I attended the EoI Cafe / Red Monkeys and other reflections

Last week I attended Jef Staes' Engine of Innovation Cafe in the beautiful Claerhout communication Loft in Ghent.

For those that are not familiar with Jef's work: he's a visionary on learning and innovation. He started working around learning, and shifted his interest over the years to innovative organizations. His work is one of the inspiration sources I mention in my own book. His vocabulary includes red monkeys,  3D organizations, AAA learning, etc. He wrote some books on the matter (1 in English), and makes an intriguing speaker. As part of his Engine of Innovation company, he organizes these Cafés, and I attended one last week. So far for the introduction.

The Cafe started with a presentation by Jef on his work and thoughts. Then it divided up into speed networking, sessions on something I can't translate in English called 'organisatie-opstelling' (and that I think you should stay far away from), a 'let's shoot the zombies' game, stand up inspiration talks, etc. Here are some random notes I took during the session:

•  Passion is a prerequisite for creativity, it also gives direction
• There's no fish that thinks there's too much water (about the information overload)
• There's a generation 'drama' ongoing
• Why can't you achieve a 110% score in school? Why can't you be smarter than the norm or the teacher?
• If you put people inside fences you get sheep. We have companies full of sheep.
• Human resources get wasted by the same degree we burn fossile resources
• "Fear makes the wolf look bigger" - reminded me that every change is both fear for some and joy for other people, but regardless of emotion, it is a fact. As Dogbert once wrote in a book: Change happens. Get over it.
• Social networking skills are part of what I call the 'mother of all competences'
• On employee evaluations: employees should 'pull' an evaluation when they are ready or need one, instead of or complementary to the yearly 'push' evaluation

Listening to all that raises two main question @Jef:

1- Why do you speak of a 'generation drama'? You're dating yourself here :-) It's not a drama per se, it's just a fact that we acknowledge and act upon instead of being blind for. On the topic of generations: here's something I found in a Talent Management magazine article:

• Traditionalists stay on the job because they have to. Fastest growing demographics in the workplace.
• Baby boomers put dreams on hold. Fearful about their futures.
• Gen X waits... and waits...  . Frustrated the promotions that were finally on the horizon...
• Gen Y says, " what, no promotions?". The whole concept of limitations is new to Gen Y.

(and I am aware we are talking stereotypical generatlisations here).

2- More fundamental question on the whole Engine of Innovation concept: why the premise that organizations need to survive and remodel themselves from 2D to 3D organizations? Couldn't they just go bust and give light to new organizations growing that don't need to go through this painful migration path? Seems easier.