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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Willing suspension of disbelief: an entrepreneurial phenomenon

by Rick Baker
On Oct 2, 2014

From Wikipedia...

Suspension of disbelief or willing suspension of disbelief is a term coined in 1817 by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgement concerning the implausibility of the narrative.

Suspension of disbelief often applies to fictional works of the action, comedy, fantasy, and horror genres. Cognitive estrangement in fiction involves using a person's ignorance or lack of knowledge to promote suspension of disbelief.

The phrase "suspension of disbelief" came to be used more loosely in the later 20th century, often used to imply that the burden was on the reader, rather than the writer, to achieve it. This might be used to refer to the willingness of the audience to overlook the limitations of a medium, so that these do not interfere with the acceptance of those premises. These fictional premises may also lend to the engagement of the mind and perhaps proposition of thoughts, ideas, art and theories. [1] Suspension of disbelief is often an essential element for a magic act or a circus sideshow act. For example, an audience is not expected to actually believe that a woman is cut in half or transforms into a gorilla [2] in order to enjoy the performance.

***

Now, Suspension of Disbelief is not limited to fiction entertainment.

Suspension of Disbelief happens day after day in business...entrepreneurs do it repeatedly.

Entrepreneurs create and believe fantastic stories around their visions and goals. 

And from time to time, other people suspend their doubts and embrace entrepreneurs' fantastic visions and goals.

Then things really happen and every once in a while truth becomes more fantastic than fiction.

Crystallize your thoughts & desires...clearly communicate details of Goals, Tasks & Actions. Then Do & Measure the Actions.

by Rick Baker
On Aug 25, 2014

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

And Practice: if Practice doesn't make perfect then what does?

Practice clarifying your desires.

Practice clarifying your Goals.

Practice communicating about your desires and Goals.

Practice defining the details of Tasks, with emphasis on the Tasks that yield the results you desire.

Practice taking Talent to the Tasks - i.e., Practice the best, most-focused-for-success Actions.

Practice communicating about Talents & Strengths and about Tasks and Actions.

Practice Measuring Actions.

Practice Measuring results.

These are the ways to better- and best-in-class performance.

These are the ways to Skills.

These are the ways to business success.

Common Sense versus Common Practice

by Rick Baker
On Aug 19, 2014

People perform better when they know their roles.

People perform better when they feel accountable for their performance.

Leaders can help their people understand their roles by clearly stating the top 7 or so action-things each person must do to succeed in each role. Those top 7 or so things will form the framework/guidelines for roles.

While that is common sense, it is not done at many small businesses.

Leaders can provide further help by working with their people to create goals linked to those top 7 or so things.

Again, few would argue the common sense of having desired goals linked to desired actions. Yet again, while it is common sense it is not common practice at many small businesses.

Desired goals and desired actions gel well when combined with planned performance-review processes. The key is creating performance-review processes that are closely tied to specific actions required to meet specific goals.

Common sense.

And you can make it common practice. 

Tags:

Goals - SMARTACRE Goals

The Law of Attraction...for unbelievers

by Rick Baker
On Jul 14, 2014

When you have a positive mindset you tend to see the positive things in situations and people.

When you are upbeat and enthusiastic about the future you tend to see the positive things in situations and people.

And upbeat, positive, and enthusiastic people tend to attract people who hold similar mindsets.

When brought together in a spirit of harmony upbeat, positive, and enthusiastic people tend to energize one another.

With high energy levels and positive mindsets groups of people are able to perform large volumes of goal-focused actions.

Naturally, all of these things combine to promote success and the achievement of goals.

With thoughts like those outlined above it is relatively easy to come to the conclusion that positive mental attitudes, reflecting belief in the abilities of people, can lead to better handling of a range of situations. With these mindsets situations can be handled well, in real time as they arise. Seeing people in a positive light and handling situations well are the proven ways to achieve goals and obtain success.

That is one way to look at the Law of Attraction.

I recognize this is a limited way of thinking about the Law of Attraction. I recognize there are far-expanded versions of the Law of Attraction that take people deep into the realm of metaphysics and cosmic thought.

The Law of Attraction does not have to be metaphysical. It can be thought of in common-sense terms.  It can be thought of in practical terms. It can be thought of in simple terms.

In simple terms, the Law of Attraction is - Like Attracts Like.

Positivity attracts positivity. Success-orientation attracts success-orientation. With these common-sense facts of life in mind, it is easy to understand how we tend to get what we wish for when that wishing is done with a mindset laced in enthusiasm and positive energy.

We do not have to enter the territory of metaphysical zealots to believe in the Law of Attraction.

We just have to step back and use a little common sense.

Sometimes it seems you just can’t win.

by Rick Baker
On Jul 7, 2014

Sometimes it seems you just can’t win.

Sometimes, every action seems right and feels right. Yet, when we add all the actions together we do not get a productive result.

That, in a nutshell, is a common small-business problem.

Often, this problem exists because of one or more of the following:

  • The small-business Culture is not aligned with personal Values
  • The Rules are either not clear or not aligned with personal Values or not enforced
  • The overall Goals are either non-existent or ambiguous
  • The consequences for performance failure are either not clear or not taken seriously
  • Personal accountability takes a back-seat, assuming someone else will do the driving 
While sometimes it seems you just can’t win, that's simply wrong-thinking.
 
The ways to win are clear.

 

Tags:

Goals - SMARTACRE Goals | Solutions & Opportunities | Values: Personal Values

Do you sometimes act like a 6-yr-old soccer player, focusing on the ball instead of the goal?

by Rick Baker
On Jun 16, 2014

The Thinking Behind the Tweet

Not a bad analogy. While it is a joy to watch those little players do that in sports games it is nowhere near as enjoyable watching sales people do it. Just ask a sales manager.

Tags:

Goals - SMARTACRE Goals | Humour | Thought Tweets

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