Boost Team Agility In Under 2 Hours
by Lisa Bodell for ForbesWomen
In its early days, Southwest Airlines was faced with the dilemma of either selling one of its planes or facing bankruptcy. This budget constraint forced the carrier to speed up its boarding process so it could achieve the same number of daily flights with one fewer plane. This constraint is also what led Southwest to the radical idea of unassigned seating.
The airline’s agility in a crisis also supports what psychologists have identified: that innovation is more likely to come from constraint than abundance. When we have everything we need, we tend to think about our products, tools and resources within the boundaries of their standard functions. (Or what’s known as functional fixedness.)
When we have to work with less, we shift into a constraint mindset that helps us find inventive ways to use whatever we have. Constraints actually provide us with a starting point to work from: a problem to solve, a deadline to meet or a customer to please.
As an author and futurist who’s helped organizations anticipate change for nearly 20 years, I’ve studied the impact of agility in the business world. One of the most effective techniques for building this skill on-demand is known as Wild Cards. It can be conducted in under two hours with any number of participants.