HACKING YOUR WORK TO THRIVE: YOU MUST DO IT NOW!

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Monday, I briefly mentioned the research I saw (and presented) at the 2011 Academy of Management meetings. There was a clear shift toward research that focused on how technology comes to play a role in organizations, rather than more static discussions of what you find with a particular technology/organization mix (I'm specifically thinking about sessions 964 and 1073, though I'm sure many others also fit this form). As Academics are likely to do when spending days together, we talked about the next steps in our research and how we can provide value to organizations from this research. Depending on the person and the audience, we might blog, tweet, consult, attend industry conferences (I have roles as Connected Enterprise and the CSCMP Global Conference), or step further afield with a more extreme kind of conference. For example, I'm hoping to present at TechCrunch Disrupt and SXSW (South by Southwest). It's the latter proposal I'm sharing today -- and asking for your "thumbs up." (They will ask you to sign-in.) Bill Jensen "Mr. Simplicity" (CEO of The Jenson Group), William Hertling (web strategist and web developer at Hewlett-Packard and SciFi author), Gene Kim (entrepreneur, CTO, and author) and I have teamed up for a panel proposal entitled, "Hacking Your Work to Thrive: You Must Do It…Now!" The "voice" of the panel description is a little different than you'd find at the Academy of Management meetings:

We try to simplify our work and technology, but too often we only succeed in running ever faster on the hamster wheel. While our companies and work undergo constant reorganization and redefinition, it is essential to use the principles of hacking to create a refuge of simplicity. We’ll present three strategies so that you can have more impact in your job, but retain the calm of the Zen master. Moderated by Gene Kim, author of “When IT Fails: The Novel” and founder & past-CTO of Tripwire, the panel features: = Bill Jensen, Author of Simplicity, Simplicity Survival Handbook, and co-author of Hacking Work = William Hertling, science fiction author, web developer, and web strategist = Terri Griffith, professor of organizational design and author of The Plugged-In Manager. Apply the strategy of simplicity to be more effective in complex situations. Learn to see connections that make your hacks stronger. Learn how to Stop-Look-Listen as you make hacking design choices.

The SXSW organizers are also different from the program committee of the Academy of Management. Instead of asking for a literature review, theory section, hypotheses, and tables of statistics (all good things for an academic audience), SXSW proposals must include the questions we will answer during the session. Our list:

  • You want me to break the rules?!?! Are you guys anarchists?
  • Which is the problem: People? Process? Technology?
  • How will hacking my work help me and everyone else?
  • How can simplicity be my competitive advantage?
  • How should I get started?

..and finally, the review process is different. About 30% of the decision lies in your hands. If you think that this panel will help to spread the ideas of dynamic (versus static) research and management, please click here and give us a thumbs up. Please also share your experiences in hacking your work or helping your organization be more dynamic and effective by mixing people, technology, and organizational practice.