硬件革命时代到来

    • 热情的参与者——创造空间吸引着很多想提高自身水平的爱好者，他们既投入又富有激情。硬件方面，种种技术的普及不仅意味着它们向更多的人敞开了大门，而且基本上也可以说它向各种不同的人敞开了大门。热情的爱好者们解决问题的方法与企业的产品研发团队不同。他们主动寻找挑战、承担风捡，乐在其中地敲敲打打，进行实验，而且有更大的失败空间。他们不是按照市场部门的要求进行开发，而是真正在解决自己的实际问题，因此常常能孕育出优秀的创意。

    • 本地社群——热心的参与者们一般会通过团队、俱乐部、见面会等社区活动聚集起来。“制造者活动”的很多学习活动都是在黑客空间里进行的。黑客空间这样的环境有点像健身房，用户只需按月注册会员，就可以获得３Ｄ打印机或激光切割机等设备的使用权限，而且还有“教练”帮助他们提高制作水平。这些黑客空间的黑客一般都支持开源理念，乐于分享知识，这两者都刺激了学习进程。

    • 全球分享——最强有力的创造空间可以打造出一个环境，能够让全球社群进行分享，相互学习对方的进展和技术。各种竞赛、会议以及网络论坛和YouTube等网站为爱好者们提供了取长互短的机会，同时还可以学习到别人的好点子。像Thingaverse.com等网站允许设计师上传各种产品的设计方案，从芭比娃娃的零件到四旋翼飞行器无所不有，其他设计师则可以下载、修改他们的方案，然后再贴回到网站上去。这种全球分享机制催生了一个分散的设计师网络，他们可以通过一个全球社区迅速地分享技术进步。

    就在我们观察到各种创造空间围绕着“制造者运动”兴起的同时，我们也为人们自然地学习新技术的能力和意愿感到惊讶。相比之下，我们采访过的很多企业高管都把人才发展和创新当作头等大事，但是尽管他们使出了全力推动，这个过程还是困难重重。部分原因就是由于大多数企业的组织结构、官僚作风和企业文化实际上限制了让人们互相联系、探索、尝试、随兴发挥的氛围，也就是学习和创新的氛围。企业管理者们要想提高公司的创新水平，就要先问问自己以下三个问题：

    • 应该怎样设计企业的工作环境，才能培养和提高员工们主动学习和提高工作表现的热情？

    • 怎样才能更好地发掘员工的专业技能？

    • 怎样才能在行业内建立起一种关系，加快企业的学习进程，而不仅仅是获得现有的技术？（财富中文网）

    本文作者之一的约翰•哈格尔三世是德勤咨询公司的总监，同时也是硅谷德勤领先创新中心的主席之一。本文另一作者约翰•史立•布朗是德勤领先创新中心的独立联席主席。

    译者：朴成奎

    • Passionate participants -- Creation spaces attract engaged and passionate enthusiasts who are looking to improve their skills. In hardware, the democratization of technology that we've seen means tools are not only available to more people, but fundamentally different people. Passionate hobbyists have a different approach to solving problems than product development teams. They seek challenges, take risks, tinker, experiment, and have more room to fail. Rather than getting requirements from the marketing department, they are looking to solve problems they actually have, which is a recipe for great ideas.

    • Local Communities -- Passionate participants congregate in communities (teams, clubs, Meetups, etc.). Much of the learning within the Maker Movement takes place in hacker spaces. These environments are like gyms – a monthly membership gives users access to equipment (3-D printers, laser cutters, etc.) and trainers who can help them improve their skills. Hackers in these spaces generally embrace open-source ideals and the sharing of knowledge, both of which facilitate learning.

    • Global sharing -- The strongest creation spaces develop environments where communities across the world share and study each other's improvements and techniques. Competitions, conferences (such as the Maker Faire), and virtual venues like forums and Youtube provide opportunities for cross-pollination and critical "Hey, look what they're doing" learning. Sites such as Thingaverse.com allow designers to upload files for everything from Barbie accessories to Quadcopters for other designers to download, modify, and repost. The result of these global sharing mechanisms is a decentralized network of designers rapidly sharing improvements across a global community.

    As we've studied the creation spaces that have developed around the Maker Movement, we've been impressed by how naturally people learn new skills. In contrast, many of the executives we speak with list talent development and innovation as top priorities, but for all they push, progress remains a struggle. Part of the problem is that most businesses' institutional structures, hierarchies, and cultures actually limit the connecting, exploration, tinkering, and improvisation that make learning and innovation possible. Here are three questions that executives should ask themselves to improve their companies:

    • How can I design work environments that nurture and amplify passion for learning and performance improvement among workers?

    • How can I do a better job of tapping into the expertise of my employees?

    • How can I build relationships within my industry that accelerate learning, rather just accessing existing expertise?

    John Hagel III, director in Deloitte Consulting LLP, is the co-chairman of the Deloitte Center for the Edge based in Silicon Valley. John Seely Brown is the independent co-chairman of the Deloitte Center for the Edge.