Survey link

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QQDND2V

Adam Grant on "are you a giver or a taker?"

Adam Grant's take on the false economy of performance review, firing underachievers, and all that other bad stuff that happens to good people.

I suppose it's no accident that the constructs he talks about and in his research include help-givers, help-seekers, givers, takers.

An update on the programme - 31 March 2017

This week's Outsourcing/Offshoring class was held off-site in the Bank of Ireland Workbench, Grand Canal Square. It ended up being both a reminder of the realities of the work scene in high-tech but also an unexpected opportunity to try out some of that cutting edge technology when we got to play with a HTC Vive VR for meetings. Here are some photos from the lecture.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/44739231@N05/sets/72157678760408683

We started much earlier than usual (8am) which, I'm sure most of the class were hoping, was a once-off. BoI are building a virtuous cycle of infrastructure, knowledge and community for incubating ideas to embryonic firms. The Workbench is one of a growing number of casual spaces that entrepreneurs can use for meetings, for hot-desking, to work and collaborate. The space is available on a first come first served basis. You get to use the WiFi, coffee/tea facilities, whiteboards and benches.

After the lecture, I was thinking back on that provocation in class, that we had missed the point of the reading (Vlaar et al, 2008). The point being that we too easily fall into the trap of seeing explanations and solutions to business problems in terms of the obvious things: needing tighter contracts, fixed milestones, more communication, better communication, shared understanding, making sense of situations etc. when in fact the obvious explanations are pretty hollow. Taking a closer look at the article we can see that some insights and better labels, better ways of talking about the challenge. We need their language to make these points and also to make the situation more meaningful. Three key concepts "sensegiving, sensedemanding, and sensebreaking" are a really novel way of approaching how to make the most of experience asymmetries. It is differences that end up creating new value even as they might also create problems.

"...understandings of requirements do not exist “out there” in the minds of stakeholders... they are dynamically constructed and negotiated during interaction processes" (Vlaar et al, 2008:pp239-8)

So now, with this new rich language to describe (and manage) the interaction process we really can make it happen.

All the best
Allen

Reference:
Vlaar, P. W. L., Fenema, P. C. v., and Tiwari, V. (2008). Cocreating understanding and value in distributed work: how members of onsite and offshore vendor teams give, make, demand, and break sense. MIS Quarterly, 32(2):227–255.

Meetups and networking

Industry Meetups and networking opportunities abound in Dublin. I've mentioned these in class. I encourage you to participate in the local Dublin startup and business support environment,:

http://www.technology-ireland.ie/ (search for TechBrew)

http://www.ixd.ie/

https://www.meetup.com/

The Dublin Meetup board is extremely active and offers great opportunities for networking.

Burning issues for outsourcing lifecycle

https://www.flickr.com/photos/44739231@N05/sets/72157679484794860

'Kidzania: The power of Play'

Mexico-Ireland Business Lecture in association with IPADE

GUEST SPEAKER - Mr. Xavier López Ancona

'Kidzania: The power of Play'

The fun of work!

Xavier López Ancona founded KidZania, one of the fastest growing kid’s hands-on entertainment brands in the world on 1997. It is a kids’ city that combines inspiration, fun and learning through realistic role play for children 4-14. Kids independently explore a safe and contained 80,000 square foot kid-sized city with over 60 exciting careers that they can try out as they learn about the inner-workings of a city and the concept of managing money. Each ultra-realistic experience is designed to empower kids, giving them the confidence to be their best selves, and inspiration to be great global citizens. With 24 locations in 19 countries and rapidly growing globally, KidZania is one of the most inventive kid’s edutainment concepts in the world. www.kidzania.com

Date: 8 Mar 17
Time: 11.30am - 12.30pm
Venue: Laurence Crowley Boardroom
Location: UCD Smurfit School, Carysfort Ave, Blackrock, Dublin

See invitation to register 

NSAI Seminar: Standards and Markets.

NSAI's Kierán Cox talking about standards and the role in product design and market making.

[guest lecture] Kierán Cox (12:00pm midday Tuesday 28th Feb in LT1) - NSAI; Standards in High-Tech and the Standards Process