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luni, 7 mai 2012

Up Market

Up Market

Neuro-biz-ology: Out-of-the-Box Thinking

Posted: 07 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT

CreateOur brain is an incredible super-computer. We take in about 75 GB of information every second through our eyes alone, and our other body receptors receive millions of additional pieces of input in that same second. That means that the brain has to be super-fast about sorting through it all.

As I mentioned in Neuro-biz-ology 101, the brain actually can't really process that sort of volume, so it has to create shortcuts. And one of its favorite shortcuts is that of prediction. The brain predicts what is going to happen so it can effectively ignore what is going to happen next. It's a great skill that serves us well – most of the time.

But, the brain predicting ahead also leads to predictable results. It's taking the easy, autopilot route – which is not what you want to have happen when you are trying to get some creative and out-of-the-box thinking from your team.

So, the key is to introduce some form of novelty to the situation. I'm not talking silly string, but just something a little bit different to get the brain to pay attention to what's going on. (If you go "too novel" you risk pushing your team too far out of their comfort zone so that their brain shuts down again. The trick is to figure out the appropriate level of novelty for your team and company culture.)

5 Ways to Foster Out-of-the-Box Thinking

  1. Meet in a new location. Instead of meeting in the usual conference room 1A, put everyone in a different space. You can do all sorts of things from heading outside to meeting in a coffeeshop to renting space for an offsite.
  2. Get moving. Head out for a walk, hike, or other physical activity with the team and have an un-meeting with them. Instead of trying to run one large facilitated discussion, let people wander along in twos and threes discussing the topic at hand. I guarantee you'll come back with some great ideas.
  3. Build / create something tangible. Maybe your team is a kinesthetic bunch and working with their hands will unleash what is going on in their brains. Give them some physical tools and let them go to town – paper, markers, legos, tinkertoys, pipe cleaners, tape, toothpicks, paint, and paper clips are all fair game. The goal isn't to have them build a physical representation of the problem, but rather to let them tinker and create and muse while solving a problem.
  4. Unstructure things. Instead of having everyone sit in their usual seats and stay seated during the entire meeting, give people the freedom to stand, pace, and play with things like stress balls. I have one consultant friend, when trying to push his team into new mental territory, brings in tennis balls and has them play catch for a few minutes prior to the start of the meeting. It gets everybody relaxed and laughing, leading to more effective results.
  5. Give provocative answers. In Jonah Lehrer's new book, Imagine, he talks about how in one study the participants were asked to do word associations. Time after time, the word associations were fairly predictable right until someone threw in something that made absolutely no sense – which suddenly opened a floodgate of more remote associations. It simply opened up the brain to new possibilities.

This isn't the formula for every meeting (because then it ceases to be novel), but when looking to your team to deliver something awesome a little up-front time spent creating a unique experience will pay you back in spades.

Photo credit: gfpeck

Top 10: UpMarket Articles April 29-May 5, 2012

Posted: 07 May 2012 05:00 AM PDT

Subjects ranging from mentoring, great copywriting and how to best use Linked In to positive thinking, possibly slowing down your thought processes a bit and work-life balance all made it onto UpMarket’s list of most-viewed articles from last week. All the pieces, from great contributors, show fantastic insight and thought. If you missed any, catch them again here.

Don’t Look Like the Real Deal. Be the Real Deal.

Posted: 07 May 2012 02:00 AM PDT

Many of us pride ourselves on being able to "spot a phony," but we fail to realize that our prospects can read us just as well as we can read them.

You may look like the real deal, but you have to be the real deal too. You can't just talk a good game. You have to back it up. Talk the talk, walk the walk. Whatever you call it, however you define it, you must be authentic.

If you're going to call yourself "first class" you're telling your customers to expect service, product and customer service that is "of the highest quality."

If you can't deliver it, don't promise it. When you promise first class and deliver third class, you ruin your credibility. Under promise and over deliver. To be first class…

  • Always do what you say you will do, no excuses.
  • Always give whatever you do your personal best, whether it's a small client or large corporation.
  • Don't make a promise you can't keep and don't break a promise once you make it.

You can't just look first class. You have to be first class.
-Jeffrey Gitomer
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