Notes for Project One: Team Skills, Communication, Innovation, and Group work
Skills as a Team Member
Personal inventory: think about the skills you bring to a project team and how you’ve performed in past group work. Key examples highlighted include reliability, trust, follow-through, and the ability to do what you say you will do.
Reliability as a core teamwork trait: Google’s study of effective teams identified reliability (consistently delivering on commitments) as a factor alongside psychological safety.
Other valued skills mentioned: creativity and flexibility (ability to adapt to changing situations without getting overwhelmed).
Important reminder: this CV activity represents “who you are as a team member,” not “who you want to be.” Be honest about your current strengths.
Activity setup: grab a name tag (or use available paper) to jot notes; use the back as a mini CV sheet if you prefer.
Communication: Modes, Platforms, Frequency, and Style
Consider your preferred mode of communication (text, email, phone, face-to-face) and be explicit about it when collaborating.
Platforms mentioned: WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, iMessage (noted that iMessage can incur charges in some places).
Frequency is important: are you immediate in replying, or do you respond later (e.g., hours, days, or even longer)? Define what feels reasonable for you.
Communication style: direct vs indirect.
Direct: straightforward, fact-based, clear requests (e.g., "Please arrive on time on this date.")
Indirect: more considerate of feelings or perceptions, couching requests to be less abrupt (e.g., a reminder to arrive on time).
Situational use: both direct and indirect styles have value depending on context; know which to apply when.
Ambivert concept: introvert, extrovert, or mix; energy around others can inform how you engage in group work.
Practical note: if you don’t have a name tag or pen, you’re encouraged to take notes and build your micro CV on the back of the tag.
The Circle of Innovation: Imagination, Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
Core sequence: imagination leads to creativity, which leads to innovation, and entrepreneurship adds value creation and scaling.
Definitions (from the session and Tina Seelig’s framework):
Imagination: think of something that doesn’t yet exist.
Creativity: apply the imagined idea to real-world problems.
Innovation: the implementation of creative ideas to address challenges.
Entrepreneurship: creativity + implementation + value creation (scale to reach more people and create meaningful impact).
Simple synthesis (as discussed): ext{Innovation} = ext{Creativity} + ext{Implementation} and ext{Entrepreneurship} = ext{Innovation} + ext{Value Creation} (the session emphasized value creation as the third component).
Example discussed: the evolution of the World Wide Web; Berners-Lee worked on related data organization projects for about a decade before the full web vision emerged; this illustrates long incubation and idea collisions.
Practical takeaway: real-world innovation often comes from remixing or iterating existing ideas within constraints, rather than instant breakthroughs.
Real-world application: a patient care example contrasted root-cause cures with symptom-focused devices to improve quality of life; reframing problems can widen the scope of needs to address.
Where Do Good Ideas Come From? Slow Hunch, Collisions, and the Connected Mind
Slow hunch: breakthroughs rarely occur in a single moment; important ideas often incubate for years and become useful when they connect with other ideas.
Ten-plus-year example: the World Wide Web required about ten years of prior work and side projects before a full vision emerged; hunches mature with time.
Idea collisions: breakthroughs often happen when one hunch meets another hunch (or a new piece of information from someone else’s mind) and combine to form something bigger.
Historical spaces that foster collisions: coffee houses during the Enlightenment; Parisian salons of modernism; these spaces enable idea exchange and recombination.
Connected mind idea: chance favors the connected mind; increased connectivity and opportunities to borrow others’ hunches have driven innovation for centuries.
Systems that promote hunch collisions:
Meetups and informal gatherings
Structured group work in classrooms or workplaces
Digital connectivity (the Internet) that helps people find missing pieces to complete ideas
Practical reflection: consider your own environments and habits that enable or hinder idea collisions; identify ways to share your “hunches” with others to co-create.
Important caveat: while connectivity boosts ideas, it can also increase distraction; balance depth (slow hunch) with breadth (connections).
Key takeaway quote: "Chance favors the connected mind."
The Knowing-Doing Gap: From Knowledge to Action
Definition: the gap between what you know and what you actually do.
Illustrative example: soda is bad for health; most people know this yet continue to drink it; knowing does not guarantee action.
Relevance to creativity and execution: having a good idea is not enough; you must move from knowing to doing by implementing it.
Connection to classroom work: applying creativity and ideas in projects requires execution, not just discussion or ideation.
Constraints, Mythical Constraints, and Turning Constraints into a Superpower
Constraint as catalyst: constraints can drive creativity, forcing you to invent new approaches and solutions.
Common constraint types: time, money, technology, and other resource limitations.
Arabic proverb parallel: necessity is the mother of invention; constraints trigger innovation.
Mythical constraints: belief-based limits that aren’t truly prohibitive but are assumed (e.g., a rule that people think cannot be broken).
Practical guidance: differentiate real constraints from mythical ones; push beyond perceived limits to explore what might be possible.
Encouragement to experiment: modern creativity often requires stepping outside conventional boundaries to discover novel solutions.
Practical Next Steps: What to Do Between Now and Next Monday
Project logistics recap:
Group structure: 3 ext{ groups of } 5 ext{ and } 2 ext{ groups of } 4; total students around 23 (the sign-up context varies between 21-25 depending on attendance).
If all groups of five are filled, use a quick method (e.g., rock–paper–scissors) to rebalance.
Group sign-up is live in Blackboard; final group formations by ext{Aug } 27; next week will cover project steps in depth.
The project work for Project One begins next week; you will need to conduct empathy-based interviews before completing the project workbook.
Interview and collaboration tips:
Balance diversity of styles; different perspectives can boost creativity but may introduce conflicts—manage with curiosity and flexibility.
Practice empathy-based interviewing: ask clarifying follow-ups (e.g., what does "high potential" mean to you?); avoid simply listing items from a CV.
The interviewer should guide conversations, ensuring everyone contributes and that ideas are explored with depth.
The psychological and cultural context:
Diverse teams can yield more innovative outcomes, but require awareness of potential conflict.
Being curious about differences and staying flexible helps teams leverage diverse perspectives for better results.
Quick observations and prep for next week:
We will review the project step-by-step and begin active work on the project.
Remember the circle of innovation and the slow hunch as lenses to structure your ideation and development process.
Final reminder: come with your notes and ready to interview at least four different classmates, possibly changing groups to widen your sample and practice collaboration.
Quick Reference and Key Concepts
Key terms: reliability, psychological safety, direct vs indirect communication, introvert/ambivert/extrovert, constraint-driven creativity, slow hunch, hunch collisions, connected mind, knowing-doing gap, empathy-based interviewing.
Critical formulas and numbers:
Group structure: 3 ext{ groups of } 5 ext{ and } 2 ext{ groups of } 4
Total students referenced: 3 imes 5 + 2 imes 4 = 23
Attendance noted: 21, 23, 25 (class context varies by moment)
Timeline: ext{Aug } 27 (group finalization deadline)
Time allocations: 3 ext{–} 4 ext{ minutes} per discussion round; there are rounds that involve counting to 7 during rotations
Illustrative anecdotes: the World Wide Web origin story (Berners-Lee, ~10 years of side projects); the iPod as an example of incremental innovation within constraints; discussions about device development for nerve-related symptoms as a reframing of problems