Tip Thursday - Price of Hesitation

There is a balance that needs to be struck between giving an issue the necessary time and attention and over-thinking it.  Hesitating too long, before taking action, leaves the door open for someone else to step in and take the action you have been debating.  It's not the person that thinks of an idea that is successful, but the person that acts on an idea.  At some point you just have to jump. Think about that one!

3 Step Formula for Promoting & Selling Your Ideas

One sure-fire way to being seen as adding value to any organization is to come up with ideas that others can't wait to implement.  However, having a great idea is not enough.  If you aren't able to get others on board with your idea then it will languish under your bed with the other great ideas collecting dust.

Great ideas don't come into being all on their own.  Not everyone is as quick to recognise a good idea when they see and hear it, primarily because they have to wade through all of the garbage that exists standing in the way.  Just as a new song you hear may not be your favourite the very first time you hear it, because it is unfamiliar, you can grow to love it with a few more playings. Help your ideas take root by doing the same.

Good ideas are common - what's uncommon are people who'll work hard enough to bring them about.            Ashleigh Brilliant

In order to help you gain the acceptance and recognition that your idea deserves I have pulled together the top 3 strategies you need to employ to get it heard, get it remembered, and get it adopted.

1.  Pre-Sell.  It is rare that people automatically and immediately jump on new ideas.  Often they need a little time for the idea to percolate.  To give your ideas time to take root in the minds, if not the hearts, of your audience run some of the basics of the idea past them prior to the meeting.  Giving them time to think it through a little helps them to work through some of their hesitation.  Consider also being strategic about courting some influencers.  Think about who around the upcoming meeting room table has a strong influence over others and work to pre-sell them.  Let them know that you value their opinion and you'd like to bounce an idea past them.  Working through their objections and getting them on board means that you have a supporter around the table that will help you to sell the idea when it's time.

2.  Make the idea Familiar.  The more 'different' your idea the bigger the resistance you will likely encounter.  Most people do not go out of their way to embrace change.  Build some familiarity into your idea.  Highlight some of the things that are staying the same, rather than simply emphasizing everything that will change.  Most nay-sayers are objecting to the perceived size of the 'change' required, not the idea itself.   Create a link to something that others know well, perhaps using an analogy, a catch-phrase or a simile. Likening your idea to something others are already familiar with helps them to feel more comfortable with the idea and the idea to feel instantly more 'doable'.  The more comfortable and familiar your idea feels the more likely they are to say yes.

3.  After Sell.  Don't think that just because an idea isn't immediately accepted that it is dead in the water. Court people after the fact.  Identify their objections.  Ask them... 'If we were able to address this concern would you be on board?"... and then fix it.  You can re-pitch your  idea once you have developed solutions to the objections that were raised.  Courting people before you do assures you of gaining their acceptance. Once they say that they will be on board with your idea if you can address the issue they raised, it is difficult for them to continue to object once you've fixed it, without appearing to be contrarian.

Don't worry about people stealing your ideas.  If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats.      Howard Aiken

Use this 3-Step process to help your ideas to stand out and gain acceptance.  Investing a little more time in ensuring their success helps assure you of yours!

Unlocking Your Big Ideas

We all have Big Ideas, Big Goals, Big Plans... those ideas that could change our lives, if not the lives of
others.

The challenge for most of us of course lies in recognising them.  We sometimes fail to give weight to the value of our ideas, simply because they are our own.  We look further afield, expecting that there should be a bold stroke of inspiration, a lightening bolt of the mind, that highlights or precedes the Big Idea's arrival.  More typically though, we are sitting right on top of the idea, keeping it company, failing to recognise it for what it is.

Russell H. Conwell, in his well-known book Acres of Diamonds, tells the story of a farmer who, though wealthy by others standards, wanted even greater wealth.  When hearing about Diamonds for the first time, he came to realize that owning a diamond mine would be infinitely more profitable than a farm and so he promptly sold his farm and went off in search of diamonds.  However, that farmer had no true knowledge of diamonds, or skills in mining, and ultimately found himself destitute and starving.  The farmer who had purchased his farm from him however, was watering his animals in a river on the property one day and discovered a strange rock - which turned out to be a diamond.  One of the largest diamond strikes found in the area.  The moral of course, is that we are often sitting on Acres of Diamonds.  We just need to dig for them.

It would be great to think that knowing we already possessed our Big Idea, our Diamond, was sufficient and that we merely had to uncover it.  However, this knowledge alone doesn't seem to be enough to offer the push that many need to begin digging.  It's often been said that the greatest book ever to be written is lying in a graveyard somewhere.  Many people's greatest work, greatest gift, is often taken to the grave with them.  Is there a sadder thought than this?

In a recent Success article, Darren Hardy tells the story of Evariste Galois, a brilliant mathematician, born in France in 1811.  At age 20 Galois made the unfortunate mistake of falling in love with a French officer's fiancee.  That officer, as was typical for the time, promptly challenged Galois to a duel.  Not being in the least bit skilled at firearms, Galois anticipated that he was not likely to be successful and therefore spent the night before his duel writing down every thought and algebraic equation he had in his head.  He wrote for hours, even recording thoughts that just occurred to him in the writing process.

Unfortunately, Galois' predictions about his duelling skills proved accurate and he was killed.  His notes however, live on.  Galois recorded over 60 pages of mathematical ideas which were published after his death.  These pages revolutionized not only higher algebra, but impacted most other areas of mathematics as well.  His ideas proved to be amongst the most important ideas in the history of mathematics.

Galois had not recorded any of these thoughts previously.  It was only the impending deadline (in his case... possible death!) that led him to push himself.  What's your deadline?  The belief that we have time, that we'll get to it, can be our biggest downfall.  We fail to take action today because there is always tomorrow.  Consider though, that if we don't begin digging for our diamonds today, then we can't reap the benefit and reward tomorrow.  That 'better' tomorrow will remain outside of our grasp.

What are the diamonds that are waiting for you in your backyard?  The Big Ideas that are waiting to be discovered?  Don't wait for tomorrow to come to begin digging, create a sense of urgency and get out there now, lest you lose out to someone who begins today.

Make - TODAY - your new mantra.  Create the urgency to get started now.

A year from now you will wish you had started today      Karen Lamb

Giving Your Creativity a Whack!

It is not unusual to find that our thinking processes get stuck in a rut.  We become too linear in our thinking, relying on the same problem-solving methodologies to provide us with new insights.  Like the popular definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over expecting different results), it just isn't going to net us a new or different perspective.  Enter... the Creative Whack Pack.

This tool came to me by way of Tim Ferriss (author of the 4-Hour Work Week) and I have to share it with you because I love it.  I've given you links below to pick up your own pack of cards (and the creator's book too if you want 'more') because I'm not parting with mine.  I am already envisioning the ways that I am going to be using it within my own business, let alone with clients!  Don't be surprised if we're in a meeting together and I pull out my deck!

The tool was developed by Roger von Oech, founder and president of Creative Think, a creativity and innovation based organization.  He has authored both A Whack on the Side of the Head and A Kick in the Seat of the Pants.  

In the Whack Pack you will find 64 different cards, each designed to provoke and inspire your thinking.  Each is based on the idea that sometimes you need a 'whack on the side of the head' to get you thinking in a new, fresh way.  Using the deck is infinitely preferable to actually whacking my head each time I need a fresh perspective!  Each card helps you to...

• challenge your current thinking
• break out of your habitual thought patterns
• look at things in a fresh way
• discover new sources of information
• create new idea generation approaches and techniques
• develop new decision making skills
• kick yourself into taking action

If you feel that your approaches are getting a little 'stale', or you are looking for something to help jolt the team out of their 'group-think' patterns you will find value from picking up a deck of these cards.  We tend to get so caught up in deciding and moving on that we begin to lack the creative-muscle needed to develop the break-through insights and solutions we need, whether in our professional or personal lives.  The Whack Pack provides an inexpensive and easy to use process to help us uncover those new insights and solutions.

                   

Balancing our Diet of Information

If you've been reading this blog regularly (and really, why wouldn't you?), you know that I love books, I love new ideas and I especially love books that bring us new ideas!  I've come to accept that not everyone loves books as I do, but I am a strong believer in the need for people to be open to, if not love, collecting new ideas.  In this way, the internet has been a tremendous gift to use, bringing access to new ideas, new thoughts, to our doorstep.  Or... does it?

In his book "The Filter Bubble", author Eli Pariser speaks openly about how the algorithmic editing of information on the web is significantly impacting our online experience.  These algorithms are based on our personal choices, mainly driven by what we 'click' on first.  As a result, they begin to tailor our query results and show us what they think we 'want' to see, not necessarily what we truly 'need' to see.  We therefore get caught in a 'filter bubble' that limits our exposure to a variety of information. 

We may receive information that fits our current mindset, but we no longer receive the variety of information that may serve to educate, enlighten or inspire us to learn or grow our ideas.  If we liken the information we take in to the food we take in, then instead of a healthy, balanced diet of information, we end up with a junk food diet of information.  Enough to sustain, but not built to nurture or develop new ideas.  We strengthen our current repetoire of ideas and views, but we don't expand them. Over time perhaps, we even begin to weaken and stagnate, much as our muscles may atrophy.

Just as we need to ensure that those online filters aren't limiting our search results, we need to actively work to ensure that we are exposed to messages, even if those ideas only serve to solidify the ones we have.  More often than not though, we're more likely to find ourselves beginning to link thoughts, ideas and concepts in ways that wouldn't have been possible without the intake of new information, providing us with stronger solutions, clarity in our thinking and perhaps, totally new and innovative ideas.

To be a leader, not a follower,
To be innovative, rather than conventional,
To develop the 'best' solutions, not just 'a' solution,
To grow, not stagnate...

... we need to be exposed to new ideas.  We need to expand our way of thinking by being exposed to the thoughts of others.  I know, I can hear you thinking... but who has the time?  This needn't be a practice that involves a great deal of time or exploration, but it does need to be strategic.  We're not talking here about your researching or reading only about those topics that you currently know and enjoy.  Learning can, and should, be uncomfortable at times, but if you want to challenge some of your existing knowledge and beliefs you have to get uncomfortable!

The Work:

• Follow a couple of bloggers that are knowledgeable about areas outside your direct area of expertise.  Don't just follow those that think like you, follow a couple of people that think differently.  Hear what they have to say.  Relate it to your thoughts on the subject and consider whether it has an impact on how you feel, relate to, think about that subject now.  I often find that listening to someone's ideas on a totally unrelated subject can bring me insight and clarity to my particular issues.  It's often surprising how much you can take from other disciplines and apply to your own, helping you to grow and develop faster.
• I love TED.  When I have 10 or 15 minutes between client calls or visits, I will often call up a TED talk randomly to watch and listen to.  (http://www.ted.com/ for those of you that have not yet experienced this!)  I have yet to listen to one of these short talks that did not serve to provide me with a new thought or insight.  If you've got a couple of minutes to spare at some point during your week, check them out and discover something new, inspiring, earth-changing perhaps.  This is a perfect resource for those that don't like to read...  learn by watching a quality video!
• Conduct a mini survey.  Ask a number of senior managers in your firm, or outside of your firm,  what they felt the 2 best books were that have helped them with their careers.  Amalgamate the results.  Read the top two or three.  Conduct a similar survey with a different question...  two best books on leadership, on business strategy, on marketing techniques, on sales approaches, on influence.  Instead of books, conduct a survey on who they feel two of the most influential people are in a particular field...  see if they have a blog/website and follow them

In the end, it's not about the route you decide to take to expose yourself to new ideas, it's just important that you do it!