1) The Storyteller: Using a mind map

This type of a creative person achieves results and innovations by a guided though creative thinking process. He uses stories to get solutions. A few catchwords are enough; he uses them to create storylines and to develop ideas.

Here’s how you can get new ideas: use the creative right part of your brain. Write out a mind map. Just use a big piece of paper and start in the center. Draw a circle and write the task (such as ’Organizing a party’) right in the middle of it.

Now you move from the center and draw a line that will be a branch of your mind map. On that line you will write down a solution to accomplish your task. On the first line you could write: “We will have an indoor picnic”. This is the first solution to your problem. On a second line could be written: ’Let’s have dessert first’. And finally a third solution. On third line you will write: We will be eating on the floor’. Go into great detail with your solutions.

A mindmap makes the thinking process visible.

2) The Cooperator: Finding support

These kind of people find solutions always in conjunction with others. Being close to other people makes them going. They are empathic, understand every customer and are able to build a relationship that brings new ideas.

Here’s how to get new ideas: Many people say that they are smart and that they don’t really need somebody to tell them what to do. In this case, think about this: Tiger Woods, the best golf player of all times, had a coach. Obviously, not to show him how to play golf, but to help him succeed!

A coach can help you to develop abilities you didn’t even think you had. Do not refuse this kind of special knowledge.

3) The Cross Pollinator: Arousing your curiosity

This creativity type gets inspired by ideas of other people. He discovers relations between thought that, for other people, are not related. This type of person is interested in many subjects. That way, the cross pollinator introduces ideas that come from outside the company.

Here’s how to get new ideas: do what you love to do, but do not restrict yourself to those things. Explore new horizons by subscribing to magazines, podcasts, seminars or talks – things that have nothing to do with your present life.

It is true: there are people who are trying to solve a problem, but are only banging their head against the wall. This sort of cross fertilizing helps them to get to break through.

4) The Field Researcher: Leaving the waters of forgetfulness

The field researcher gets most of the ideas not at his desk nor in meetings, but when he is out and with people. He is some sort of an anthropologist: he observes others and how they use products or services. This gives him the inspiration how to improve things.

Here’s how to get new ideas: the biggest danger whatsoever is to forget your ideas. We are wired in a way that I dears do not come to us when we observe something or when we’re sitting at the desk but nearly always under the circumstances. Did you ever have a great idea in the shower, orwhen you lie in bed, or when you drive your car, or on other occasions?

You have to try to jot down 100% of your ideas, be it on the backside of your boarding pass, on a small notepad, your BlackBerry or your iPhone. But you have to take note of the ideas. Don’t judge them yet, just jot them down. The evaluation part comes later.

———-

The ideas mentioned in this article are taken from the book by Tom Kelly “The Ten Faces Of Innovation”.

Inspired by the roles that Tom has seen emerge at IDEO, the leading design firm where Kelley is general manager, The Ten Faces of Innovation is filled with engaging stories of how businesses have used innovation and design thinking to transform customer experience.

If you want to purchase a copy of this fantastic book, just click the following link:

Do you sometimes get annoyed with yourself when you find that you do the same mistakes (small or big ones) over and over again?

These can be simple and easy things such as helping out an acquaintance who seems always taking advantage of you? Or it can be something like giving money to a not so reliable friend.

And afterwards, you find yourself saying: “Why did I make the mistake again? I KNOW he/she would do this! He/she is doing this every time!” And you start getting mad on yourself.

Ever happened to you?

Well, you are not alone! Many people experience that in specific occasions the heart beats the mind.

So the important question here is: How can you learn from your mistakes?

Here are some quick and easy tips:

Firstly ask yourself WHY it happened again. Almost always emerges a certain pattern like: “It is difficult for me to say ‘no’ to friends.”

Secondly: once you found out the reason, do not stay there but try to find out why it is difficult for you to say no to friends. Don’t stay with the symptoms but dig a little deeper to shed a little light on the true cause.

One might be that you don’t want to loose your friend. Another could be attached to a certain believe system: “I’m not a good person when I’m not helping out others.”

Thirdly: analyse those true causes and the needs that hide behind them. Put them to the test: Do those needs prevent you from making the right decisions? Do they lead you straight to the same mistakes, over and over again?

Finally, make a decision with a strong statement: No money for this friend anymore! Or something like that. Write the statement on a piece of paper and put it where you can see it every time you pass by (mirror, fridge, you name it). This will remind you every time of your decision.

And then – the most important thing EVER: put it into action!

ACTION STEPS:
1) Ask yourself: Why did I make the same mistake?
2) Once you found the reason, dig out the true cause that hides behind it.
3) Analyse the true cause: Does this lead you to the same mistake?
4) Make a decision with a strong statement NOT to do it again.
5) Write the statement down and put it where you see it.
6) TAKE ACTION.

Here’s the last part of the Conflict Management short series:

1) Conflict generates pressure.

The longer a conflict lasts, the more pressure is built up to resolve this conflict situation. But here’s the downside: the longer a conflict lasts, the more pressure is built up in the situation itself and the more difficult is will be to put it conflict aside and to settle it.

Example: Your neighbor loves music and he shows it every time he’s “in da house”. The music’s volume make your plates jump in the cupboard. One day, you decide that it’s enough. You go over to “show’em”. Only from this moment on your neighbor knows that you have a problem with his behavior — and from this moment on he can change it. Only now the conflict situation becomes obvious to both parties, and a solution that suites both can be worked out.

2) Conflicts lead to better decisions.

Different people with different personalities and strong interests are a guarantee that decisions are made that resolve conflict situations.

Why is that?

Everybody wants to find a solution that is in his own interests, and if it can’t be found in the first place, there’s still compromise. One thing is for sure: people with strong interests will be more incline to look into every alternative there is to resolve the problem. And this gives the guarantee that the best solution can be found.

ACTION STEPS:

1) Use the pressure a problem generates to solve it.
2) See different personalities and strong interests as a possibility to find the best solution for a problem.

In my last post, I showed you two big advantages of conflict situations. And even these situations place you out of your comfort zone, they do indeed have a great to potential.

Here are another two of those advantages:

1) Conflict strengthens social cohesion.

What do I mean by that?

When people with different personalities are working together or are fighting for a common cause, you can observe an interesting phenomenon: the common cause, the common goal that has to be achieved together outweighs personal differences and conflicts that once existed between them.

So, a conflict coming from the outside does two things: 1) it makes people bond to resolve it and 2) it helps them understand and resolve the personal conflict they had in the first place.

2) Conflicts uncover hidden problems.

Recurring arguments and discussions about the same issues show a fundamental problem lying deeper than the discussions itself. Now it’s crucial to take time and to resolve this fundamental problem first, preferably with all involved parties. You will see, once this is done, that the aforementioned arguments and discussions won’t occur again.

ACTION STEPS:

1) Try to create a group dynamic that helps people understand the other’s point of view, e.g. by asking questions like: “How can WE solve this problem together?”
2) In order to avoid recurring arguments about the same issues, find out and analyze the deeper conflict first.

People in general don’t like to be in conflict situations – so they either avoid or ignore them. But it can cost a lot of effort and energy to stay in the vacuum of a supposedly harmonious situation with family, friends and colleagues, and to pretend that everything is fine — with everyone knowing that it’s not.

How can you solve this? First, by making it clear to yourself that conflict situations have their advantages. Here are two of them:

1) Conflict shows contrast.

Being in an argument with somebody helps to know that person a little better, his/her point of views, aspirations, interests, goals, preferences and aversions. And this will help you to show a greater concern for his or her needs.

2) Conflict develops understanding.

“This guy is impossible…” — “Boy, the Marketing Department’s ideas are as stupid as usual…” In the beginning of nearly every friction is a lack of understanding of the other person, department or whatever. You name it. Going through a conflict situation means almost always getting involved with other perspectives and perceptions. At the end, you will get a better understanding about the reasons the other person had and why  he (or she) acted that way.

ACTION STEPS:

1) Do not avoid conflict situations. Convince yourself that it is better to solve a conflict than to ignore it.
2) When in an argument, don’t just try to persuade the other person of your ideas, but try go get THEIRS first.

“Time Is Money!”
“Big Sale Only Until Tomorrow!”
“Only 5 Places! Time Runs Out!”
“Time Will Tell!”

In every day life, when having a look at our tasks, we may see that we are dominated by our watch: meetings at a specific hour, deadlines and so on and so forth.

No wonder that we often feel stressed: too many things to do in too little time. And this phenomenon continues in our private life, even in our leisure time: we constantly look at our wrist watch (if we still have one) or our cell phone.

Sometimes we start thinking about (and are planning out) things that will happen only in a week. No need to stress, but it is our habit to life like that: Time Dominates Life!

Therefor we are not able to manage our time correctly. For being able to do so, time should be a Tool, not our Master.

So, how can you achieve that?

First, good planning will certainly help. But don’t overdo it. You can’t plan every minute of your life in order to escape time’s (or watch’s) dictatorship.

Second, ask yourself: does there really have to be a watch in every room? Why not putting the watch down for a day (preferably on weekends)?

The benefits: you will enhance your own sense of time. But the most important thing is that you will control time, and it won’t be time controlling you. Your watch is a tool, not your Master. So, why not trying those watch-free times?

ACTION STEPS:
1) Plan you days to reduce stress, but don’t overdo it. Too much planning is counterproductive: it conveys stress instead of reducing it.
2) Put The Watch Down! Decide to have some watch-free time. If this isn’t possible during the week, try at least one day of the weekend.

Now this is one of the most diffifult things to do for a perfectionist: accepting failure.

A perfectionist does not want to do that. He will make everything right – no faults. And that’s precisely why he is called a perfectionist, right?

The point that you have to understand when you are inclined to perfectionism (and believe me, for me this was one of the hardest things to do) is to accept the idea that perfectionism arises because you are afraid of making errors. This fear  is the foundation for you trying to be perfect.

So what can you do?

Analyze yourself and see how you deal with errors – yours or those of others.

Do you accept your own failures?
Or is it easy for you to accept the errors of others, and you are just hard on yourself?

Whatever it is, try to admit – to yourself and for others – that everybody makes errors and that nobody is perfect. And no, your name is not Nobody! (I know, a bad joke, but it fits in here…)

Learn to accept failure as what it is: it can happen and is NOT an assessment of you or your character. Try to see in those errors a starting point and the possibility to learn more.

Let’s take a well known example here: when a small child stops crawling around and starts to learn how to make the first steps, it will certainly fall, right? But you simply know that this child will get up again and do the next try. And when it falls again, it will get up again.

And the thing we can learn from a small child is this: get up again and again! You will learn how to deal with failure. But only get up again!

ACTION STEPS:
1) Accept the idea that nobody is perfect.
2) If you make an error, do not condemn yourself.
3) Simply get up and try again.

Remember: it is not the falling down that is bad, it is the not-getting-up again!

People tending towards perfectionism try to do EVERYTHING themselves, instead of delegating a task.

Why is that?

Well, a perfectionist wants to be in control of the situation. When delegating a task, he loses control. And that makes him uneasy. I know this only too well, since I am one of “those guys”, although I’ve always had difficulties in admitting that.

The downsides of wanting to control the universe are as follows:
1) You cannot control the universe! And you have to accept that.
2) You will have far too many tasks to do.
3) You show a lack of confidence towards your colleagues or family members.

So, what can you do?

As hard as it may seem in the beginning, try not to control the universe, only delegate a few tasks. Oh, and don’t try to control the other person either by asking every two minutes how it is going. Do not even explain HOW to do the task – just delegate and explain only the objective and the time frame. That’s all.

The advantages of doing so are fantastic:

1) You’ll learn that not controlling the universe isn’t the end of it.
2) You’ll learn that delegating is easy.
3) You’ll learn that it’s a great feeling to show confidence to the person who completes the task.
4) And finally you’ll learn that there’s more than one/your way to arrive at destination.

Convincing, isn’t it?

ACTION STEPS:
1)  Delegate one task per day/week to a person that has your confidence.
2) Communicate clearly the objective and the time frame.
3) Try hard NOT to ask ‘how it’s going’, just have confidence that the task will be finished on time.
4) Rinse, repeat and the tendency of perfectionism will diminish.

In my last post, I dared to say that perfection in not necessary for all tasks and in all areas of your life. By setting your own standards, you will spend a lot less energy and effort on things you want to accomplish – and that the same – if not better – results could be achieved.

However, one question remains: How could you do that? Well, that’s the easy part. By asking yourself three simple questions:

1) What do I want to accomplish?

Or in other words: What is it that you want to achieve with this task? What is your overall goal? Let’s take an example: When you take your family out on a weekend trip, it surely helps to know WHERE you want to go, right? It’s the same thing with tasks and work in general.

2) What do I have to do to achieve my goal?

Staying with our trip example, this means to set the way points to cross to arrive finally at your destination. And when accomplishing a task, it means to define the different steps that lead to completion.

Relatively easy for now, isn’t it? OK, here’s the last question:

3) How much time do I want to spend on it?

Setting a time frame is very useful. That way, you aren’t going to “lose yourself” in task completion. Otherwise, you’ll always find things to do better, to polish or whatever. And you’ll never finish anything. A time frame simply stops you from doing that.

Set the alarm clock for – let’s say – 25 minutes and work concentrated and focussed during all this time. Don’t stop, don’t interrupt, just work. You’ll be astonished what you can accomplish during 25 minutes.

Recap

You can easily define your own standard by asking yourself three easy questions: 1) What do I want to accomplish? 2) What do I have to do to achieve my goal? And 3) How much time do I want to spend on it?

The answers to these questions define your work and time frame and therefore prevents you from getting lost in your work. Wanting to deliver something “perfect” is not a goal. It cannot be since it is too imprecise. Asking the three magic questions helps to define your own standard, and the answers will surely prevent your from the pitfall of perfectionism.

ACTION STEPS:
Answer the three magic questions and apply them in your every day life.
1) What do I want to accomplish?
2) What do I have to do to achieve my goal?
3) How much time do I want to spend on it?

If you are anything like me, when accomplishing things, you just want to do your best, right?

Sorry to ask the obvious question, but who do you think defines what is ‘your best’?
Right, it’s you – and it should only be you.

If your ‘best’ is the absolute, the ‘perfect best’, you will encounter some serious problems. Aiming for perfectionism is not the ideal solution. I am sure you know the saying “nobody is perfect”. And no, your name is not Nobody! So why do you try to be it?

Don’t get me wrong here: I am not saying that you should be satisfied with only mediocre results. Improvement and progress is only possible if you ‘spread your wings’, so to say.

But here’s the pitfall: if your goal in everything you do is set to the level of perfection, you will put an enormous amount of energy in your accomplishments – energy that could be used elsewhere. And you could accomplish the same results with less effort.

The solution is this: Set your own standards – plain and simple.

“Okay”, I hear you say, “but don’t you have to deliver the best results in some areas?” Of course, a doctor performing an operation on a patient should aim for the best results, but this is not what I want to bring across.

I’m just saying that in certain areas of your life, perfection just is not necessary. By setting you own standards, you will spend a lot less energy and effort, and you will get the same – if not better – results.

Please have a look at the 2nd part of this series (Tip 006)  that shows you exactly HOW to do this. And make sure to follow the action steps at the end of the post.