I spend a fair bit of time (certainly not rewarded with any money) on a Google Help forum. In this environment, voluntary contributors answer questions from people who have run into difficulties with the service. The voluntary support of course frees Google from needing to staff a large organization to respond to routine inquiries, relying on the crowdsourcing model for communications. That is, if you get enough like-minded people together, each doing a little, you can often get a lot done, really effectively. With crowdsourcing, the expert opinion will soon form out of the chaos.
This solution won’t help most AEC firms who are working on a few, large projects rather than thousands of small accounts. But one question I answered today will provide clues about when and how to take creative risk.
The person I answered posted on a revenue-generating program a question indicating he had ideas of end-running the program’s rules to increase his income, quickly. He came up with rationalizations about why he might be able to succeed at the initiative, which made logical sense.
I asked him, simply, if it seemed right to do what he had in mind. Then I pointed out that if he actually achieved some temporary success with his end-run, he would likely ultimately fall off the cliff when the powers-that-be discovered his cheating.
Of course, sometimes (maybe often) criminals get away with their ill-deeds. If you really want to be an outlaw, I won’t be able to stop you. And I certainly encourage you to take creative risks — these can lead you to great places.
But ask yourself first, before proceeding, if the risks are right, morally, ethically and practically. Will your activities cause harm to innocent people or your business reputation?
This test will help you avoid the “soar than crash” syndrome I’ve seen afflict a few people in my life. They get away with murder (figuratively, at least, I don’t personally know any actual murderers!), and then go for more — only to crash and burn when their excesses catch up with them.
Conversely, I’ve soaraed a few times with some great creative risks including a life-changing African experience and a wild and wonderful trip to Washington DC with hundreds of non-preference immigrant visa applications. I still had to come back to earth, but the taste of life at a higher level left me more confident and ready to take more risks, which have given me a rather satisfying and rich life.
So, if you have a great idea that seems risky, don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. Just be sure that when you come crashing down to earth (you will), you will fall into a bed of leaves rather than a concrete pit.
And, if you want to risk mixing metaphors, do it infrequently.
P.S. Consultant Bill Caswell advocates a smaller and more intense use of crowdsourcing to solve major business challenges. He advocates convening special meetings where everyone in the organization gets together for a serious discussion about the problems and possible soltuions — and often the simplest and most effective ideas arise from junior employees. You need professional facilitators to pull this off. You can learn more about his successful methodologies (and gather some immediately useful insights and ideas) at a special webinar on February 16, “Taking your construction business to the next level”. (We are working together on this initiative and are sharing the modest revenue.)
