Reframing the problem in order to make the change

An hour ago I had an inspiring conversation with a professor at the HTW Dresden (FH), there I have studied Business Administration some 12 years ago, on how get an team entrepreneurial project (Team Academy Dresden) going.

It quickly became obvious that changing in the present system makes it necessary to get the interest of larger bodies of people. Acting on the project idea, it is rather easy to find like-minded people, who are on the same or similar thinking track.

What this phase is lacking is the spreading the idea into the outer world where people think in traditional ways (not to say that they are bad, just different!).

Stepping with a new and innovative idea makes the feel uneasy because the newness obviously shakes present things and makes the former stability people feel in the present system decrease. This will end in forces that are against any change (that comes from the outside, by the changers).

So doing something present better seems natural, and yet this will bring up major forces that will hinder the change.

It is like a new company in a present market, that steps in with a new product. The other agents (companies) wouldn't like to see a newcomer coming into their turf and there will be quite some feedback (lower prices, different strategy, etc.).

Just imagine reframing the problem of potential clients, focus on a market that hasn't been covered yet due to high transaction costs, low networks, ....

Seth Godin has a truthful post lately.

Reframing the problem through challenging the assumptions presently on the table - how does that change our actions in life?

...live to your greatest dreams:-)

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbour.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain

Finishing off this year - the seed for the years to come:-)

It has been a while since my last post and quite a few things have happened, besides the fact that I have moved back to Dresden, the city of my forefathers (at least when you see that people are writing your last name correctly in general!) and my wildest dreams. Dresden has been on the far eastern part of Germany and during the GDR times  they depended just on the GDR media as the antennas couldn't get West-German television. Scarcity is always a source for creativity (as Toyota has shown us in the beginning of their success story some decades ago - and now in all this turmoil in the economic world again).

What else has happened:

- end of November a 3rd  edition of LTT (used to stand for Lean Thinkers Treffen; now: Lea(r)n Through Teams would be more appropriate) took place where 20 people learned in openspace format about how they could bring even more value to their organizations

- Otto Scharmer's Presencing Institute has started a community group on the use of Theory U in large scale and substancial change

- the term at WPI and my studies in System Dynamics are over for a while, not without connecting theory with reality. Real projects is where we learn most, especially when we are part of it. The group "System Dynamics - practical usage for businesses" is slowly taking action in the real world and still it is a challenge to engage key stakeholders.

- a week ago I started off into entrepreneurship (working on building that single entrepreneurship into team entrepreneurship through the establishment of TEAM ACADEMY in Dresden)

- Twitter followers are stepping into my footsteps daily in increasing numbers (I wonder why? What makes my person or posts interesting?)

- and best of all Pamela Paquin-Hall (who asked me, "Aren't you coming to Oman to the 3rd SoL Global Forum?"), Charles van der Haegen (who told me about the "Visit to the Penguins in Finland in August", which I actually followed:-)), SoL, Team Academy in Jyväskylä (Finland) with their yellow folks of Monkey Business, Peter Senge's workshop on "Foundation for Leadership" last March, my dear friend, thought challenger and invitor to Twitter Marigo Raftoupulos and the terrific 3rd SoL Global Forum in Oman in April 2008 with Alfred Hanner have done the real difference:-)

- not to forget a personal short conversation with our plant manager, Peter Claussen, during the week of starting production of the BMW Series 3 back in May 2005 at the new BMW Plant Leipzig. During that conversation he told me, "If you ever have a question on things you don't get an answer, don't hesitate to ask me!" (I still remember that quite well, as I have heard too often quite the contrary from my direct bosses:-(). This has been the real start into a journey that is ever since ongoing - with some ditches and some highs already and I guess that is the way life is going (in all aspects;-)).

- .....the real inspiration for taking the action in  my own hands (even though people around me always whisper, "Don't dare that! Stick to a large company! Play it save! Let your boss decide!") was and is still Jay W. Forrester, whom I admire for his thoughfulness and constant learning mode (unbelieavable at the age of 90!). I talked to him in person last year at John Sterman's workshop "Business Dynamics" and during the 25th International System Dynamics Conference in Boston and he is still of power most people in my age are already lacking (at least that is what I sense).

Taking action (small size) in all of these above initiated other interesting things that have evolved already (and will in the future):

- Genius Hellerau, worldcafés on the question "How can we initiate and foster the change in the region around Dresden?"

- personal connection with Jens Voigt (member of Genius Hellerau) and the ideas on how to make patents and intellectual property valuable to society and community (as well as profitable for organizations)

- Iiro Kohleimanen, Head of International Affairs at Team Academy, with whom I visited a conference on logistics innovations (and how the Team Academy approach could be useful - it would and will be exceptionally useful for innovations and yet the present structure of the system has to change, or we are the change;-)) and who visited the September Worldcafé at Genius Hellerau (really great stuff:-)) with me together (wearing T-shirts that say, "Innovate or Die").

- presentation of Team Academy (almost a surprise elevator pitch, and thanks to some training provided by James Parsons, CEO of ICC Language School in Leipzig not really a problem, rather a chance for additional learning;-)) at a meeting of International Friends of Dresden and inviting (Heikki Toivanan, coach at Team Academy) , Marjaliisa Hentila, Head of the Finland Institute Germany, to Team Academy 

- Fruitful and interesting conversations with Jens Bemme, who has initiated that the SLUB (the university library in Dresden) has and will open on Sundays in the future - a terrific action (initiated by only 3 people in 2002 who took the first step of the change!)

Best of all: small interventions and actions that reach my conscious mind and eye ever intrigue me to new action towards the larger whole:-)

@GuyKawasaki (that's his Twitter name) has some great thoughts on how to do revolutions in today's world and I guess some of us are already taken the lead.

All the best for the New Year and the times to come (well beyond just that year)

Ralf

PS.: I have to thank my parents wholeheartly, as they enabled all the things in the past, fostering my curiousity and inquiry in unresolved things that have led to the present journey. Even though one sometimes think that parents are opposing your desires - this is quite not so. The contrary is true because just by that tense conversations you get a sense what it is like in the real world and what your true aspirations in life are:-))

PPS.: I should not forget to thank all the other contributors like Kai, Paul H., Paul B., Dirk, Laura, Don, Sandra, Claudia, Antje (my sister), Maria (a friend and former colleague who asked me one day "Why don't you do a PhD? You really have the assets for that!"), Ville, Tatu, Henna (from the Monkey Business Guys, whith whom I spoke during the Oman trip and learned more about the crazy Team Academy;-)), ..... and all the others:-)

CO2 reduction - it is all about saving resources.

When do You start? How is your company doing it?

Have you heard of the Toyota Way?

It is easier than you think and value is still higher than

presently delivered:-)

Celebrate Your Amateurness

Sounds stupid, as we are driven by perfection and 0-defects, or? 

And yet learning comes from making mistakes, just remember 

when YOU as a kid flew on your knees or off the bike. Have you 

given up?

"I am best at what I can't do.

It has become my ability to feel strong and confident in these sit-

uations. I feel free to move, to listen to my heart, to learn, to act even

if that means I will make mistakes.

If you want a creative life, do what you can't and experience the 

beauty of the mistakes you make."

Quoted in A Whole New Mind, Daniel H. Pink and originally by Marcel Wanders (www.marcelwanders.com)

We definitely have to allow doing mistakes in order to learn for that world that will ever

be increasing complex in the future.

CESAR leading the customer needs

Background: A great -actually awesome and lean orientated- container tracking-tracing program, funded by the EU, ready to go and ??? No customers who use it presently, because used to the phone it is so much easier, don't you think
Problem: Program will "die" and EU funds will be lost (sunk costs) if it can't be run on a profitable business case

Idea: We would like to make the program profitable as an additional service to customers. How to get them hooked? They just won't get it!

Solution (first part): There is a guy in the company who is spanning and connecting people from different departments, he has managed the set up of an IT system at a rail-road-terminal earlier, why not ask him whether he would like be the boundary-spanner between the IT-guys, the customers, the programming company? Yeah, he is on:-)) He says, he loves the idea:-)

Solution (second part): He communicates with the programmers (inside his own company and the partner companies), gets an idea what is working and what is not (actually the program rejects any non-correct process step that has not been told to it earlier - so the quick fix is firing back right away!), figuring out the biggest systemic issues, time to involve first lead-customers that have lots of traffic. Working step by step, getting direct feedback by customers

Improving the program (together with the computer specialist consultant, finding the easiest and timeless/priceless solutions), so it is showing correct data and people on the customer side (not just the specialists, such as CEOs) can use it right away

Vision: after 6 years of operation almost all customers involved (around 500 with several accounts) the project has been a full success inside the European rail-road traffic and combined transport, even revenues are flowing in and make it sustainable (improvements can be paid by that)

Future vision: The installed and working solution could be also used in other areas, such as car transportation and any other field of logistics (even on small parts!) and with use of RFID this could reach higher levels of value

What was good? free hand to get the thing running, playing to connecting-people strenghts

What was bad? goals of different departments interfered with the general goal of quality

What have I learned? Listen, reframe customer's voice, trust the process, try small

What was next action? Looking actively for opportunities where idea suits and fits, innovate

Actually there is a project going on where Siemens, SAP and some universities are involved and get government funds, they were not yet interested in the already working solution to be combined with new ones. We could really wonder why and why this is a case of waste.

Ralf Lippold has been the guy and he is still a legacy in the CESAR age 

Team Action Lea(r)ning - A Journey into the Future

A DREAM for DRESDEN (to be) Made REALITY

sparked by Google Project 10^100 & Monkey Business
by the end of the year 2015, it has emerged into System Dynamics in Dresden
#GreenTechAccelerator (2014) via #StartupAccelerator (2012) via InnoBay (2011)

[Text below is the originally handed in concept to the Google Project 10^100 announcement]

What one sentence best describes your idea? (maximum of 150 characters)

Leading the region around Dresden and Saxony back to former economic strength: the people are the most precious asset in an economy.

Describe your idea in more depth. (maximum 300 words)

Giving Saxony back the former power of creativity and innovation (Odol, Melitta, Audi, BMW, all have started from that precious soil) the system has to change - most preferably at the grass-root level and this means in education. The current business world in the region has to be changed from inside. How to do that? We have to connect actively education to the local businesses, organizations, and communities in Saxony despite the (present) lower income level as in other areas of Germany.

Starting a process consulting entrepreneurship and through personal networks at the local universities of Dresden and companies establish the groundwork for setting up an education institute. This will involve education institutions and the work world through the steady establishment of team entrepreneurship companies (very much like Team Academy in Finland. The members of the team companies will undertake real-world projects in areas (establish new ways of working together to create a higher and sustainable life level in the local communities) where at present no consultants are present (due to money constraints of clients).

Through active cooperation with universities, private and public businesses this will generate growth, profit (the team companies will be paid by hourly consulting and %-part of the future expected additional profits) and value for the region, driven with a vision towards a sustainable society and economy (also in the business context, as closing and reopening of companies is not sustainable in the sense of using resources, people, machinery, financials, etc.).

As Saxony is not the only region in the world with creative and innovative people the concept will be spread through various already established social network communities (SoL network, Lean Thinking Network, System Dynamics Network, Presencing Community) crossing present boundaries.

The ultimate vision is to grow people inside their area of living towards their strengths so they can build up an economy that is sustainable and much more resistant to the crisis that we face right now.

What problem or issue does your idea address? (maximum 150 words)

The recent and seen problem in Saxony is that jobs have been cut in the past (GDR cooperations closed and very little manpower has been needed to run newly established ones funded in great parts of the state). After the time bound for subsidies has run out and economic turmoil is all around companies close their plants in Eastern Germany moving back “home” to West. This leads to the further drain of highly educated people (either in the working world or the universities, as jobs are much easier to be found in Western Germany).

Intervening into the system in order to change the dynamics that -always- ends in a vicious cycle (money infusions into the region will be necessary to keep up normal life - even with closing companies) will be the mission.

If your idea were to become a reality, who would benefit the most and how? (maximum 150 words)

Benefit will the students and people actively working in the team company(ies) as they will learn team entrepreneurship, which will enable them to actively take business opportunities (which actually lie all around - we just have to grab them) in the future not being dependant on large employers. The local business will grow into stable business networks that weave a solid ground for the future growth of the region making people proud of what they have achieved on their own. Establishing to extend networks outside the region and connect with other regions in the world will generate wealth in knowledge, problem-solving capabilities and the ability to generate a future one really wants to become true in exchanging stories. In the end, striving businesses will pull future prosperity in the region.

What are the initial steps required to get this idea off the ground? (maximum 150 words)

Starting as a single entrepreneur by the end of 2008 getting first projects going, that will give real sustainable benefit to the partners and clients involved. In the meanwhile grounding the already in place networks to act as a fertile ground for founding the “Saxony Team Entrepreneurship”. Scanning the area of Dresden for an appropriate building that would suit the needs of a team learning organization that will be evolving through the future team entrepreneur company(ies).

Describe the optimal outcome should your idea be selected and successfully implemented. How would you measure it? (maximum 150 words)

The optimal outcome will be that “Team Academy“-projects like the one described will spread slowly around the world and will be the seeds for future sustainable economic wealth and growth especially in regions that are in economic struggle - there are many around the world.

In times where oil and logistics will become more expensive as it is at present stated through prices the idea of web-based knowledge communities will become more important especially as we face more complex issues in our communities and societies as ever before.

The described education-work model will enable communities (of every size and remoteness) to grow on their people’s personal strengths – and what you don’t know somebody around the globe knows already, you just have to find and connect with him/her.

A timeline since 10/2008 (newest on top)

[UPDATE 2018-11-12] all updates since 2016 can now be found on MEDIUM

---------------

[STEP TWENTYFOUR] [2016-08-15] Participating in "U.Lab - Awareness Based Systems Change with u.lab - How to Sense and Actualize the Future" (introductory course, 1 week, 90 min) & "U.Lab - Leading from the Emerging Future" (8 weeks, full program)

Anybody based in Dresden or Saxoy please feel free to join our public Twitter account @DresdenULabHub or our private Facebook-group DresdenULabHub

For more general background check on Presencing Institute, Otto Scharmer's blog, Otto's profile at Huffington Post, oder für deutsche Leser dieser Artikel "Entdecke die Möglichkeiten" in brandeins wissen (2007), der das Konzept von U.Lab bzw. Theorie U anschaulich und knapp verdeutlicht.

The prototype we are working on (since the last U.Lab last September) will be CitizenScienceLab

[STEP TWENTYTHREE] [2016-06-06] taking part with HTxA - HighTech x Agency in the Idea Showcase (p.33) at the futureSAX Innovation Conference 2016

[STEP TWENTYTWO] 3rd participation in one of the MIT ClimateCoLab competitions (look for Ralf Lippold, and you'll find the proposals)

[STEP TWENTYONE] After 2014 now the 2nd time taking part in the MOOC #ScalingUp by Stanford professors Huggy Rao and Bob Sutton where I was able to form an awesome international team around the scaling of CitizenScienceLab to produce the final team project CSL Team Project (please excuse the sometimes rough sound)

[STEP TWENTY] Twice attended the MOOC #ULab in February (2016) and September (2015), from which the prototype CitizenScienceLab has evolved, for the time being, pulling together civil society, research community through system dynamics and presencing.

[STEP NINETEEN] Being official Vanguard for the recent XPRIZE Global Learning Prize #LearningPrize, helping to grow awareness about the competition in Germany, and global networks, as well as supporting the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise $500k (2014-09-28 $156k raised so far)

[STEP NINETEEN] Getting invited to become Ambassador of the Networked Society Project for Germany - I can't say how honoured, and humbled I am!

[STEP EIGHTEEN] Social media partner of Dresdner Lichtjahr #LichtjahrDD in order to grow the awareness about the technology advancements, and activities in the light-based technologies as an active part of the International Year of Light 2015, #IYL2015

[STEP SEVENTEEN] A Mission to Bring World Changing Ideas from Singularity University to the World by & via Eventifier

[STEP SIXTEEN] Entering MIT Climate CoLab Global Competition with a proposal on a Green Tech Accelerator in Dresden, From Railway Hub to Tech Hub - your ideas are welcomed here

[STEP FIFTEEN] Crowdfunding of [STEP FOURTEEN] has been successfully achieved, Tweets from Singularity University GSP14 now captured (with blogs, pictures) at http://bit.ly/SingularityUniversityGSP14

[STEP FOURTEEN] #GSP14Eventifier - an ad-hoc nano-scale crowdfunding campaign to capture the Twitter conversations from Singularity University (June 14 - August 24, 2014). If you are INTERESTED feel free to check and support the project. We have been kindly supported by Eventifier who allowed us to combine the crowdfunding with their social media content aggregator

[STEP THIRTEEN] #AppliedResearchAccelerator - after Prof. Gianaurelio Cuniberti's panel discussion at #TechForum14 organized by The European House Ambrosetti together with Singularity University's VP of Innovation, Vivek Wadhwa, and his short interview "Linking fundamental and applied research"

[STEP TWELVE] #FoundersAccelerating as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2013 & Gründerwoche 2013 with Boston-based entrepreneur & author Halley Suitt Tucker & Athens-based, entrepreneur and founder of soundmap.co Stathis Kassios (see his crowdfunding campaign to make the trip to Dresden one of the most underrated entrepreneurial hotspots (currently) in Germany, possible)

[STEP ELEVEN] Supporting Prof. Manfred Buchroithner and the Institute for Cartography of the Technical University Dresden, bringing the 26th International Cartographic Conference (Angela Incampo & myself created the official hashtag #iccDD2013, also on the conference website) into the global community via digital real-time communication. See here the tweets that came in only during the conference between August 25-30, 2013 on Eventifier. On the sideline a crowdfunded scholarship could be put to action as part of a Stanford Design Thinking MOOC - @mapmakerin has been of the most active participants on Twitter during the conference.

[STEP TEN] .... creating a digital communication agency, HTxA [High Tech x Agency], to enable companies, institutions, and conference organizers to spread the word about their work, services, and research facilitating digital information technology. The origin of it goes back to 2011 while sitting in an interview with the head of Semperoper, Dr. Ulrike Hessler (she died July 30, 2012), http://www.ideaswatch.com/startup-idea/htxa--hightech-x-agency

[STEP NINE] Running workshops on Lean Startup and Opernnachmittagkaffee with Soprano Jessica Muirhead within the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2012 (Gründerwoche 2012)

[STEP EIGHT] [2012-10-28] Bringing Lean Startup Machine to Dresden (500 people needed leaving  their email address by 1st of December, HALF OF IT we already have)

[STEP SEVEN] Applying for the Graduate Studies Program 2012 at Singularity University; more about it on BlueFuture2012 and on TED.

[STEP SIX] Connecting [STEP TWO] with local stakeholders, and putting it to operate in a LeanStartup approach (small steps a time, using resources at hand, getting quick feedback on what works, and what doesn't, improving the MVP (minimal viable product) or MVA (minimal viable action).

[STEP FIVE] Further action research prototypes (done and in the making): #InnoBay (2011), Dresden Innovation Nights (in cooperation with Bobbie Carlton, MassInno) (2010), HTxA at ideaswatch (since 2011), blogging about Semperoper performances (connecting with my personal past work, and group dynamics experience; since 2010), keynote speaker at forthcoming Symposium Change To Kaizen (2012), tech blogger at various technology conferences in Dresden, Brussels, Sydney, and Melbourne

[STEP FOUR] DresdenOpenCoffeeClub, (a formerly weekly, now monthly meetup on creating the future of Dresden, also on Twitter #occDD)

[STEP THREE] Prototyping of CoOrpheum, Dresden's first official coworking space (revitalization of a for 10 years practically unused ballroom in Dresden's creative hot spot Neustadt, and building ground to its use by move:elevator with 5-year contract) together with Marco Dziallas who provided the business plan

[STEP TWO] LockSchuppen - FutureLab2056 - SingularAcademy - CollabSpace (also mentioned in BRANDEINS 12/2011 - "Der Mann ohne Geheimnisse" ("The Man without Secrets", page 108-112)

[STEP ONE] Team Lea(r)ning Experience Dresden (as sent into Google-Projects in October 2008 and for FutureSAX Business Plan Competition in January 2009) all sparked by two visits to my friends at Team Academy 2008/2009 .... already evolved into the project and two visits to Dresden in September 2008 and June 2012

[IGNITION] Surprise visit to Team Academy in August 2008 after an Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Amsterdam, straight from Amsterdam-Schiphol to Helsinki. The greatest experience was the start of the new semester and learning that the students of Team Academy are teamed into so-called team companies at the first day, and on the second day, they have registered their company. 

20 Year-old Thoughts more valid than ever

Wandering around in different and quite heterogeneous fields (e.g. system dynamics, Global SoL, lean thinking (a XING special interest group, founded by Ralf Lippold, that no longer exists), team learning, knowledge workers 2.0) thoughts are racing through my mind (pretty much like the underwood in a forest).

Nothing seems to happen for quite some time - and then: BANG!

Jay W. Forrester's Banquet Talk (actually the picture of Jay W. Forrester was taken at the 2007 ISDC in Boston, where he, aged 89 by this time, held a speech) at the international meeting of the System Dynamics Society, in Stuttgart, Germany, July 13, 1989, has caught my eye (while laying on top of a pile of books about lean thinking).

Finishing his talk he says,

"...It means that learning in one field becomes applicable to other fields. There is now a promise of reversing the trend of the last century that has been moving away from the "Renaissance man" toward fragmented specialization. We can work towards an integrated, systemic, educational process that is more efficient, more appropriate to a world of increasing complexity, and more compatible with a unity in life." (Talk transcript: D-Memo 4165-1) 

Even after almost 20 years, this is true today. What is your feeling about it? How do we know that we have reached the next level of well-being?

CO2 Reduction through Virtual Teams

Virtual Teams, a speciality of todays global economy;-)

Have you been part of such already? What was your feeling?

What should be different, so you feel really relaxed and can

work in a flow manner?

Even though everybody is talking about the global economy,

this is mostly done in terms of producing something at the far

opposite side of the globe for a cheaper price, then redistribute

this back with logistics costs (currenty going towards zero, despite

the price and scarceness of fossil fuel supplies).

Wouldn't it be a choice idea (actually we can make the choice happen;-)) to work in a different

style? How about switching the unions' demand for higher wages into something like providing

means to earn some money besides your standards 9-5-job? Could be even worth while for the production worker - they are pretty smart, just ask them and you will realize that pretty fast;-))

Just a few new ideas around the Knowledge Worker 2.0.

Cheers, Ralf

Dream of a Better World - We have the Choice:-)

Donella (Dana) Meadows, the co-author of "The Limits to Growth", has been a visionary thinker:

"MATERIAL AND ENERGY THROUGHPUT MUST BE CUT, BUT NOT 

PEOPLE, NOT LIVING STANDARDS, NOT THE DREAM OF A BETTER

WORLD"

This is ever true today; all of us can choose to follow in.

What could hold us back?

Ralf

Update 2022-08-27

The above quote is taken from the obituary speech by Anthony D. Cortese in April 2001