by Jane Perdue | Creativity
“Mia, you’ve assembled an excellent list of options,” said her boss. “Based on what you’ve told me, I don’t have any other suggestions to offer. I do have a question though, why are you still gathering options?”
“Because I want everything to be just right and thought you’d help me work toward my goal,” Mia answered.
“That depends on what your goal is,” replied her boss. “Are you looking to add to your already long list of options? Or is it achieving what you say you want?”
**cue silence, a very long one**
Finally, Mia sighed, then spoke. “I just realized I’ve spent the last two years postponing a decision. I’ve found fault with and reasons why no suggestion was possible. I’ve criticized coaches for their mediocre performance. I’ve quit seeing certain friends who kept pushing me to move forward. I kept blaming everyone when the real road block was me.”
**cue a new beginning**
Resistance is mental and emotional quicksand, sucking you in and under, sometimes without your awareness.
If you find yourself standing at the crossroads for an inordinately long time or asking different people (lots of them!) for their advice on solving a problem, consider – if you will – that you’re the common variable across all scenarios.
How to escape from resistance “quicksand”
When you are really, really dug into a position, use these five tips to help free yourself:
Identify if fear is holding you back.
Ask yourself: what am I afraid of? Is it a lack of confidence in my ability to achieve the goal? Do I think somehow that I’m not worthy of that level of success? Have I been mocked or criticized in the past for not succeeding?
Dissect your goal.
Are you really certain that you have a goal? If you have a goal, is it the right one for you or is it an outcome that others have said you should achieve? Running in place (gathering up lots of options like what Mia did) is movement. Yet it isn’t forward movement.
Look at your schedule.
Saying “I don’t have the time to do….” is a common response to change we profess wanting to make yet aren’t. And of course your schedule is full of activities. However, if your professed goal is really important to you, you’ll make the time to make it happen.
Time is a created thing. To say, “I don’t have time’ is to say “I don’t want to.’ ~Lao Tzu
Focus on growth, not change.
Consider how your life will be richer – mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially – when you achieve your goal. Do you want to find yourself five years into the future still talking about getting your MBA, starting a new business or changing jobs, writing your first book and on and on?
Commit.
Saying “I’ll try to do….” is a first cousin to “I don’t have time.” If you’re serious about your dream, commit to a plan, a schedule, milestones, a partner to help you stay on track and make it so!
Commitment is the enemy of resistance, for it is the serious promise to press on, to get up, no matter how many times you are knocked down. ~David McNally
What else would you add to the list?
Image source: Gratisography
by Jane Perdue | Creativity
“It’s always funny when Cora and Walter sit side-by-side in meetings. You can count on Cora to point out everything that’s wrong and Walter to focus on what’s right.”
“They’re the perfect glass half-empty, half-full pair.”
Between them, Cora and Walter represent one-third of the thinking styles in Dr. Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats.™ Using de Bono’s six hats method frees us from falling victim to several thinking styles (such as either/or or right/wrong) that can get us into trouble.
Bono’s six hat thinking method gives a whole new meaning to putting on one’s thinking cap (couldn’t resist!).
6 ways our brains think
Dr. de Bono based his method on the premise the human brain thinks in six different ways. He assigned a definition and a color to each of the six thinking styles:
- Judgment and caution: black
- Objective: white
- Creative: green
- Emotional: red
- Logical: yellow
- Thinking about thinking: blue
Keep in mind the colors/hats are directions/ways of thinking, not categories of people.
I’ve been in work teams where we used this approach to level the brain-storming playing field amongst introverts, those who are dominant and domineering, and confirmed right- or left-brain thinkers. When implemented effectively into meeting protocols, I’ve seen six hat thinking increase creativity, productivity, personal development, and teamwork.
6 hat thinking is a safe way to both modify behavior without attacking it and to encourage innovative thinking. Aha moments happen when our perception changes, so using a different style of thinking can help facilitate those moments of insight. Another reason why I like this approach is the nonthreatening way it allows for both logic (head) and emotion (heart) to be introduced.
Emotions are an essential part of our thinking ability and not just something extra that mucks up our thinking. ~Dr. Edward de Bono
6 hats for all the thinking angles
Ready to gather around and try on different hats of thinking?
Black hat. When wearing the black hat, you have total and complete permission to be as pessimistic as you can be. Consider the logical negative, i.e. why something won’t work. Focus on potential errors, problems, risks and obstacles. Ferret out how “a suggestion does not fit the facts, the available experience, the system in use, or the policy that is being followed.” Identify dead ends and blind spots.
White hat. Think objectively – do not consider hunches, intuition, impressions or opinions. Be neutral. Use just the known facts, information, statistics and numbers. Ask impartially: what we do, don’t, and/or need to know. Identify confirmed facts as well as those facts believed to be true.
Green hat. Be totally creative. Put all ideas, perceptions and concepts on the table. Seek as many alternatives as possible. Be intellectually provocative. Explore the new, the untried and even the outlandish. Bend the rules. Be imaginative. Focus on producing ideas, not editing or evaluating them.
Red hat. Think with your heart. Put forward all emotions, perceptions, judgments, and intuitions associated with the topic under discussion. Neither a basis in logic nor justification are required. Put concerns about consistency aside. Tap into what your gut says and how it makes you feel.
Yellow hat. Look for the best case scenario, the most logical positive outcome. Present reasons why something will work and the benefits it will produce. Consider opportunities, advantages and future vision. Ponder why something is worth doing, and how and who it will help.
Blue hat. Controlled thinking about thinking is the aim. This hat looks “not at the subject itself but at the ‘thinking’ about the subject.” Watch for organization. Be focused. The meeting facilitator typically “wears” the blue hat to manage the overall process to work toward a conclusion.
Using Dr. de Bono’s method introduces a common language, e.g., “We need some green hat thinking on this one” which facilitates using a well-rounded view for problem-solving, whether incremental or ground-breaking innovation is the desired outcome.
by Amy Diederich | Creativity
Today’s post is from Amy Diederich, my Braithwaite Innovotion Group business partner and inspiring dear friend. In this chapter of her life, Amy is devoted to revolutionizing how leaders coach and making a positive difference.
Recently I was one of a “select group” to be invited to attend a webinar on starting your own business. I received a barrage of emails about the magic steps to success.
I was intrigued and stayed tuned in until it came time to buy.
The cost of the webinar? $1495.00.
Why did I not enroll? Not because of the price but because of the promises. The webinar stated if I followed the steps I would get rich quick! This was a giant red flag for me.
I know from starting my own business that there is not one magic bean that will grow the giant beanstalk or one magic step to entrepreneurial success.
It takes work!
You’ll notice I didn’t say hard work.
The one thing I learned from my dad and had drilled into my head from early on is “What will make you successful is doing what you love with those who you love.”
I say almost the same thing to my three kids but I say it a bit differently. I say:
Success is doing what you love with those that you love.
I work long hours but I love it! I am always thinking about my business because it is my passion. I am blessed to be in a business that helps other people.
Recently Tara Alemany and Rick Schwartz with Power Build Your Biz offered a three-part training program called Getting a Rush from Followup. This concept is perfect for small business owners looking to take their results and performance to the next level. In their class, Tara and Rick talk about the joy of building your business and use an analogy to working out.
To build your business and see results, you get up every day, you work out and you repeat this process day after day. Those of us who love our workout routines (both for our businesses and for our health) know this is the only way: keeping doing over and over what you love.
So when you get those ads promising you the magic bean that will grow the magic beanstalk—be wary! They may have information that helps, but unless you find your true passion…work will be hard work!
My steps for success are do what you love and learn all you can to be the best you can!
Image source: morgueFile.com
by Jane Perdue | Creativity
“My boss always wants the impossible,” sighed Trudi to her colleague over a coffee. “I’ll never pull this one off.”
“What’s that?” asked Tom.
“She says I have to be more creative in my work if I’m ever going to be promoted. I guess I better start looking for a job because there isn’t a creative bone in my body!”
How we think about creativity
Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try! ~Dr. Seuss
Trudi isn’t alone thinking that being creative is out of her grasp. Many adults equate creativity with the arts – composing music, painting pictures, writing poetry, etc. However, creativity has much broader application than just the arts. Creativity was cited as the single most important leadership quality for success in a study of 1500 CEO’s completed by IBM in 2010.
In Human Motivation, Robert E. Franken defines creativity as
…the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.
In short, seeing and connecting things in a new way.
In workshops, I hand out a piece of paper filled with 30 separate one-inch diameter circles. I ask participants to turn as many circles as possible into objects, things like a smiley face or the sun, in five minutes. It’s rare for someone to transform all 30 circles into objects. A more typical completion rate ranges from 5 to 15 circles.
A creativity study conducted by George Land, a general systems scientist, helps to explain the low circle transformation rate. Dr. Land’s results show that we’re naturally creative as children yet learn to be uncreative as we age.
1,600 children were first tested at age 5 and scored a 98% for creativity. Those same children were tested at age 10 and scored 30%; and when tested again at age 15, they scored just 12%. When adults were given the same test, they scored only 2%.
Creative thinking is not a talent; it is a skill that can be learned. ~Edward de Bono
To boost “creativity quotient” and see and connect things in a new way, try:
Play!
A study done by Mark Beeman, a neuroscientist at Northwestern University, revealed that shifting the brain into an open, playful state lowers the brain’s threshold for spotting isolated connections which allows people to decipher puzzles more effectively.
I used to keep a basket of small toys on the conference table in my office for people to play with during meetings (and they did some laying claim to a particular toy!).
Shake things up
Trying a new routine alters stuck brain patterns, creating the possibility of new associations. Jimi Hendrix played guitars made for right-handed people by playing them upside down. Just holding a guitar upside down forced his brain to create new patterns.
One day my team was brainstorming how to solve a tough business problem and was getting nowhere. I moved the meeting outside under a big tree and soon the solution was apparent!
Change your perspective
Thomas Edison invited prospective new hires to lunch. He watched to see if people salted their food before or after tasting it. Those who salted their food prior to tasting it weren’t hired.
It’s the classic if you think like a hammer, everything looks like a nail scenario. Many rules, practices and procedures outlive their usefulness and choke off creative thinking. People who challenge their assumptions and relook at a situation often discover new solutions.
BIG’s angle: it’s possible to tap into that creative spark we enjoyed as children and boost our “creativity quotient” – we just have to make the effort to do so!
What do you think?
Image source before quote: Gratisography
by Amy Diederich | Creativity
Today’s post is from Amy Diederich, President at Braithwaite Innovation Group. While Amy’s career includes an impressive list of corporate America positions, she refers to herself as an entrepreneur and inventor. True to her inventor’s mindset, Amy skips over the boundaries between distinctly separate occupations to see the unique connection that no one else sees or envisions.
When I started my own consulting firm people cautioned me, saying “most small businesses fail within the first five years.”
Everyone told me to start small – risk little. But as the daughter of a prolific inventor, I couldn’t heed that advice.
Seeing the world through an inventor’s eyes taught me to think BIG!
As far back as I can remember, my father was always tinkering and coming up with new creations. He spent the first 44 years of his career as design engineer inventing new products for large corporations.
However, he always wanted to start his own business, and he never gave up on that idea. At 62, he took one of his inventions and started his own very successful business which he continued to run until he was 81.
Imagination and thinking big
Instead of listening to other people’s advice to avoid risk, I listened to my father who said:
-
- Always do what you love and do it BIG.
- Envision great success and plan for great success.
- See every opportunity as novel.
- Maintain an open and curious mindset that enables you to see beyond what is known.
Ten years later I am now co-founder of an even larger consulting firm. When starting a new business you must always see beyond what’s known because everything you will do is new to you. Be true to an inventor’s mindset and skip over the boundaries other people will try to set for you.
Always keep a spirit of imagination and ingenuity – embrace the inventor’s mindset.
by Jane Perdue | Creativity
I’d just finished delivering a workshop on mapping out your life purpose when a session participant approached me and asked for a word of advice.
“I have worked in sales for ten years, and it’s time for a change. I’m tired and burned out. What should I do?” She asked.
“Do you know what kind of change you want?”
“I want to open a little shop that sells deliciously rich, moist cupcakes and great coffee. The kind of place where I like to stop when I’m on my sales route when I need to escape the rat race. Everyone tells me I’ve lost my mind. What do you think?”
“Your vision sounds delightful! Do you have a business plan?” Given my passion for chocolate, I could almost taste one of her cupcakes listening to her and seeing her big smile.
“Yes. I have an investor, too, and a line of credit at the bank and a location all picked out.”
“Do you feel like what you’re about to do is a risk?”
“Absolutely, but not a crazy one. I’m going in with my eyes wide open.”
“Are you prepared financially should it take a while to get established?”
“I am. I’ve done well in sales and have socked away a nice little nest egg that’ll tide me over. I won’t live in the grand style I used to but it’s just me so I won’t be going hungry.”
“Are you passionate about this cupcake shop?”
“I’m excited, a little scared, but this is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
“Then, all you have to say to your friends is ‘please love me, support me and help me make my dream come true.’”
“You’re right! I’m going to do that and get started! Hope to see you at the opening!”
Is there someone following their dream to whom you can extend your love, help, and support?
Image source: Gratisography
