17th April 2009
Flowers are the end of a process that starts from a humble seed. No one is interested in the flower at the bud stage.
It is only when there is nectar inside the flower that birds and bees come to feed.
As the petals form on the flower, so the birds and bees become interested in what the plant has to offer.
Stimulating appetite
The birds and bees are only interested in the plants when their flowers are sending out a signal that they have nectar for them.
The plant generates a steady flow of flowers to keep them coming back.
But the whole cycle creates a steady flow of information that give signals that increases their interest until they finally go for the hidden nectar.
Banish the banquet
Businesses want quick answers, and expect them to be the right ones. So you provide a banquet at which the business owners and decision makers gorge themselves until they are violently ill.
These banquets throw in huge starters, a belly bursting main meal and the sweet to follow with ideas being cast in a confusing mass that are presented in a magnificent way, but which may leave a bitter aftertaste.
Each of the courses look appealing, but no-one told you that the starter contained nuts, and you know how allergic you are to them! It may be better to take a tour of the meal first, with the chef, to understand how it was put together so that you know what you should eat.
Snack and digest.
We were built to eat and then digest our food, and to only eat again once our stomachs are empty. It's only through greed that we over consume as if we had no notion where the next plate of food was coming from. Digestion gives your system a chance to rest and absorb the food. Your stomach doesn't stretch and ache, it decides whether it likes what you've eaten and comes back for a little more if it does like it.
Drip feeding concepts
Business owners and decision makers can't be expected to know everything about technology, or how it will make their business effective and sustainable. Just like the flower bud, the beauty of an idea has to grow and attain its own value. Just like the banquet, too many ideas forced into a small session are difficult to digest, and by digesting them slowly the business owners and decision makers can decide what sits comfortable.
Feeding development.
The same idea works with development teams. There is a great competition to be the one who has arrived at a development solution first. A great banquet of ideas is forced down the throat of anyone who participates, with the expectation that the proposer's solution is the one to gorge on.
But by starting early and watching the bud turn into a flower, the reward is the nectar inside. Good innovation develops slowly in tune with the opening petals of the flower.
Rob Wendes
Business
Technology Consulting
17th April 2009
