Bikeshedding

From Wikipedia:  Parkinson's Law of Triviality (also known as the bicycle shed example, and by the expression colour of the bikeshed) is C. Northcote Parkinson's 1957 argument that organisations give disproportionate weight to trivial issues.

The Board of Trustees will approve the building of a nuclear power plant without much discussion because the complexity of the engineering issues are beyond them and they assume others have struggled over the details.  However, the approval of the construction of a bike shed (a small project anyone can do over the course of a weekend) will engender endless discussion about materials and details.

See also http://bikeshed.com

Constraints encourage creativity

Quote from Igor Stravinsky (composer, 1882-1971): My freedom will be so much the greater and more meaningful the more narrowly I limit my field of action and the more I surround myself with obstacles. Whatever diminishes constraint diminishes strength. The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees...

It is a paradox that sometimes tightly constraining oneself by rules (logical or arbitrary) can spur creativity.

Get Back in the Box: How constraints can free your team’s thinking

I was trying to tidy up my desk tonight and came across this old Fast Company article from Dec 2007/Jan 2008.

Quote:  Research tells us that brainstorming becomes more productive when it's focused.

Flow, or the psychological conditions of enjoyment

Years ago (1992?) I heard a lecture on Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's concept of "Flow" -- the conditions under which people are happy and productive.  Some of those conditions were:

1. person given a chance to complete the task


2.  person given the opportunity to concentrate on the task w/out distractions


3. task has clear goals, clearly presented to the person


4. the task provides immediate feedback


5. the person's involvement is deep, but effortless


6. the person has a sense of being in control


7. the concern for the self disappears (but when the task/job is finished, the sense of self is enhanced or raised)


8. the sense of time duration is altered (time slip away)

Flow has also been described as being "in the groove" or "in the zone."

Crucial is the balance between the work/task/job (the challenge) and the skills/progress of the person (the success).  There should be a challenge, but one that is met.  There should be obstacles, but ones that are overcome.

When a person works in that "sweet spot" -- the balance between the challenge and the success -- his/her sense of enjoyment and satisfaction is maximized.