Katz (1/7/2008)

Prof. Katz is such an energetic person that I was wondering why he is drinking coffee? Have you ever considered de-caff, professor? He talked so fast and his knowledge was so vast that it’s impossible to keep up. I tried to take notes and luckily was able to capture a few interesting points in today’s Human Side of Technology class.

- you want to build your organization to deal problem not just in case, but just in time
- problem are mostly caused by people, their biased, preconceived judgments
- no organization made a major decision based on data, but based on information. So how to convert information from data?
- to innovate, you must understand the history innovation in your organization and its pattern
- vision means nothing unless communicated properly. What is MIT’s vision?
- In order to solve chronicle, large magnitude problem you must focus people (he used the MLK and JFK’s speech as examples)
- leaders in large companies are unwilling to change unless meet by a storm or a better opportunity
- much easier to convince someone that they will lose something if they don't take that risk, than convincing them they will gain something
- good company not only predict but also respond FAST to things that are not anticipated (new coke and classic coke example). Customer satisfaction derived from not 100% problem free, but fast responses to the problems. Customer respond 3 ways to problems - blind loyalties, exit, reciprocal obligations (the one we want)
- If there is no consensus within a group of norms or values with respect to the given issue, it is unpredictable. So A group is an amplifier of individuals but it can only amplify around the group’s consensus of norms and values. Implications: if you want decisions to accurately reflect the current norms & cultural values within the organization, then group decision making is more likely to achieve that result. However: If you want decisions to break free of the group's existing norms and cultural values, then group consensus is less likely to achieve that result. Instead, individual decision making is more likely needed to achieve such an outcome.
- companies usually don't know how innovation took place, so they can’t manage the process to generate innovations. How does org. leverage innovations from users, collect feedbacks from users
- for any new companies to compete with market leaders, don't compete in the area where leaders want to protect, go where they want to stay away, i.e. low end low margin
- Resistance to change: complacent, "not invented here" syndrome, org structure and hierarchy, current expectation is low, corp. culture. Resistance is often rooted in the system (structure, culture, traditions, assumptions, people, and processes).