Research as a Important Function of Universities

Universities are centers of knowledge and have a hallowed place that reminds people of chalkboards, Einstein looking professors, sun spotted hallways, and rows of dust covered books. It is a place where people sit for hours, if not days and years, to ponder how things work. One can almost imagine Newton sitting under the tree and getting clunked by an apple. Research is still an important function of universities and is an outward facing sign of internal activities.

This doesn't mean that universities are ONLY about research as they have a primary responsibility to teach students. Research helps in teaching by expanding knowledge but also by keeping curriculum relevant. It is part of the Boyer's model of scholarship that encourages the discovery of new knowledge and the integration of that knowledge into teaching for student learning advancement. Research comes with a cost and a benefit.

Research takes time, money and resources from other university activities. Where professors might otherwise engage in the  immediate needs of the university they are spending their time in longer-term research projects. The type of research often depends on the interest of the professor but is generally focused on their content areas. Something as simple as a literature review or as grandiose as a full-scale experiment can both add value in the long term but will come with a cost.

The type of research should push for advancement or understanding of the professor's field. At times this research might focus on the better knowledge depth of the professor who then publishes his/her work in a journal and incorporates it into their classroom. At other times it may seek to create something new and contribute to the entire field. Without sharing and integrating that knowledge with the world and with their students many of the benefits are lost.

This brings us back to our original idea of research being an important function of universities. That research must either be used for public consumption or integration into student knowledge. Successful research programs don't need to have an expensive laboratory but do need to highlight creative works to the public through journal publications, outward facing websites, blogs, publications, and news media outlets. They will then need to continually update their courses to integrate their research to create brand value.

Why Does Innovation Take so Long?

Innovation is the process of developing something new that has not been developed before. It may either be something unique or it could be a recombination of different elements to find new interpretations. Sometimes these innovations come from incremental increases while at other times it could completely transform the market.

At the least innovation moves through four steps. I term these steps 1.) Knowledge Integration, 2.) Ideation and Conceptual Formation, 3.) Validity Testing 4.) Development for Consumption. Within each steps are many other steps. Products and good ideas don't appear out of no where and generally rest on a large backdrop of knowledge.

Researchers spend years blurry eyed trying to understand a particular phenomenon. They read, study, understand and integrate knowledge. At some point they have accumulated enough knowledge to develop a new idea but that requires a strong foundation of previous knowledge. It may be in their field of study or a related field.

That "Aha" moment eventually develops into a conceptual vision of the product that is tested. If it works well then it will be further refined for consumptions. The development process should consider the market needs of consumers in product design and development. Innovation takes a long time because information must be integrated and synthesized to come up with a new way of solving problems.

The Spreading of Toxic Attitudes

Toxic Attitudes spread quickly throughout a department and can become embedded in the culture in a way that eventually impacts performance. The selection of managers should include personality in order to ensure that the organization maintains a positive place to work where people feel free to perform at their best. Entire departments that under perform can often be traced back to leadership and the rewards systems.

Poor attitudes and even worse communication skills lead to toxic environments. We are herd creatures and we take cues from each other. People with power who have negative affectivity beget more negativity as people pick up on their cues and react accordingly. We have all experienced people who "tick" us off and put us in a poor mood.

The problem is that we don't stop the chain. Our mood changes and we impact the next person. Some of us are more emotionally developed and can put people's behavior in context but most of us just transfer it onto the next person. Eventually we can have an entire culture of negativity that impacts performance.

Imagine if you walked into a place everyday and most of the people were engaging in negative thinking. Basic civility and kindness went out the window. Without realizing it you will begin to feel like your "walking on egg shells" within the workplace. The high stress and agitation can cause all types of problems.

Performance declines and cynicism becomes more rampant. Changing the toxicity of an environment requires either a surgical or scorched earth approach. Surgically you can spend the time investigating procedures, reward allocations, employee attitudes and personality to see what specifically is causing the problems. Scorched earth means throwing out the players with big attitudes and changing everything within the department. If you forget to hire better next time or adjust the reward mechanics you might find yourself back with a toxic environment in a few years.

When Systems Fail Themselves

When organizations lose focus on their mission they are in serious trouble. All systems have a purpose and when the individual components lose their way the entire system veers off course. A few degrees and 5 years down the road the organization is in big trouble. Ensuring everyone is focused on the mission is important for sustainable success.

Sometimes people work in a silo and fail to understand the bigger picture of the organization's purpose. Each person focuses on their individual job and conducts their work in a routine and don't think much about it. That is they don't think about it until something happens that forces them to get a bigger picture.

It is important for companies to ensure employees not only understand the mission but also their job and how that job fits with the other jobs around it. Each job works in conjunction with others and understanding the wider network also helps in putting each action in greater context. Each task takes on more meaning when it has a bigger purpose.

All decisions should be made with the greater purpose in mind. If this does not happen smaller objectives begin to take precedence and it could threaten the entire organization. How does a splintered organization survive when it becomes a bundle of self-serving mini objectives? The answer is it doesn't. Its synergy and bounded rationality dissipates and it becomes its own biggest market threat.

The Art of Reading Faces in Negotiations

The art of reading faces is ancient and comes from the subconscious and biological need to understand each other. Animals and humans have the same ability to read body language and get impressions of another's intentions. Learning how to understand those cues and use them in negotiations creates advantages the opposing side may not have. Conceptually blending the information makes additional clarity on which pathways to use to achieve goals.

Imagine if you were able to understand what a person was thinking without actually having any magical ability to do so. If knew what they wanted and understood their environment you may be able to reasonably get an impression of their thinking. It isn't always correct but you can be accurate enough to test their thinking with your own words and comments.

Consider the environment and context of the facial expressions first. Look at what they are doing, what people are talking about, where their focus is, and under what circumstance they are participating. You should be able to get a better impression of the forces and factors on each person in the room.

View their facial expressions and try to determine what they mean. Is the person's facial expressions positive, negative, joyful, upset, distracted, etc...? There are at least 21 facial expressions that we use to express our emotions. Emotions are based on the way in which we think about things.

Therefore, if you match the environment, behaviors, context and facial expressions together it is possible to determine the latent functions going on in the brain. The more you know a person the better off you are able to read their expressions because you have a context for their baseline behavior. Changes mean something is going on.

Reading people is an important but not easily developed skill in negotiations. Understand what people say and why they say it makes a huge difference. People reveal information and understanding how that information fits with the negotiation can give you a tip off on what people are willing or not willing to accept. Negotiations is not only about having a position but also about finding out how to get the other side to agree to that position.

What Your Smile Says about You?

You wouldn't think a smile would say much about you but it does. Smiles signal friendly intentions and help people open up to you about their needs, wants, desires, life, and motivations. A good smile is contagious and can make its way throughout an organization. Even though who are not aware that someone is smiling will still feel a positive impression toward that person.

If you want someone to listen to your message you should smile. A good smile lets them know you are open to them and like them as a person. It may  not be true but the concept stays the same. A solid simple can be overt overt or non-verbal based upon its intensity.

This can lead to more honest with employees which creates awareness of your department. When people feel positive feelings toward their boss and trust that boss it puts the boss in the center of information which is important in proper management. 

Knowing which type of smile to use and when is important. When you don't know someone try not to give a huge smile as it may hint that you are sneaky, have ill intention, or something to hide. Try and subtle smile with accents of something bigger when the person says a key point or something interesting.

Practicing a non-verbal smile you can use with everyone, a large smile in exciting situations or when you know the person, and the casual positive smile in daily conversation can be beneficial. As people respond to your positive impression with a positive response you will find your relationships improving and more people willing to listen to you.

When To Multi-Task and When to Focus

We hear about the benefits of multi-tasking but often fail to understand when it is more beneficial to focus on a single task. The difference lies in cognitive load and the amount of effort it takes to complete tasks. Some types of tasks require too much focus and effort to complete while others don't require much attention and are beneficial for multi-tasking. Knowing the difference can help.

When To Focus: Focus is best when the task is complicated and it takes considerable effort to complete. Your brain can only handle so many tasks at once. Ensuring you are reducing distractions and competing projects helps in using all your energy in completing your primary work.

When to Multi-Task: Work that is routine, doesn't require much thought and small mistakes dont matter. Let us assume you are filing papers, cleaning your desk and having a routine conversation on the door. Pretty simple. Your cognitive engagement on each task is low and therefore you have the capacity to do multiple work.