Closing the loop
On contextual changes, knowledge exchange and swapping places
My brother was on vacation the past two weeks and asked us to house sit. It was quite a bit of work but as I was pruning the hibiscus flowers this morning, I realized how powerful contextual changes and new habits can be, as well as being in someone else’s place, even if just for a short while.
One challenge we encountered in our temporary home was finding things around the house, especially the kitchen. I am certain its organization makes perfect sense to my brother and sister-in-law. Of course any organizational system must only make sense to the people creating and using it. As an investor lately I have been pitched numerous knowledge transfer and management systems. Despite the importance and utility of these systems, their value shouldn’t only rest in helping you locate what you are looking for independently. Understanding the thought processes behind the creation, organization and use cases for the outputs is typically equally, if not more, important.
For me, this summer surfaced the value of swapping places in gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation for someone else’s habits, logic and preferences. In the business context, this concept feels different than peer mentoring, job shadowing or stretch assignments in professional organizations. The opportunity to swap places, both figuratively and perhaps literally, seems full of potential for deeper collaboration and a truly human-centric evolution of work. What if colleagues could trade positions and swap responsibilities for just a quarter? What new ways of working together and new perspectives would emerge? If you are working on innovative solutions related to that idea, please email me here and/or fill out this form. I look forward to hearing from you!