The Player vs The Observor
In one of my latest interviews (I am in the process of hiring new staff) one of the complaints I received from a young Canadian graduate was how frustrating he found it, that conversations he’s been having since he’s been back have been unstimulating. Very few are talking about new ideas, innovation, testing out concepts. We came to the conclusion that we are more likely to come across ‘observers’ rather than ‘global players’.
What is an observer?
ob·serv·er/əbˈzərvər/
Noun: |
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A few days ago I received a signed copy of ‘My Beautiful Bahrain’ that was compiled and edited by Robin Barratt, founder of the Bahrain Writers Circle, which is probably the largest community of writers on the island.
After a year of collecting writers work, weekly updates, and daily facebook updates, I was glad to finally hold the print copy in hand. There is no substitute for holding a tangible product in hand. It was then that I realized that Robin went from observer to player, to me.
When Robin handed me that book, he has now shown me evidence that he is now a player (despite him writing numerous other books).
There are far fewer players around me that I would like. Sure we read papers, we know what is happening around the world, we are all well travelled and cultured. We run family businesses, and have endless opinions about what is happening in our industries and in politics. Yet how many are creating services / products that can compete in the global market. It doesn’t have to be something tangible, it can be a concept, an innovative community project, a viral video campaign, a plug in. What are we doing to take part in the global industry? And most importantly how can we go from observers to players.
The transition phase:
- Stop the chatter. All you do is talk about what is happening now, and what happened yesterday. Current political, sport, social events, fashion are your main subjects of discussion. You use the world realism and say let us be realistic, instead of why not, and why isn’t this being done, and how can we make this happen?
- Scour the net for innovative projects. Spend more time tapping into the creative and innovative paths of others. I try to spend some time on Ted.com, look for opportunities in Monocle, have morning tea and read the latest in designtaxi.com. Keep an eye out for your local innovator and a bigger eye on your global .
- Question your environment; keep a closer eye on what is missing in your life and those people around. Can you do what another is doing, but do it better? Is there a platform you can create for someone like you? Are you passionate about a gizmo or an app? What can you do to better the community?
- Use social media and various other resources and tools to bring your concept to reality. It doesn’t have to be a business, it can be an online site that allows people to share their notes in school (uniu.com) or a project that highlights crime in your town using google maps, or creating a design society where fellow designers can meet, gather, discuss, support each other.
- What are global players doing right, that you can tap into? If your competitors have invested in good design, should you? If they have online presence, should you? If they have perfect packaging should you? What should you be doing better? What can you do better?
The Talker
It is time for people of our generation to observe less, and play more. Observers in disguise can also be camouflaged as talkers. At some point in time I am sure you have come across at least one observer in a form of talker. A talker is someone you meet today and will tell you about a superb business idea or a concept that they want to start and then exactly a year from the day that you met them you would bump into them again oddly in a mall or in a resteraunt, and they would still be talking about the very same idea. In a climate of observers the talkers are slightly better as they are talking out loud about the next step. It really begins with the questioning of what is surrounding us, a discussion we start having with those that are closest around us, and a self reflection of what we can add to the community. But switching habits, talking less and doing more is another challenge our generation must practice and harness on the way to innovation.