Rolling With Your Runaway Brain

Have you met people who are described as scatterbrain? Some are all over the shop when it comes to completing tasks, or even in a conversation. They can shift from topic to topic with ease and fluidity, however may leave their conversationalists in a lurch. These intriguing, seemingly defocused people have comprehensive brains, and can engage and disengage because things make sense for them.

Let your brain run free! Like running barefoot, liberate your thinking as we have too much clutter exacerbated by problems, anxiety and mounting concerns. Bruce Lee used to utter a Zen saying: ‘Empty your mind!’ which is about creating ‘Beginner’s Mind’. Before we can learn, and truly learn, we will need to denounce what we think we know. If we believe that we know everything, we have hindered ourselves mentally from receiving more.

Too many adults concern themselves of appearing childish; programmed by tradition and notions of appropriateness. In effect, what we may want to seek is ‘child-like innocence’ when we get creative, and engage innovative practices. Focus on the useful, not on the use-less. Embrace great ideas, even if they are dated. The ‘classics’ are considered as such, because they have endured the test of time; just like endurance athletes who test their mettle and mental tenacity with long and oftentimes, lonely runs. Last weekend, I challenged myself to write a dozen articles and succeeded. At times the going was tough, but I ran with it. Run in the jet-stream of consciousness and creativity.

Run away with your thinking. Do different things. Add variety. Stop plunging your brain into boredom, or doing boring things. Be disciplined, but make discipline relevant to you. Smile when you run – it is a good sign of things going well. Lead a meeting according to your group vision: finish early, and accomplish your decision-making. Implement and monitor ideas! Recognise your staff for their contributions by engaging their suggestions and recommendations. Acknowledge that each staff may be an expert in something.

Have faith in people and ourselves – have a nice thought and run with it! 

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All the best to those doing Ironman Korea this weekend! Coach will be doing it, and I hope that he gets a good shot a Kona slot this year in his new Age Group. He completed the World Championships in Kona in 2005 after this third attempt at the Ironman distance.

It will be a few more days before I depart for the Gold Coast Marathon. I look forward to this experience – my 11^th stand-alone marathon, I think – and I will be connecting with some of my Twitter running friends. Sydney-based Soon, will be attempting a sub-3 hour marathon – this late-40-something did his first Ironman in Perth last year in a splendid time. Many Team Fatbird members will be making a brief exodus to the Gold Coast to enhance this big show. I am looking forward to it – another BQ would be nice, and a PB would be a bonus!

8 Ways to Engage Innovation

Is innovation the same as creativity? The terms are used interchangeably, so there may be some confusion as to how we can apply both of it at professionally and personally.

Creativity is involved in how you solve problems. The more solutions you propose for a problem, the more creative you are. However, innovation is about how you apply your creativity to actually solving these problems.

Corporations try to mandate innovation. You cannot make innovation a rule, as it can be a process that can be diluted by rules, regulations and demand. You cannot force a natural process, for you will probably get synthetic outcomes. Everyone has their process for teasing out their creative process.

How would you engage your innovation? There are ways to approach innovative practices.

1)    Ask yourself WHICH ways you can attend to the problem.

2)    Daydream. Visualise. Ask ‘what if?’.

3)    Create and recreate an environment which best engages your creative process.

4)    Seek inspiration from a variety of sources (film, commercials, print advertisements, poetry, music, performances, speeches).

5)    Move around, animate your thinking, and express it visually, audibly and physically (i.e. mind map, discuss, create a prototype/model).

6)    Ask: how can I make it better? What else can I do? What else more?

7)    Read biographies of successful businesspeople, inventors, performers and leaders.

8)    Surround yourself with creative, energetic and helpful people. They are wellsprings of encouragement, resourcefulness and purpose.

9)    Experiment. Test. Apply. Discover. Learn.

Leaders of the Board

Lords of Dogtown is a film that was inspired by real people, namely the motley crew that revolutionized skateboarding in Venice, California in the 1970’s. Written by Stacy Peralta, who was one of the original three young aspiring surfers turned skateboarders, this film plays tribute to the birth of skateboarding as a worldwide phenomenon. The other two skateboarders who also shot to fame were Tony Alva and Jay Adams; the latter was jailed for misdemeanors, and is believed to have invented some of the more radical moves in this extreme sport. The late-Heath Ledger plays Skip - the unceremoniously and constantly inebriated co-owner of the retail shop, Zephyr. The cast is excellent with enough testosterone-infused scenes to get you all worked up. Catherine Hardwicke, known for her successful box-office Twilight, directed this film with her spot-on appreciation of teenagers and their needs. You need not be a fan to enjoy this well-made film, which should be a lively and lovely compendium to Dogtown and Z Boys (an award-winning documentary narrated by actor Sean Penn).

The shift between surfing waves to skateboarding may have its origins in the boys’ ingenious idea to skate in empty swimming pools; there was a drought on, in California when they discovered this novel way to get hang time, and dry simulation of waves. In addition, the invention of the petroleum-derived (urethane) wheel allowed wanton, wall-griping manoeuvres. The anger-driven, Jay Adams was instrumental in coming up with some of the standard moves used today in competitions when he skated on almost everything including concrete pipes, dry swimming pools (as half-pipes), hilly roads and even straight off the pier. 

The film also illustrates the observation that one is more creative within one’s area of competence and passion. Also, it underscores that necessity is the mother of invention. The three skaters eventually found fame and fortune as world champions and entrepreneurs, as well as the traps involved in such shortcuts. The special features are worth watching, especially the director's commentary and interviews with the original Z-Boys who were featured in cameo roles or as consultants. Most commendable were the lead actors who learnt to skate competently after an intensive 2.5-months boot-camp.


Both films are available on DVD and available at Amazon.com.

The Critical Question to Ask in Entrepreneurship & Creativity

Interviews are not limited to journalists and job interviewers. Interviewing is a process built in into our conversations. When you have a chat with friends and colleagues, hidden inside (often unconsciously) are a plethora of questions. These questions lead us down various Garden Paths of possibility. Each questions directs our attention to purposeful outcomes.

Comprehension is our ability to ask open-ended questions. We need to comprehend before we can understand something fully. The reality of our life is, we may think we understand something, yet we may not. The flaw of comprehension – despite being taught in early primary school – is that we were taught only the ‘5 W, one H’ version. As I found in my research over the past 10 years, many respondents/students miss out the critical sixth ‘W’ question based on creativity/entrepreneur thinking.

With your long-term relationship – do you fully understand him/her? How often has it been: ‘You don’t understand me!’ or ‘I’ll never understand you!’ Do you need to fully understand how a car or electricity works, before you can drive it or flick on the switch? My friend’s father, a former-meteorologist said to me in confidence: ‘Weather is more predictable than people. I still don’t understand my wife!’

Comprehension covers: what, who, when, which, where, why and how. Time and again, about 80 percent of my students miss out ‘which’. ‘Which’ presupposes options, choices, and alternatives: crucial elements in problem solving, and developing a ‘can do’ mindset. Ask ‘which other ways have we not considered?’ and your mind may spark off possibilities. ‘Which’ is non-judgmental versus ‘why?’ which has implications of consequence and repercussion.

Entrepreneurs often ask ‘which’. This question can provoke or invoke a mindset of ‘What else can we do?’ ‘What have we not considered?’ and ’Which other opportunities are there for us?’ Innovation scientists, branding experts, marketing consultants, and new business owners need to, continually, push the threshold of what has been done, to ‘What else has not been considered?’ Remember that ‘entrepreneur’ mans ‘first to enter’. Like Star Trek: ‘To boldly go where no one has gone before!

Be bold. Ask questions. Interview. Enjoy your conversations, and learn from those around you. Everyone is a crucible of potential and possibilities.

Modeling is a process where we study (through deliberate and cleverly designed questions) the mental models of people. We engage in a rapport, and then respectfully interview the person on their experiences, perceptions, opinions, abilities and approaches.

Leadership Homework: Read biographies, or books with transcripts of interviews with celebrities and leaders. Study the types of questions asked; or even the responses. You will get a better sense of who the person is, and how they tick.