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The Value of Allrounders

  

In sports there is a real appreciation for allrounders. Traditionally, the title of "World's Greatest Athlete" has been given to the man who wins the Olympic decathlon. In athletics there is also the pentathlon . In speed skating, there is the European and World Championship for allrounders (men do  skate 500m, 1500m, 5000m and 10000m). In cricket, an allrounder is a guy who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling.

These athletes are very well appreciated. Of course there are still the athletes who only perform at single distances/activities, but the allrounders are considered to be ….. well allround!

This appreciation is totally lacking for allrounders in business, NGO’s and in government. Whereas the need for people who ‘can connect the dots’ is increasing rapidly. See also  this post: http://permamarks.org/world-needs-generalists/

Many problems are quite complex and connected, so you do need people who can easily understand and relate to the respective topics and take the appropriate actions.

Business has to wake up and quickly attract these allrounders!

The city without a soul

Recently I did listen to a podcast about the growing power of cities. As most people are living in cities now, existing cities are growing beyond their limits and new cities are being established.

An example of such a new city is  Songdo in Korea, a $ 40 billion project. The reporter did share her experience being there. She was not planning on living there, as it appears to be a “city without a soul”.

Again, this is an example where technology and business goals are taking precedence over human needs. But what is a city without people?

There are also many companies without a soul. The core mission of those organizations is to produce results and humans are not part of the design, they are just part of the resources. But what is a company without people?

Humans are the main users of companies and of cities. You could even call them the most important customers.

Design Thinking principles are being used to put the user at the heart of the process, of everything.

How would cities, organizations, companies, communities, houses look like when they are designed with the main user (i.e. you and me) in mind? Wouldn’t it be great if they are designed with your needs as the starting point and as the main metric (how satisfied are you with your environment)?.

Isn’t it time to stand up and take control and ownership for our basic conditions of life?