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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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In the Clutch of Ideas

by Rick Baker
On Nov 23, 2011

People are fond of their own ideas.

As a rule, the attachment is strong: I like my ideas and you like your ideas.

That`s the way normal people feel and think. And, those normal feelings and thoughts influence people's behaviour.

When you come up with an idea, say a solution to a problem, you tend to like your idea better than alternative ideas presented by other people. Your idea is your invention, your 'brain child'.

Your ideas clutch you. 

If you do not self-monitor and self-regulate then you can find yourself held firmly in the clutches of your own ideas.

While the clutch of ideas can lead to great innovations and inventions, more often than not, it also adds a repulsive flavour to your personality. Of course, that's not a good thing. A repulsive personality is not a good thing because it reduces your ability to gain the cooperation of other people...which is necessary for your success.

A magnetic personality is a good thing.

So, no matter how terrific your ideas are you must self-monitor and self-regulate their delivery.

Some say you should use pre-thought-out series of questions, designed to trick or manoeuvre other people so they come to the conclusions you desire. Socrates used those techniques. That was over 2400 years ago. It is clear, this in-the-Clutch-of-Ideas problem has been around for quite some time. It is part of the human condition. 

Other people take advantage of various forms of power to cause people to accept their ideas. This worked really well for millennia, however, it is becoming increasingly less effective....for a number of reasons beyond the scope of this article.

The points are:

  1. People are prone to find themselves in the clutch of their own ideas.
  2. It is much harder than it used to be to bulldoze your ideas through other people.
  3. Better solutions are required to succeed in the 21st Century.
The 1st Action steps are:
  1. Self-monitor...understand the extent of the clutch your ideas have on you, then impose limits on that clutch.
  2. Self-regulate...be at least a little bit more open to other people's ideas.
  3. Allow your thinking to be more creative...for example, take a lesson from Edward de Bono's 'Six Thinking Hats'.

Thought Tweet #353

by Rick Baker
On Nov 23, 2011
Thought Tweet #353 If you are uncomfortable networking, that's contagious. If you enjoy networking, that's contagious.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
So, as a networker...what are you spreading?

Tags:

Beyond Business | Leaders' Thoughts | Sales | Thought Tweets

Baby Steps

by Rick Baker
On Nov 22, 2011

When babies learn how to walk they make all kinds of mistakes.

I don't remember making mistakes when I learned how to walk but I do remember our boys making walking-mistakes when they were about a year old. And, I know this is common because I have seen every one of my friends' and relatives' babies do it.

Sometimes babies' little legs give out and they fall straight down, onto their little behinds. Sometimes they trip over the smallest of obstacles. Sometimes their little feet just slip right out from under them...and down they go. Sometimes their little hands cling to things like tables, they walk a bit while they are holding on then fall down as soon as they let go of the tables.

Babies fall down a lot.

And while that is going on people applaud them...especially parents and grandparents and other close relatives. They don't mind it at all when babies make all those baby-step mistakes. In fact, many of them seem to derive great joy from these experiences. Often, people carry on in celebration of the failed baby steps...encouraging all the babies to keep on taking more and more baby steps.

I suspect this is a world-wide phenomenon...a baby-step pandemic.

Why?

Why do people put up with let alone derive great joy out of all these baby-step errors?

Perhaps, the answer lies in a 200 year old quote from William Drayton, American politician and author:

"Change starts when someone sees the next step."

Maybe people see the baby's next step?

Maybe, when people see that next step it is a fine step?

Maybe people always see a fine next step?

Maybe it doesn't matter if the baby makes a mistake...it is always a fine step?

Maybe babies, who illustrate to us just how challenging a baby step can be, help interested people see Change before it happens? 

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | Family Business and CFFB

Thought Tweet #352

by Rick Baker
On Nov 22, 2011
Thought Tweet #352 When Leaders tell followers what to do they need to limit that telling to BIG PICTURE things.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Some think Leaders should provide followers latitude to do their work as they choose. Some think that’s the way to breed creativity and maximize motivation, innovation, and results. Meanwhile, many [perhaps most] entrepreneur-Leaders tend to micro-manage. 4 keys to success in business:
  1. The Leader must pick strong/capable followers, 
  2. The Leader must tell those followers the desired BIG PICTURE things such as VALUES, VISION, MASTER RULES, and MAJOR GOALS, 
  3. The Leader must show those followers how he/she [the Leader] goes about his/her work [actions]…i.e., setting one example, the example that fits the Leader’s strengths and personality, and 
  4. the Leader must make it clear he/she expects followers to take action that fits their unique strengths and personalities.

Tags:

Leaders' Thoughts | Thought Tweets | Values: Personal Values | Vision: The Leader's Vivid Vision

Thought Tweet #351

by Rick Baker
On Nov 21, 2011
Thought Tweet #351 When we are able to describe things in 1 or 2 words we possess a tool of genius!
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Most people need to make their communication more concise. They can learn how to do that by studying creative thinking.

Tags:

Communication: Improving Communication | Seeking Simple! | Thought Tweets

Entrepreneur - Defined

by Rick Baker
On Nov 18, 2011
3 forces drive entrepreneurs:
  1. Entrepreneurs have this burning feeling inside them…a Need To Achieve something. I describe it as ‘a wanting’.
  2. Entrepreneurs have a desire to create and Build Things Of Value.
  3. Entrepreneurs have a need to Be Recognized As Different – a different type of contributor.
These are defining internal forces driving An Entrepreneur.
 
In addition, An Entrepreneur is a business leader who:
  1. Recognizes, uses, & develops People Strengths…first in self and then in others,
  2. Clicks with other People [has self-control & a pleasing-enough personality], and
  3. Is ready, willing, and able to lead change…first in self and then in others.
These are the defining characteristics of – the key Personal Strengths of - An Entrepreneur.
 
These 3 forces coupled with these 3 characteristics form Spirited Leaders’ definition of An Entrepreneur.

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.