Going Beyond the Basics

A few years ago I had a chance to visit the offices and studios of National Public Radio in Washington DC. In addition to catching a glimpse of some of the announcers whose voices I knew but whose faces I had never seen, I saw something I didn’t expect: the NPR laboratory.

Now, this is not the place where the team from Science Friday considers new theories. Instead, this is a lab that helps NPR do what they do: broadcast.

NPR Labs was established on October 1, 2005 as America’s only not-for-profit broadcast technology research and development center. Though structured at one point as a stand-alone organization, they are now fully within the NPR structure. Among other things, they explore new broadcast technologies for potential use by NPR and others, examine the impact of policy changes on technical capacity, and provide support to NPR member stations that have unusual technical situations and who need a little help. Not only do they initiate projects on their own, they also take input from member stations as well as from the public.

One of the projects I saw on display, for instance, was designed to help hearing-impaired people enjoy NPR shows. While some form of closed-captioned radio might not seem that unusual (since digital radio allows for text to be sent along with audio), NPR labs had responded to a unique request to help hearing-impaired people in the place where most people listen to NPR: their car. The trick was to design a system that could be read by passengers but that would not be a distraction to the driver. They came up with a unique screen that looks different from different perspectives; for the passengers it’s a large-print text reader, but for the driver, it’s a GPS screen. Very cool.

What NPR has done is take steps to advance their field. They are not just providing solutions to immediate problems, but are instead looking to find new ways of doing their mission, and in the process, they change the nature of broadcast radio. They end up creating opportunities for everyone in the field, not just themselves.

Do you do this? Do you find yourself focusing only on day-to-day tasks, making sales and providing the product/service your customers expect? Or do you perhaps go beyond the basics, providing great products while at the same time exploring new opportunities and innovative thinking, looking for the game-changers?

Taking steps to advance your field may seem like a luxury, but when you are leading talented employees (and really, should you have any other kind?), it can be a real opportunity to do great things. Your employees bring not only talent but also the drive necessary to develop new ideas. Giving them the opportunity to explore beyond the confines of their day-to-day work allow them to make full use of that drive and lets them develop their talents further, which typically leads to a more motivated workforce. You do not just create better products, you also end up with better employees individually and a stronger workforce overall.

So, how would you do this in YOUR field?