River of Ideas
and
It's an Egg Dammit!
Part One:
You can be OUT of a lot of things....Out of time, out of money to name just two....but what do you do when you are OUT OF IDEAS? Why do people and businesses run OUT OF IDEAS? Do you have a mechanism that sets off a trigger when you are running low on Ideas? You may have run out of "answers" to certain questions, but that's different than running out of IDEAS.....
There's more...There's always more....Stay tuned for thoughts and tips on keeping your River of Ideas flowing
Part Two:
Can you imagine a talk between a well-to-do middle age man and a Psychologist....He has everything he could ask for but isn't happy. Or a business owner that has been doing "ok" for years and years and has never broken through. Perhaps he's talking to his friends at the bar, about all the 'reasons' he isn't making it. Or perhaps the business owner or manager who keeps closing ranks and organizing and re-organizing and complaining about the lack of efficiency and lack of effort in the business. Perhaps odd speculation of things being stolen, anything to explain the lack of forward progress......These people are OUT OF IDEAS.
When you feel like you are out of ideas, you have three main places to go. You can go inside of yourself, outward to other people or to resource materials. Chances are that you have already consulted with yourself to a certain degree. Consulting with resource materials can be really helpful. Books and the internet can introduce you to new (hopefully productive) outlets and ideas. Chances are, however, that talking to others can spur the most/best ideas, especially in business.
Rule #1, TOP DOWN IS GONE. Whether it's the pyramid structure of the boss in a lifeguard chair yelling at all the peons below or the bicycle wheel model, time to lose it. When you work in a lifeguard, pyramid structure or bicycle wheel model, there is little to no opportunity for an exchange of ideas. Mr. or Mrs. Pyramid Tip, Lifeguard or the center spoke of the wheel will not take suggestions from people who they feel are beneath them. The very fact that a person would be the tip of a pyramid, perch themselves in the figurative lifeguard chair or carve their place at the center of a wheel means they lack respect in a personal and professional sense for others. When suggestions are given, it is inherently an attack on the "boss".
In a business sense, if you are stagnating or falling behind, you most likely are OUT OF IDEAS. Go get some. Talk to someone, an employee, a trusted and honest friend....and adjust your model. Don't start blaming the economy, taxes, the neighborhood, etc, etc, etc... Think about growing and growing is all about IDEAS. Get more ideas from your employees. Growing means getting bigger, thinking bigger, newer and wider. Consolidating power and control will keep it "yours" and to some people, that is the most important thing. Everyone sees things from a different perspective. Open up the process, out with the caste system and get as many active minds and eyes involved. To quote Bull Durham, "It's an Egg Dammit"
You can be OUT of a lot of things....Out of time, out of money to name just two....but what do you do when you are OUT OF IDEAS? Why do people and businesses run OUT OF IDEAS? Do you have a mechanism that sets off a trigger when you are running low on Ideas? You may have run out of "answers" to certain questions, but that's different than running out of IDEAS.....
There's more...There's always more....Stay tuned for thoughts and tips on keeping your River of Ideas flowing
Part Two:
Can you imagine a talk between a well-to-do middle age man and a Psychologist....He has everything he could ask for but isn't happy. Or a business owner that has been doing "ok" for years and years and has never broken through. Perhaps he's talking to his friends at the bar, about all the 'reasons' he isn't making it. Or perhaps the business owner or manager who keeps closing ranks and organizing and re-organizing and complaining about the lack of efficiency and lack of effort in the business. Perhaps odd speculation of things being stolen, anything to explain the lack of forward progress......These people are OUT OF IDEAS.
When you feel like you are out of ideas, you have three main places to go. You can go inside of yourself, outward to other people or to resource materials. Chances are that you have already consulted with yourself to a certain degree. Consulting with resource materials can be really helpful. Books and the internet can introduce you to new (hopefully productive) outlets and ideas. Chances are, however, that talking to others can spur the most/best ideas, especially in business.
Rule #1, TOP DOWN IS GONE. Whether it's the pyramid structure of the boss in a lifeguard chair yelling at all the peons below or the bicycle wheel model, time to lose it. When you work in a lifeguard, pyramid structure or bicycle wheel model, there is little to no opportunity for an exchange of ideas. Mr. or Mrs. Pyramid Tip, Lifeguard or the center spoke of the wheel will not take suggestions from people who they feel are beneath them. The very fact that a person would be the tip of a pyramid, perch themselves in the figurative lifeguard chair or carve their place at the center of a wheel means they lack respect in a personal and professional sense for others. When suggestions are given, it is inherently an attack on the "boss".
In a business sense, if you are stagnating or falling behind, you most likely are OUT OF IDEAS. Go get some. Talk to someone, an employee, a trusted and honest friend....and adjust your model. Don't start blaming the economy, taxes, the neighborhood, etc, etc, etc... Think about growing and growing is all about IDEAS. Get more ideas from your employees. Growing means getting bigger, thinking bigger, newer and wider. Consolidating power and control will keep it "yours" and to some people, that is the most important thing. Everyone sees things from a different perspective. Open up the process, out with the caste system and get as many active minds and eyes involved. To quote Bull Durham, "It's an Egg Dammit"