科技界已經(jīng)沒(méi)有流行語(yǔ)可以用來(lái)描述從金融、醫(yī)療保健到火箭科學(xué)等領(lǐng)域出現(xiàn)的各種顛覆性技術(shù)了?,F(xiàn)有的創(chuàng)新,例如加密貨幣和虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí),正在被賦予閃亮的新名字,比如“Web3”和“元宇宙”。
雖然這些領(lǐng)域的進(jìn)步往往曝光在聚光燈下,但我認(rèn)為,今天最重要和最有用的創(chuàng)新發(fā)生在非常實(shí)用的層面。
在新冠肺炎疫情肆虐的社會(huì)中,我們有機(jī)會(huì)將實(shí)用性作為進(jìn)步的基本原則。能夠促進(jìn)人們發(fā)展并改善個(gè)人條件的創(chuàng)新——無(wú)論是在工作還是生活方面——是未來(lái)幾年真正的魔法會(huì)出現(xiàn)的地方。
著眼于長(zhǎng)期發(fā)展
如果你經(jīng)營(yíng)一家初創(chuàng)公司,那么以切實(shí)可行、甚至看似無(wú)聊的選擇的形式做出的戰(zhàn)略性商業(yè)舉措是有持久價(jià)值的。例如,要考慮在盡可能長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間內(nèi)保持公司團(tuán)隊(duì)的精簡(jiǎn),同時(shí)將可用資金用于工程和業(yè)務(wù)發(fā)展職能的人員配置。
雖然采用具有成本效益的方法來(lái)改進(jìn)產(chǎn)品、應(yīng)用程序或平臺(tái)的開(kāi)發(fā)和購(gòu)買方式可能不會(huì)讓你的公司登上頭條新聞,但這樣的方法幾乎肯定會(huì)產(chǎn)生有用的反饋,這些反饋可以直接應(yīng)用于研發(fā)或運(yùn)輸前的創(chuàng)新。
創(chuàng)新者應(yīng)該花時(shí)間尋找產(chǎn)品在功能和可用性方面存在的差距,或者簡(jiǎn)單地說(shuō),尋找現(xiàn)有技術(shù)的有用性。他們應(yīng)該從差距出發(fā),考慮如何構(gòu)建或創(chuàng)建最優(yōu)的應(yīng)用程序、工具、平臺(tái)或網(wǎng)站來(lái)縮小差距——并制定長(zhǎng)期計(jì)劃來(lái)保證產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量和資金充足,從而讓產(chǎn)品從一眾競(jìng)品中脫穎而出。
無(wú)論事情如何發(fā)展,要確保期望和生產(chǎn)時(shí)間表的合理性,并著眼于長(zhǎng)期發(fā)展。
精簡(jiǎn)能夠像顛覆一樣吸引人
坦率地說(shuō),公司不應(yīng)該使用四種不同的軟件運(yùn)營(yíng)服務(wù)(SaaS)平臺(tái)來(lái)發(fā)送大量文件、存儲(chǔ)數(shù)據(jù)或授予對(duì)工作文檔的訪問(wèn)權(quán)限。技術(shù)提供商也沒(méi)有必要進(jìn)行風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和人力資本運(yùn)營(yíng)來(lái)構(gòu)建第五種軟件運(yùn)營(yíng)服務(wù)平臺(tái)。真正的創(chuàng)新將是創(chuàng)建一個(gè)單一的應(yīng)用程序或平臺(tái),允許用戶訪問(wèn)無(wú)數(shù)的文件和數(shù)據(jù)源,而無(wú)需打開(kāi)選項(xiàng)卡、文件或其他任何東西。
例如,今天的水務(wù)局同時(shí)使用多個(gè)不同的軟件平臺(tái)、電子表格、文件夾和文件柜來(lái)進(jìn)行復(fù)雜的操作。一個(gè)顯而易見(jiàn)的機(jī)會(huì)出現(xiàn)了,我們可以抓住這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)讓它們擺脫對(duì)多家供應(yīng)商的依賴,開(kāi)展與供水(以及它們所服務(wù)的社區(qū))的健康和可持續(xù)性相關(guān)的工作。
在許多情況下,電子表格成為數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù),多個(gè)平臺(tái)或應(yīng)用程序用來(lái)存放重復(fù)的數(shù)據(jù)集,使報(bào)告和水質(zhì)管理等重要功能變得復(fù)雜。我們從客戶那里聽(tīng)說(shuō),將這些數(shù)據(jù)匯總在一起,不僅能夠消除令人尷尬的報(bào)告錯(cuò)誤的可能性,還意味著如今,現(xiàn)場(chǎng)操作人員可以更快地發(fā)現(xiàn)并解決水質(zhì)氣味和顏色等問(wèn)題。
雖然簡(jiǎn)化軟件運(yùn)營(yíng)服務(wù)產(chǎn)品的過(guò)程能夠采取多種形式,在不同的時(shí)間跨度內(nèi)跨越多個(gè)行業(yè),但每一項(xiàng)聚焦現(xiàn)實(shí)世界某一方面的實(shí)用創(chuàng)新都應(yīng)該以改善人們生活和企業(yè)底線為雙重目標(biāo)進(jìn)行開(kāi)發(fā)。
少許實(shí)用性有助于創(chuàng)新
2022年,人類面臨多重挑戰(zhàn):一場(chǎng)無(wú)情的新冠肺炎疫情席卷全球、氣候變化加劇、政治動(dòng)蕩持續(xù)不斷,以及全面的長(zhǎng)期不平等現(xiàn)象。
用戶友好型技術(shù)進(jìn)步讓生活更美好、更輕松或更高效,這些進(jìn)步將贏得那些如今對(duì)大規(guī)模創(chuàng)新或變革不怎么感興趣的人的支持。
這些進(jìn)步還將促進(jìn)全球市場(chǎng)、行業(yè)和世界各地日常生活的發(fā)展進(jìn)步。為了實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo),創(chuàng)新界需要不惜一切代價(jià)集體從頭條新聞的聚光燈下退場(chǎng),并開(kāi)始通過(guò)務(wù)實(shí)、漸進(jìn)和有用的創(chuàng)新來(lái)推動(dòng)進(jìn)步。
我們不需要犧牲質(zhì)量來(lái)做到這一點(diǎn)。事實(shí)上,實(shí)用創(chuàng)新類似于它曝光在聚光燈下的表親,即徹底的行業(yè)顛覆性技術(shù),這是因?yàn)閷?shí)用創(chuàng)新需要我們堅(jiān)持不懈、深思熟慮,并且比以往任何時(shí)候都更人性化才可以取得成功。
那些從小處著手,創(chuàng)造能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)可持續(xù)發(fā)展的事物,并努力縮小現(xiàn)有市場(chǎng)的創(chuàng)新差距的創(chuàng)始人將在未來(lái)十年及以后的創(chuàng)新中保持自己的地位。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
伊萊恩·凱利(Elaine Kelly)是Klir公司的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人及首席運(yùn)營(yíng)官,該公司的總部位于美國(guó)內(nèi)華達(dá)州雷諾市。她是一位水管理專家,在為歐洲、美國(guó)、加拿大和澳大利亞的供水公司構(gòu)建IT系統(tǒng)方面擁有全球?qū)嵺`經(jīng)驗(yàn)。
譯者:中慧言-王芳
科技界已經(jīng)沒(méi)有流行語(yǔ)可以用來(lái)描述從金融、醫(yī)療保健到火箭科學(xué)等領(lǐng)域出現(xiàn)的各種顛覆性技術(shù)了?,F(xiàn)有的創(chuàng)新,例如加密貨幣和虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí),正在被賦予閃亮的新名字,比如“Web3”和“元宇宙”。
雖然這些領(lǐng)域的進(jìn)步往往曝光在聚光燈下,但我認(rèn)為,今天最重要和最有用的創(chuàng)新發(fā)生在非常實(shí)用的層面。
在新冠肺炎疫情肆虐的社會(huì)中,我們有機(jī)會(huì)將實(shí)用性作為進(jìn)步的基本原則。能夠促進(jìn)人們發(fā)展并改善個(gè)人條件的創(chuàng)新——無(wú)論是在工作還是生活方面——是未來(lái)幾年真正的魔法會(huì)出現(xiàn)的地方。
著眼于長(zhǎng)期發(fā)展
如果你經(jīng)營(yíng)一家初創(chuàng)公司,那么以切實(shí)可行、甚至看似無(wú)聊的選擇的形式做出的戰(zhàn)略性商業(yè)舉措是有持久價(jià)值的。例如,要考慮在盡可能長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間內(nèi)保持公司團(tuán)隊(duì)的精簡(jiǎn),同時(shí)將可用資金用于工程和業(yè)務(wù)發(fā)展職能的人員配置。
雖然采用具有成本效益的方法來(lái)改進(jìn)產(chǎn)品、應(yīng)用程序或平臺(tái)的開(kāi)發(fā)和購(gòu)買方式可能不會(huì)讓你的公司登上頭條新聞,但這樣的方法幾乎肯定會(huì)產(chǎn)生有用的反饋,這些反饋可以直接應(yīng)用于研發(fā)或運(yùn)輸前的創(chuàng)新。
創(chuàng)新者應(yīng)該花時(shí)間尋找產(chǎn)品在功能和可用性方面存在的差距,或者簡(jiǎn)單地說(shuō),尋找現(xiàn)有技術(shù)的有用性。他們應(yīng)該從差距出發(fā),考慮如何構(gòu)建或創(chuàng)建最優(yōu)的應(yīng)用程序、工具、平臺(tái)或網(wǎng)站來(lái)縮小差距——并制定長(zhǎng)期計(jì)劃來(lái)保證產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量和資金充足,從而讓產(chǎn)品從一眾競(jìng)品中脫穎而出。
無(wú)論事情如何發(fā)展,要確保期望和生產(chǎn)時(shí)間表的合理性,并著眼于長(zhǎng)期發(fā)展。
精簡(jiǎn)能夠像顛覆一樣吸引人
坦率地說(shuō),公司不應(yīng)該使用四種不同的軟件運(yùn)營(yíng)服務(wù)(SaaS)平臺(tái)來(lái)發(fā)送大量文件、存儲(chǔ)數(shù)據(jù)或授予對(duì)工作文檔的訪問(wèn)權(quán)限。技術(shù)提供商也沒(méi)有必要進(jìn)行風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和人力資本運(yùn)營(yíng)來(lái)構(gòu)建第五種軟件運(yùn)營(yíng)服務(wù)平臺(tái)。真正的創(chuàng)新將是創(chuàng)建一個(gè)單一的應(yīng)用程序或平臺(tái),允許用戶訪問(wèn)無(wú)數(shù)的文件和數(shù)據(jù)源,而無(wú)需打開(kāi)選項(xiàng)卡、文件或其他任何東西。
例如,今天的水務(wù)局同時(shí)使用多個(gè)不同的軟件平臺(tái)、電子表格、文件夾和文件柜來(lái)進(jìn)行復(fù)雜的操作。一個(gè)顯而易見(jiàn)的機(jī)會(huì)出現(xiàn)了,我們可以抓住這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)讓它們擺脫對(duì)多家供應(yīng)商的依賴,開(kāi)展與供水(以及它們所服務(wù)的社區(qū))的健康和可持續(xù)性相關(guān)的工作。
在許多情況下,電子表格成為數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù),多個(gè)平臺(tái)或應(yīng)用程序用來(lái)存放重復(fù)的數(shù)據(jù)集,使報(bào)告和水質(zhì)管理等重要功能變得復(fù)雜。我們從客戶那里聽(tīng)說(shuō),將這些數(shù)據(jù)匯總在一起,不僅能夠消除令人尷尬的報(bào)告錯(cuò)誤的可能性,還意味著如今,現(xiàn)場(chǎng)操作人員可以更快地發(fā)現(xiàn)并解決水質(zhì)氣味和顏色等問(wèn)題。
雖然簡(jiǎn)化軟件運(yùn)營(yíng)服務(wù)產(chǎn)品的過(guò)程能夠采取多種形式,在不同的時(shí)間跨度內(nèi)跨越多個(gè)行業(yè),但每一項(xiàng)聚焦現(xiàn)實(shí)世界某一方面的實(shí)用創(chuàng)新都應(yīng)該以改善人們生活和企業(yè)底線為雙重目標(biāo)進(jìn)行開(kāi)發(fā)。
少許實(shí)用性有助于創(chuàng)新
2022年,人類面臨多重挑戰(zhàn):一場(chǎng)無(wú)情的新冠肺炎疫情席卷全球、氣候變化加劇、政治動(dòng)蕩持續(xù)不斷,以及全面的長(zhǎng)期不平等現(xiàn)象。
用戶友好型技術(shù)進(jìn)步讓生活更美好、更輕松或更高效,這些進(jìn)步將贏得那些如今對(duì)大規(guī)模創(chuàng)新或變革不怎么感興趣的人的支持。
這些進(jìn)步還將促進(jìn)全球市場(chǎng)、行業(yè)和世界各地日常生活的發(fā)展進(jìn)步。為了實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo),創(chuàng)新界需要不惜一切代價(jià)集體從頭條新聞的聚光燈下退場(chǎng),并開(kāi)始通過(guò)務(wù)實(shí)、漸進(jìn)和有用的創(chuàng)新來(lái)推動(dòng)進(jìn)步。
我們不需要犧牲質(zhì)量來(lái)做到這一點(diǎn)。事實(shí)上,實(shí)用創(chuàng)新類似于它曝光在聚光燈下的表親,即徹底的行業(yè)顛覆性技術(shù),這是因?yàn)閷?shí)用創(chuàng)新需要我們堅(jiān)持不懈、深思熟慮,并且比以往任何時(shí)候都更人性化才可以取得成功。
那些從小處著手,創(chuàng)造能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)可持續(xù)發(fā)展的事物,并努力縮小現(xiàn)有市場(chǎng)的創(chuàng)新差距的創(chuàng)始人將在未來(lái)十年及以后的創(chuàng)新中保持自己的地位。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
伊萊恩·凱利(Elaine Kelly)是Klir公司的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人及首席運(yùn)營(yíng)官,該公司的總部位于美國(guó)內(nèi)華達(dá)州雷諾市。她是一位水管理專家,在為歐洲、美國(guó)、加拿大和澳大利亞的供水公司構(gòu)建IT系統(tǒng)方面擁有全球?qū)嵺`經(jīng)驗(yàn)。
譯者:中慧言-王芳
The tech world is running out of buzzwords to describe the various disruptions happening in fields from finance and healthcare to rocket science. Existing innovations, such as cryptocurrency and virtual reality, are getting shiny new names, like “Web3” and “metaverse.”
While these areas of advancement tend to overflow with flash, I’d argue that the most significant and useful innovation today happens at a very practical level.
There’s an opportunity to set practicality as a fundamental principle of progress in our COVID-riddled society. Innovation that moves people forward and improves conditions on an individual level—whether in a work or life context—is where the real magic will happen in the coming years.
Pivot toward longevity
If you run a startup, there’s enduring value in making strategic business moves that take the form of practical, even seemingly boring choices. For instance, consider keeping the corporate team lean for as long as possible while applying available funds to staffing up the engineering and business development functions.
While taking a cost-effective approach to improving the development and buy-in of a product, app, or platform may not vault your company into the headlines, it will almost certainly produce useful feedback that can be applied directly to research and development or pre-shipment innovation.
Innovators should spend time searching for gaps in functionality and availability or, simply, the usefulness of existing technology. From there, they should consider building or creating the best app, tool, platform, or site to close each gap–with long-term plans to keep quality and funding high to remain the best option among competitors.
Regardless of how things play out, make sure to keep expectations and production timelines reasonable with an eye toward the long-term.
Streamlining can be as sexy as disruption
Frankly, companies shouldn’t have to use four different SaaS platforms to send massive files, store data, or grant access to working documents. There’s also no need for tech providers to spend venture and human capital on building the fifth option. True innovation would be creating a single app or platform that allows users to access countless files and data sources without having to open tabs, files, or anything else.
For example, today's water authorities use several different software platforms, spreadsheets, file folders, and file cabinets at once to run complex operations. There is a clear opportunity to rid them of their reliance on multiple providers to conduct work tied to the health and sustainability of water supplies (and the communities they serve).
In many cases, spreadsheets become databases and multiple platforms or applications house duplicate data sets, complicating important functions like reporting and water quality management. We’ve heard from customers that bringing this data together not only eliminates the potential for embarrassing reporting mistakes, it means that operators in the field are now able to sniff out and resolve issues like unwanted odor or color within the water faster.
While the process of streamlining SaaS offerings can take multiple forms spanning multiple industries over various lengths of time, every practical innovation bound for centralizing an aspect of the real world should be developed with a dual goal of improving people’s lives and the bottom lines of businesses.
A spoonful of practicality helps innovation
Humanity is really going through it in 2022 with a relentless pandemic, intensifying climate change, constant political turmoil, and perpetual inequality across the board.
Thoughtful technological advancements that make life better, easier, or more efficient will win over folks who don’t necessarily have an appetite for massive innovation or change right now.
These advancements will also support the progress of global markets, industries, and everyday life around the world. In order to achieve this, the innovation community needs to collectively pull back from the precipice of headlines at any cost and begin to drive progress with pragmatic, incremental, and useful innovations.
We don’t need to sacrifice quality to do it. In fact, practical innovation is similar to its flashier cousin, complete industry disruption, in that it requires persistence, thoughtfulness, and, more than ever, humanity to succeed.
Founders who start small to create something sustainable and work to close innovation gaps in existing markets will hold their own over the next decade of innovation and beyond.
Elaine Kelly is the co-founder and COO of Klir, headquartered in Reno, Nevada. She is a water management expert with hands-on, global experience architecting IT systems for water utilities in Europe. US, Canada, and Australia.