⌂ Build a vision to live in! ⌂

Everyone needs an identity,

Any living thing: an animal, a (wo)man, an organisation, a country.

An identity can give us a focus, a direction, and a sense of harmony.

Being a dancer unites you to move as one, being an artist focuses your search for beauty and expression.

You see a dancer when you meet one, you recognize an artist in a glance.

And a human with no purpose may be lost, feel insignificant, and lose direction.

So may an organisation...

Today I propose a game, to define an organisation's identity thru building it a physical metaphor.

Ready?

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ACMS (A Company that Makes Something, as opposed to ACME) , an IT company, think of their identity, and are passionate about innovation - they yearn to generate and drive new innovative ideas.

That's an exciting decision, for sure, but decisions that are taken by a management are diluted and misinterpreted when diffused along the corporate chain, can we help them inject the value of innovation to the company's DNA?

Can we put this intention in the way ACMS is actually structured? physically, I mean, in the offices where the people (who are, after all, the real soul of the company) work and play?

Step 1: Define you HEART !

In this case, it would be building the innovation rooms. let's imagine what's inside:

- Writing and drawing materials full of color, games, playdough, aprons, disguises, etc.

- Noise and fun, lots of it!

- Recording materials
- Funny toys, modular furniture,
- etc, etc.

Step 2: Who are the people at the heart?

In our case, (let's say) the Product-Owners generate and examine ideas, argue, and come up with mockups, prototypes and half baked ideas.

Sometimes they go to the heart to make noise and generate innovative ideas, but sometimes they are quietly working at their post, they need this quiet, but they also need the noise close by. 

Hence - we put the POs around the Center and isolate the center's noise from them.

They don't work in a vacuum, do they?
Do they work with the technical teams? the ones who examine the feasibility of the ideas? The sales that needs to validate the prototypes with customers ?

Step 3: Who do the people at the heart vitally need?

Let's put the technical people, and the sales people around the POs, so communication is easy and flawless, 

- the people around are usually divided into clusters, marketing and dev (perhaps) don't communicate much, do they? and dev is composed of several teams.

These layers are vital for the generation of Innovation, since they are the Innovation generators and their supporters, but of course there are other vital department: HR, IT, etc.

These are a vital part of the organization, but not vital for its heart to grow, hence they are on the exterior (like petals of a flower.)
hence:

Step 4: Connect the rest of the organisation, as petals to a flower's center, as satellites to planets.

This way, they are far from the heart's buzz, (that isn't vital for them) but are still connected and ripples by the heart.

Step 5: Add spices

- To help people work in quiet, sprinkle some noise isolation movable wall (that can be also used for postits?) . office toys (centered around innovation)

- To contain standups, talks, etc - add (noise isolated) meeting rooms, surround your space with it, in abundance.

- Put everything on wheels if you want your company dynamic, and dont - if you are about stability.
- You can color code desks and chairs by teams to visualise roles.

Put a big sign in the entrance; "ACMS - Innovation is at our heart!" et Voila!

The result may look like this:

And now what?!

Of course - let's smash the old buildings and build a new and great home for our spirit!

But even if not, an image of this new home, presented in this way to all members of ACMS, may start aligning intentions, making connection, and make people realize what their common vision is...

Note: once the goal of the ACMS changed, and becomes (For instance) "We are about our clients", the heart changes (more phones, monitors, lists of clients, etc), the people who were outside (sales?) now move inside, etc...)

What do you think?

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--- After-thought (or giving credit where it is due...)----

Oh! I just realized something important!

This idea (as most) is in no way my own!

It was highly inspired from the city my heart yearns to - Auroville.

- The city is a spiral shape (like a hurricane)

- And is built around the Matrimandir which s at it's heart:


A round (non-religious) temple to meditate in.

A few differences:
- The Matrimandir is the most silent place in the city, while ACMS's heart room is the noisiest.
- Of course corporates and spirituality don't go well together... (or do they?!)

But I do believe any business has to have a soul in order to survive, thrive and grow,
So why not treat it as a pure one?

What do you think?