By Stephen Murphy, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy and Innovation
In an age of collaboration, crowd sourcing, and the rapid exchange of information, nothing is ever final. There is always something that another will be able to add. We must then ask what constitutes a final report, a final advert, a “final” anything. In a collaborative world, isn’t it presumptuous to talk about perfection?
Look at the way we interact with close friends. Our conversations have nothing to do with perfection, and there’s no expectation that anything said among friends has to be final. The friend model is relaxed, playful, and unself-conscious. There is no need for a plan. The idea is to enjoy the exchange, not to meet a standard. What friends say flows naturally, because each person wants to add something and keeps the conversation going. What friends do is support their relationship.
Consider brainstorming: The only rule is to invite all kinds of ideas. Getting outside the box means taking perfection off the table. Giving up control. Collaborating freely. Seeing where it goes. Isn’t that what Twitter is driving on a massive scale? the spinoff of ideas that generates more ideas, responses, and connections?
We all want to create outstanding processes and products, but the steps we take to get there don’t need to be perfect. Let’s accept that we’re taking risks and learning new ways of cooperating, collaborating, and elaborating in a world that has never moved so fast. Why not engage our clients in more open-ended conversations first, and worry about making it “final” later? So, next time you think about final, ask yourself: “Did I really tap the team as I could have in order to improve this product? Could I have crowd-sourced a solution? Could I have taken a risk along the way in order to build a better mousetrap?”
Perhaps there is no “final” anymore because knowledge is infinite. So, why do we think we can still package knowledge in a finite form? Let’s think, instead, of knowledge as extensible and infinite. Let’s deliver it in ways that others can benefit from it. Operating in a world set on perfection shuts off this continual stream of knowledge building. “Final” says, “I don’t want to hear anymore. You have nothing else to add. I don’t value your knowledge.”
By the way, this is not my final word. It’s simply the start of a conversation about new ways we can work in a new knowledge world, a world of sharing, where we add value to what others create. I would love to hear your thoughts about this–your “final” word.