Monthly Dose of Inspiration #3
Creative engineer Daniel de Bruin, hacking big oil & Gary Pisano.
First, an artist who always inspires me: Dutch artist and creative engineer Daniel de Bruin. Particularly, I'm fascinated by his concept of making dynamics tangible, like the Neurotransmitter 3000, which allows you to stay connected with your own experiences during a wild ride. For more, follow him on Instagram or check out his website.
Speaking of following, are you familiar with the non-profit organization Follow This? They're disrupting the system of big oil shareholders by uniting and empowering them to transition towards clean energy. Brilliant, if you ask me.
There's a lovely article from 2019 published by the Harvard Business Review, written by Gary Pisano. It discusses some paradoxes—how they often lead to failure in innovative cultures. I find the intolerance for incompetence in such highly uncertain environments, and the balance between disciplined and experimental work, particularly resonant.
’’The reason, I believe, is that innovative cultures are misunderstood. The easy-to-like behaviors that get so much attention are only one side of the coin. They must be counterbalanced by some tougher and frankly less fun behaviors. A tolerance for failure requires an intolerance for incompetence. A willingness to experiment requires rigorous discipline. Psychological safety requires comfort with brutal candor. Collaboration must be balanced with individual accountability. And flatness requires strong leadership. Innovative cultures are paradoxical. Unless the tensions created by this paradox are carefully managed, attempts to create an innovative culture will fail.’’