Last week was a bit chaotic. I was presenting at Cloud Slam '12 which meant a lot of preparation work, travel, conference attendance, etc... and not much time for anything else. It was great being in the Silicon Valley along side a bunch of people who invent for a living. Ideas are awesome! Getting a bunch of people who have ideas together is even more awesome. I love to witness the "incubator mentality" and the rewards it can breed. I am always ecstatic to hear what other people do, how and why they do it and how it makes a difference in the world.
All of the people in attendance that I was fortunate enough to meet are very strategic thinkers but also keep their fingers on the tactical pulse of their business. The great thing was, getting us all together was like a factory for new ideas. I would not be surprised to see at least a couple new business pop up as a result of the conversations we were having. That's the thing about "The Valley" in general, there are so many like-minded people in close proximity they can't help but spawn creative thought. It is really like a giant geographic incubator.
My question is this, is it possible to get the same kind of idea flow, collaboration and camaraderie without being in the same physical location? After all not everyone can live in the 1 hour driving radius that is the Bay Area. At Progentus we make it work every day through video conference, phone, email, text message and Instant Message but it is not exactly the same as being there. I feel like the true entrepreneurial spirit can not be stifled by these simple challenges. That is what makes an entrepreneur and entrepreneur in the first place. It is always easier to take a cushy job at a big company where one mistake is not always the difference between success and failure. Putting yourself, your work, your ideas and your company out there for the world to see is a tough choice but it is what we do.
After all, ideas are the start of progress and progress is the start of profit. Without a next step, next level, next stage or whatever you call it, we would all stagnate and live in a world of mediocrity. Ideas show us what could be as opposed to what is. Ideas are the first step in the journey of improvement. Without ideas (good or bad) there can not be. In business the best ideas are the ones that ignite passion in a team and start the ball rolling.
I would love to hear from anyone, on either side of the argument, in the comments below (yet another form of idea exchange)... What does it take to successfully incubate ideas and can it be done over the wide area?
My opinions on many things about the technology industry, raising three daughters, volunteering my time and anything else that strikes my fancy.
I agree on the vibe in "The Valley", it's hard to describe though without actually being there.
ReplyDeleteCan it be done remotely? It's hard. Many times on audio calls especially but on video calls too, people tend to check out and disengage. They are multitasking, daydreaming, or in some cases I think actually a cardboard cutout.
I think it can be done, but people need to want to make it work.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI figure there has to be a way to accomplish a similar level of engagement between people. If there isn't today, that's something worth figuring out. I think we get close, but as you said, it's hard to describe the vibe... It's even harder to describe what's missing.
DeleteVideo conferencing is generally one-to-one and not the immersive group experience you can get in person with a group of people. The sound and video quality also detract from the conversation.
ReplyDeleteIf it were able to put a group of people, living avatars if you will, in what would appear to be the same environment you could at least get a better group experience. But video and sound quality would also need to be improved. When I hear someone else it sound like they are talking from within a cave and outside sounds on their end are also distracting.