live in the same country. They worked alone at their computers--but together online.
In her book, Quiet: The Power of the Introvert in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain asserts that a third to a half of all workers are introverts--people who (among other characteristics) likely prefer to deliver their thoughts in a behind-the-scenes way (like the Linux developers did) rather than in front of a crowd.
"If you had gathered the same people who created Linux, installed them in a giant conference room for a year, and asked them to devise a new operating system, it's doubtful that anything so revolutionary would have occurred," Cain writes. "If it's creativity you're after, ask your employees to solve problems alone before sharing their ideas. If you want the wisdom of the crowd, gather it electronically, or in writing, and make sure people can't see each other's ideas until everyone's had a chance to contribute."
Leading a brainstorming session soon? Please try this out and let me know how it worked out for you.
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
Creativity and innovation expert Scott Isaksen believes in innovation as a process. Isaksen will lead the opening general session at CUES Symposium: A CEO/Chairman Exchange, slated for Feb. 2-6 at the Fairmont Orchid, Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii.
Be sure to read this free Credit Union Management magazine feature Isaksen wrote for credit union board members, "Put Creativity in Concrete: Why innovation belongs on the board agenda."
