Archives for June 2013

In his blog post, Adopting a Digital Disruptor Mindset to Transform Education, J Robinson talks about technology adopters and digital disruptors, referring to James McQuivey’s book, Digital Disruption: Unleashing the Next Wave of Innovation. A mindset focussing on digital disruption focuses on engaging with new possibilities, rather than doing what we currently do, “better”.

I wonder if both have a place? Incremental improvement, supported and encouraged, can flourish and bloom as significant innovation over time, as it becomes established and operationalized as the norm. As I work through the ideas of problem finding-possibility thinking, (previous post) there seems an emerging connection between prevailing mindset and preparedness to engage in innovative thinking patterns.

Thanks for the post J Robinson!

At Edutech, I heard Dan speak, not for the first time, about the need for students to become “problem finders” as opposed to just “problem solvers”. This phrase was echoed by several others in keynotes too. Perhaps it’s just semantics, but I couldn’t get my head around the phrase. The post at www.brainpickings.org/index.php/tag/dan-pink/ has really helped crystallise my thinking. If we reframe the words “problem” solving” into something more appreciative – “looking for opportunities” or “possibility thinking” then immediately I can grasp the intent of the phrase. I love the example given of the artists considering subjects – some paint what they see, whilst some consider what they might paint, given what is before them.
If we remove the base notion of a scenario as something that needs solving, and shift to considering what might or could be, then I think we could be working in Dan Pink’s “Problem Finding” mode.