Never Stop Talking: How Small Teams Stay Great When They Grow

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #282828;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>W</b></span></span><span style="font-size: 16.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">e like to attribute magic-like qualities to most startups. Collectively, we marvel at their ability to focus on a single, potentially world-changing product. We praise the inclusiveness and camaraderie of their employees. Their ability to move quickly is the envy of every major corporation. </span><span style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is often overlooked is that these qualities exist not solely because of the greatness of the startup team, but are in part made easier by the team’s size. There is a “Law of Small Teams” at play: the smaller you are, the fewer natural barriers to moving quickly and effectively towards your goals. So the real proving ground for any team is when you can no longer sit elbow-to-elbow around a single table. <span style="font-size: 16.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When your team is small, your biggest barriers tend to be external in nature: needing more funding, press, or market traction. Internally, though, you can turn on a dime. Yet as you grow, keeping your team aligned and coordinated becomes increasingly challenging. The single best tool you have in keeping your growing team agile is building a culture of effective communication.  <o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For example, you might start to hear a phrase I’ve grown to detest: “I can’t start that yet, since I need this person to finish their part first.” These internal dependencies will be your death by a thousand paper cuts: it is possible to wake up one day to find your entire team moving glacially slow, with everyone waiting on someone else. Yet when teams internally communicate their dependencies and roadblocks, you can collectively work to eliminate them, allowing the teams to work in parallel. This awareness that communication brings is the first step to breaking these bottlenecks and recapturing that small team agility, even when you’re larger. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white; font-size: large;">It is possible to wake up one day to find your entire team moving glacially slow, with everyone waiting on someone else.</span><span style="color: #282828; font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><span style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve been an early part of two rapidly growing teams and businesses – first at TED, now at Behance – and witnessed first hand how communication allowed us to scale. Here are a few of the lessons I’ve learned.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;">Leverage technology, but don’t force it.</span></b><span style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6uLNv_W76FL-0nfdzQ2U2rsb47zOwITKd1XoOFyNaKtzSufaNhwZGetcjoW10WGTVhdIaJNVQoJODABEalaLw4RiPcwFq9Z-X2ryi9oIX7GWplyzHaR47YwCejas5KSZWoXRC4bhEFk/s1600/TalkGrow572x429-425x319.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6uLNv_W76FL-0nfdzQ2U2rsb47zOwITKd1XoOFyNaKtzSufaNhwZGetcjoW10WGTVhdIaJNVQoJODABEalaLw4RiPcwFq9Z-X2ryi9oIX7GWplyzHaR47YwCejas5KSZWoXRC4bhEFk/s320/TalkGrow572x429-425x319.png" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our engineering team at Behance convinced the rest of us to use a group chat program (such as Campfire or Hipchat), and we can no longer imagine life with out it. The ability to have asynchronous, recorded interactions among an entire team – and to split off into deeper dives through private chat – is the single best way we’ve found to keep everyone aware of what is happening. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mix and match the technology that best works for you, whether it is an instant messenger client, texting, Skype, or even the generous use of post-it notes. But be wary of dictating the tech your teams use: broad adoption is more important than any specific feature set. Better to build off what your team naturally gravitates toward instead of forcing the implementation of the “perfect” solution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;">Favor in-person conversations, not email.</span><span style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We can all become too reliant on communication by text. My colleagues Zach and Jackie coined the word “FaceMail” for the age-old act of walking over to your colleague’s desk and starting a conversation. A few minutes of face-to-face conversation eliminates days of email threads. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But there is in important pre-requisite to this form of communication: be interruptible. If you are too busy to listen to your team, don’t expect them to make the time to listen to each other. Yes, you might occasionally lose the deep focus you had when you are interrupted. But an in-person conversation alleviates one of the greatest drains on company resources – a lack of clarity – so it generally is a worthy tradeoff. And there are a lot of strategies for ensuring you still have that much-needed time to focus, such as blocking off a few hours a day to camp out in the quieter parts of your office.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Hold all-hands meetings.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Being able to have an entire team’s simultaneous attention is the norm in a small team, but becomes increasingly difficult as you grow. You have to actively build it into your calendar. At Behance, we started a weekly all-hands with each team presenting (and each team rotating who presents to the group). These can and should be standing meetings (where everyone literally stands) that only last around 15 minutes allowing deeper discussions to take place offline.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;">When it stops working, stop doing it.</span><span style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The single worst reason to continue doing something is because you did it before. When a system or process of communication starts to show signs of strain, ask what it was originally designed to solve and whether that problem still exists. If the problem no longer exists, scrap the process. If it does, refactor to make it work again. For example, our all-hands meeting was originally a monthly sit-down, with every team member speaking. When that showed signs of strain, we added the new weekly format.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The single worst reason to continue doing something is because you did it before.<i><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: white;">*** </span><span style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> </div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most people assume that communication inherent in small teams will continue naturally as you grow. Hey, we’re talking all day – isn’t that enough? But it’s a skill set that has to be cultivated and optimized throughout your team. Fail to prioritize it and your growing team will increasingly stand in the way of their own success. But build it into your culture and your small team can turn into the foundation of a great company</span></span><o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">courtesy: www.99u.com</span></span></div> </div>

Never Stop Talking: How Small Teams Stay Great When They Grow

W e like to attribute magic-like qualities to most startups. Collectively, we marvel at their ability to focus on a single, potentiall...

Read more »

The Bias Against Creatives as Leaders

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="MsoNormal"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPoEwOqAe-4wQlrzvVi8BKUHYlyF0OMTZ_OBwjzJlfeywnpet2Ghk1rqRZTCTEad4zgnu2Hx9g7Dh-mRuFyTqrvM8hHECd00IAAEnVxL6xvyNdojrPjOLZQJYazm7uS_MDCr1YxBxQTw/s1600/42e01c27eb68b7a9555ded4c680f8c5b-425x319.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPoEwOqAe-4wQlrzvVi8BKUHYlyF0OMTZ_OBwjzJlfeywnpet2Ghk1rqRZTCTEad4zgnu2Hx9g7Dh-mRuFyTqrvM8hHECd00IAAEnVxL6xvyNdojrPjOLZQJYazm7uS_MDCr1YxBxQTw/s640/42e01c27eb68b7a9555ded4c680f8c5b-425x319.png" width="640" /></a><br /> <br /> <b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 22px; line-height: 25px;"><span style="color: white;">Two candidates are being interviewed for a leadership position in your company. Both have strong resumes, but while one seems to be bursting with new and daring ideas, the other comes across as decidedly less creative (though clearly still a smart cookie). Who gets the job?</span></b><br /> <span style="font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>T</b></span>he answer, unfortunately, is usually the less creative candidate. This fact may or may not surprise you – you yourself may have been the creative candidate who got the shaft. But what you’re probably wondering is, why?<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After all, it’s quite clear who should be getting the job. Studies show that leaders who are more creative are in fact better able to effect positive change in their organizations, and are better at inspiring others to follow their lead.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And yet, according to recent research there is good reason to believe that the people with the most creativity aren’t given the opportunity to lead, because of a process that occurs (on a completely unconscious level) in the mind of everyone who has ever evaluated an applicant for a leadership position.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The problem, put simply, is this: our idea of what a prototypical “creative person” is like is completely at odds with our idea of a prototypical “effective leader.” <o:p></o:p></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Creativity is associated with nonconformity, unorthodoxy, and unconventionality. It conjures visions of the artist, the musician, the misunderstood poet. In other words, not the sort of people you usually put in charge of large organizations. Effective leaders, it would seem, should provide order, rather than tossing it out the window. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Our idea of a prototypical creative person is completely at odds with our idea of a prototypical effective leader.</span></b><span style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unconsciously, we assume that someone who is creative can’t be a good leader, and as a result, any evidence of creativity can diminish a candidate’s perceived leadership potential.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In one study conducted by organizational psychologists Jennifer Mueller, Jack Goncalo, and Dishan Kamdar, employees rated the responses of nearly 300 of their (unidentified) coworkers to a problem-solving task for both creativity (the extent to which their ideas were novel and useful) and as evidence of leadership potential. They found that creativity and leadership potential were strongly negatively correlated – the more creative the response, the less effective a leader the responder appeared.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The good news is, the bias can be wiped out – in fact, reversed – if evaluators have a charismatic leader (i.e., someone known for their uniqueness and individualism, like a Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, or Carly Fiorina) rather than an effective but non-charismatic leader in mind.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: white;">The good news is, the bias can be wiped out – in fact, reversed.</span><span style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So what can you do in an interview to fight the creativity bias? You have some options:<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;">1.Be armed with evidence of your leadership abilities.</span></b><span style="color: #282828;"> Bias is most powerful when there is nothing else concrete to go on – that’s when our brains (unconsciously) fill in the blanks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;">2.Don’t just focus on your past experience.</span></b><span style="color: #282828;"> Talk about what you see as your leadership potential – the kind of leader you see yourself becoming. Studies show that interviewers are drawn to candidates described as having potential (often more than actual achievement.) They’ll spend more time thinking about you, and that extra thinking results in more accuracy and less bias. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;">3.Try to counteract the bias</span></b><span style="color: #282828;"> subtly by talking about the charismatic, creative leaders who have been role models for you in the past. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br /> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;">4.Tackle the bias head on.</span></b><span style="color: #282828;"> Acknowledge that creative types aren’t often chosen for leadership positions, while arguing (nicely) that your ability to offer fresh and innovative solutions to problems is essential to effective leadership, rather than at odds with it. </span><b style="color: #282828; font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span><br /> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #282828;"><br /></span></span></span> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #282828;"><br /></span></span></span> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #282828;"><br /></span></span></span> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #282828; font-size: xx-small;">courtesy: www.99u.com</span></span></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> </div>

The Bias Against Creatives as Leaders

Two candidates are being interviewed for a leadership position in your company. Both have strong resumes, but while one seems to be burs...

Read more »

Not Too Hard, Not Too Easy: Finding Flow In Your Work

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KLOf_gMFXh23B_h7QM6o7xzvO4PZdQREwHOF-0_OBwGy9KrS4Rkv20JNtKHuWrFAhUZEK_AfVjQif7wD8YQXtT3qjtdMbIDO6s7SxV3shHpmDtcG2tQkWPucu7Ru07TDkcKTTKLPlZk/s1600/Flow572x429-425x319.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KLOf_gMFXh23B_h7QM6o7xzvO4PZdQREwHOF-0_OBwGy9KrS4Rkv20JNtKHuWrFAhUZEK_AfVjQif7wD8YQXtT3qjtdMbIDO6s7SxV3shHpmDtcG2tQkWPucu7Ru07TDkcKTTKLPlZk/s640/Flow572x429-425x319.png" width="640" /></a></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: white;">Y</span></b><b><span style="color: white;">ou sit down to work and you lose yourself in the task at hand. You feel alive and engaged. The concerns of everyday life fall away as you immerse yourself in the work. You experience a sense of progress and with a quick look at the clock you’re flabbergasted to see hours have passed by seemingly unnoticed.</span><span style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Y</span></b><span style="color: #282828;">ou were “in the zone” or, as psychologists say: you were in flow.  Being in flow is connected to having greater job satisfaction and job performance, a win-win scenario for you and your work. Flow is the sweet spot of work between boredom and anxiety (see chart below). The goldilocks zone of not too hard, but not too easy that keep us learning but without frustration.</span><span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When you find the perfect balance between these two extremes, flow (and all of the happiness and fulfillment along with it) comes naturally. But finding flow doesn’t happen naturally, it takes a series of mindful adjustments to how we work.<span style="font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span></i><img alt="flowbox" class="size-full wp-image-18385 alignnone" height="633" src="http://cdn.99u.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/flowbox.png" width="640" /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: white;"><b>Flow Issue #1: Too Little Challenge</b></span><span style="color: #282828; font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Boredom is the result of having skills that far outweigh the present challenges. You can begin altering boring tasks by finding ways to make them more challenging. By raising the challenge you can bring higher levels of skill to the activity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: white;"><b>Optimize and gamify the mundane tasks</b></span><span style="color: #282828; font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If the task is too boring or unchallenging, you can lament the easy task, or you can get it out of the way as soon as possible so you can focus on the good stuff.<i style="font-size: 16.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Make your hated task a competition, you versus the clock. The goal becomes clearer, you know if you’re successfully making progress, and you have something to shoot for. For example, long distance runners fight apathy by always trying to beat their last time. In the office, some pride themselves for getting to “inbox zero” as fast as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You don’t have to time yourself at your desk, but there are probably things you can do to help you master your task, or at least help you get it out of the way. Learn the keyboard shortcuts. Find tools that streamline the task. Find inefficiencies in your workflow and stomp them out. Now, it becomes something you’re using to challenge yourself with the task itself as well as your problem solving skills — and you’re finding flow where before there was only tedium. Remember productivity is about living purposefully and getting to the things you enjoy most. <i style="font-size: 16.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;">Become an expert in the task</span></b><i style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Instead of staying at the surface level of understanding, challenge yourself to become an expert in some component of the task. Hate filling out redundant paperwork? Maybe you can propose a more streamlined system to save yourself time and your company money. Or better yet, you can learn to build it yourself. You can learn the ins and outs of the software you use to complete unchallenging tasks and improve the way you complete your work more quickly or with less effort. Not only are you more likely to experience flow, but you may just develop some skills that make you truly indispensable for your organization. Also, many entrepreneurs start businesses after becoming frustrated with a process that should be smooth and fast, but isn’t. Suddenly, your lack of a challenge can become an education in the nuances of your craft.<i style="font-size: 16.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;">You may just develop some skills that make you truly indispensable for your organization.</span></b><span style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: white;">Flow Issue #2: Too Much Challenge</span><i style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the other hand, anxiety is the result of too much challenge and not enough skill. A certain amount of tension between skill and challenge is necessary to find flow and to continue pushing your skills to improve. When the gap between challenge and skill is too great you can’t experience flow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: white;">Get help from a mentor</span></b><i style="color: #282828;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a work environment, the two quickest ways to reduce the challenge are getting a deadline extension or accepting help from someone with greater skills in the specific domain you’re dealing with. A quick email to a mentor, buying a coffee for a senior member of the team, or flat out asking someone for advice about how to proceed; your options for reducing the challenge of a task are numerous if you’re willing to simply ask.<i style="font-size: 16.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The benefits are two fold: you get some outside perspective to help you and you build your network, one of the most important things you can do for your career.<i style="font-size: 16.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Acknowledge where you lack skills and improve<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tip the skill/challenge ratio away from anxiety by elevating your skills in the domain that’s causing you problems. Identifying where you are falling short requires a bit of self-reflection and honesty, and may even require the help of an honest friend. Take the task holding you back and commit to focusing on it for thirty days. Creating a habit of deliberate practice will help you break through the skill barrier that’s causing anxiety. You aren’t going to be an expert after a month of focused skill attainment but you’ll certainly be headed in the right direction. It’s easy getting into a habit of helplessness, one where we feel like we’ll just never be good enough. But in a world of free online courses, meetups, and other free resources, you have a ton of control over finding and learning the skills you need. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="color: #282828; font-size: 16.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Experiencing flow at work is probably one of the best signs that you enjoy your job. Elevating your awareness of the skill/challenge ratio of your daily responsibilities allows you to begin taking control over how much flow you experience on a daily basis. Your job satisfaction is not the responsibility of others and it’s not something that happens if you’re “lucky enough” to have the right kind of job — it’s up to you.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #282828; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Courtesy: www.99u.com</span></span></div> </div>

Not Too Hard, Not Too Easy: Finding Flow In Your Work

Y ou sit down to work and you lose yourself in the task at hand. You feel alive and engaged. The concerns of everyday life fall away...

Read more »

7 Ways Exercising Can Make You a Better Entrepreneur

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="MsoNormal"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8whhV9tjteXmzoPBoh0EOmoQEUMG1YOfrY1CfIpasb3IMtbvW-VsDmd8oGLepcPIte4m36LvwcLvYx3DhyphenhyphenkRpzbuwjwJ7Cs75hkkc-Q2vDnfVBTz85caTxInSgsOtNDzX2NrciDYDrI/s1600/7-ways-exercise-can-make-you-better.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8whhV9tjteXmzoPBoh0EOmoQEUMG1YOfrY1CfIpasb3IMtbvW-VsDmd8oGLepcPIte4m36LvwcLvYx3DhyphenhyphenkRpzbuwjwJ7Cs75hkkc-Q2vDnfVBTz85caTxInSgsOtNDzX2NrciDYDrI/s640/7-ways-exercise-can-make-you-better.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></span> <span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">We all know fitness is important to our health, but did you know it can also be good for your business? Elizabeth Robinson, a Philadelphia-based personal trainer and creator of VitFit, a mobile app for customizable downloadable workouts and Dega Schembri, co-owner of City Fitness Gym in Washington D.C., say regular physical activity can make you a better entrepreneur.</span></b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;"><b>Here are seven ways physical activity can improve the health of your business:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">1. Build your network.</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 16px;">Whether working out at the gym or participating in a team sport, fitness can help you network with prospective clients or strengthen existing business relationships. Robinson met several of her business investors and clients through fitness activities. "A lot of barriers break down when you're working out with somebody," says Robinson. Fitness challenges open a window into individuals' personalities and allow you to communicate with others in a very different way and consequently learn more about each other than would normally be possible over a cup of coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2. Get your creative juices flowing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 16px;">Exercise not only tones muscles, but improves brain power. A 2012 study by the Montreal Heart Institute showed aerobic exercise increased cognitive function. This is because exercise increases blood flow to your brain, meaning a jog might be just what you need before a brainstorming session</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16px;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">3. Reduce stress.</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 16px;">Physical activity reduces stress hormones and increases the production of endorphins that give you a natural high. Getting in a workout, whether before work or during the workday can allow you to approach your work with a calmer mindset. "The more stressed you are, the more unable you are to make really good, rational business decisions," says Schembri.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">4. Boost your confidence.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 16px;">Whether building a business or going through a rough patch, even the smallest fitness win can help you gain the confidence you need to achieve larger goals in your business life. "Having a great workout translates into every area of your life, making you feel more accomplished at the end of the day about everything that you do," says Robinson.<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">5. Overcome business challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 16px;">Training for a fitness challenge such as a marathon can help entrepreneurs re-learn the importance of goal-setting and determination. Schembri participated in her first triathlon when she was 58-years-old and says the vigorous training regime she underwent to achieve her fitness goals helped her to be a more tenacious entrepreneur. Removing the word "can't" from her vocabulary made her view obstacles as simply another challenge to be overcome, she says.<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">6. Improve your energy.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 16px;">Ditch your morning cup of coffee and head to the gym instead. A 2008 study published in the Journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics concluded that inactive individuals who normally complained of fatigue experienced increases in energy of up to 20 percent and decreased fatigue as much as 65 percent by participating in regular, low-intensity physical activity. "Exercising regularly helps you sleep better, and if you sleep better you’ll have more energy during the day," says Schembri.<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">7. Learn to let go of control.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></div> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 16px;">"A lot of business owners think that they have to do it all, [but] there's a lot of stress that goes along with that level of control, power and decision-making," says Schembri, who argues power-hungry entrepreneurs can benefit from a personal trainer. "When you hire a trainer you're acquiescing to someone else, accepting that you're going to let them direct you," says Schembri. Participating in team sports can also teach control-freak entrepreneurs about the importance of entrusting others with important tasks, proving they don't have to do it all on their own to have a successful business.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Courtesy: www.entrepreneur.com</span></span></div> </div>

7 Ways Exercising Can Make You a Better Entrepreneur

We all know fitness is important to our health, but did you know it can also be good for your business? Elizabeth Robinson, a Philadel...

Read more »

Amateurs Get Angry With Clients. Professionals Educate Them.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>A</b>s most experienced freelancers know, sometimes we have to fire our clients, for their benefit and ours. But it doesn’t have to be this way.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></span></i></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDn0IeWMw4wzclhL4qvPb9c_ucqmWlEOpAy8f5f6HWcMEINwgyGxs4_CE_-XA1LYLIIhuiJ7nQonSKLMGW2wHVOyHkqUDY6DiTQdZLak00VAhb0_ASj8h3f6kWdar6LOdgCoSIhu6GS8/s1600/TeachClients572x429-425x319.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDn0IeWMw4wzclhL4qvPb9c_ucqmWlEOpAy8f5f6HWcMEINwgyGxs4_CE_-XA1LYLIIhuiJ7nQonSKLMGW2wHVOyHkqUDY6DiTQdZLak00VAhb0_ASj8h3f6kWdar6LOdgCoSIhu6GS8/s640/TeachClients572x429-425x319.png" width="640" /></a></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>I</i></b></span><i style="color: #444444;">used to think dealing with frustrating clients was just part of being a creative. But then I realized while, yes, there are frustrating parts of any relationship, frustration should be the exception rather than the rule.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;">There are certainly times when we want to turn into the freelance version of Donald Trump, screaming “You’re Fired!” at everyone we disagree with. But the truth is, we deserve the clients we get. Bad clients aren’t the result of some cosmic force working against us, they’re more likely the result of our own actions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;">Frustrating clients are the result of some misstep we’ve made along the way. To do our best work and work with the best people, we need to be diligent in our relationship with our clients. Here’s how:<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b>Have the guts to say “no.”<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;">If it doesn’t seem like a good project for you, walk away before money is involved. Is that the type of project you want to be known for? Like attracts like, so if you’re filling your portfolio with work you aren’t interested in, all you’re doing is setting yourself up for more of the same (Jason Santa Maria gave a great Creative Mornings talk about the power and value of saying no to work). It can be scary, but think past just this one client. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white; font-size: x-large;"><b>Walk away before money is involved.</b></span><span style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b>Clearly communicate your values to the world.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;">The easiest way to do this is to blog regularly on the same website that your portfolio is on. Write honestly about the work you do. This immediately shows potential clients if their goals and values match up with yours and saves time discovering later that you and your client are out of sync.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b>Educate your clients.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;">Chances are, we’ve been part of more projects involving our craft than the person that hired us. We have a great opportunity to teach our clients what we’ve learned from all that experience. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;">If a client disagrees with something you know to be right, don’t get bent out of shape. Instead, go into research mode. Show them using examples why what they want doesn’t work for your project. If they can turn around and clearly illustrate why their suggestion will work, you can concede (and learn something in the process). If they can’t you’ve squashed an issue while educating your client for (hopefully) many projects to come. Consider it an “investment” in a resource that you need for your career to be successful.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b>Interrogate potential clients.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;">What are their tastes in design? Does that match the work you’re interested in doing? There’s no point taking on a client that loves flashy bells and whistles if you like doing subtle minimal designs. Screening clients lets you pick the ones that are better to work with and provide you with the type of work you’re actually keen on doing more of.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b>Be clear on the project’s goals.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;">That way if there are disagreements, it’s not a matter of what they want versus what you want, which is highly subjective, it’s more a matter of what accomplishes the goals of the project in the best way. Put these goals in writing and refer back to the document when necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;">It’s hard to say no to clients (and their money), especially when you first start out. But like any other creative endeavor, focus on quality early and your career will get exponentially easier. After all, good clients lead to us good work, which leads to us being more happy and fulfilled (and less complaining to our peers about how our clients keep making bad decisions). Creating a body of work you’re happy with can take a lifetime.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;">We are responsible for the work we put into the world, so why not make that work great</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;">?</span></i></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></i></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Courtesy: www.99u.com</i></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></div> </div>

Amateurs Get Angry With Clients. Professionals Educate Them.

A s most experienced freelancers know, sometimes we have to fire our clients, for their benefit and ours. But it doesn’t have to be this w...

Read more »

Online Business Promotion | 6 Smart Ways to Promote Your Business Online

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBoQobgA_82PfhevUKg748mrlh1O24RT5wEbuykOGSFXe4NOgnjbmBAy00tuJWFwN4NfeMoXXaIAEjiq0_qO13LkyPDAAKGKMJFGYlOIg39KXkr-pGH-l-yhirUP3JraCRu8HbSu0Lrw/s1600/online-business-promotion-6-smart-ways-to-promote-your-business-online-4-850x560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBoQobgA_82PfhevUKg748mrlh1O24RT5wEbuykOGSFXe4NOgnjbmBAy00tuJWFwN4NfeMoXXaIAEjiq0_qO13LkyPDAAKGKMJFGYlOIg39KXkr-pGH-l-yhirUP3JraCRu8HbSu0Lrw/s640/online-business-promotion-6-smart-ways-to-promote-your-business-online-4-850x560.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Online Business Promotion | You may not have wads of cash to spend on marketing in the early stages of your startup, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t effective ways to get your brand out there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before the Internet, small businesses only had a few ways to market their products cheaply, through methods like printing out fliers or sponsoring little local events. Now there are all kinds of opportunities out there on the Web—you just need to know where to look.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are six ways to promote your business online that won’t cost you a dime.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <img alt="Online Business Promotion | 6 Smart Ways to Promote Your Business Online" src="http://www.medianovak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/online-business-promotion-6-smart-ways-to-promote-your-business-online-2-850x637.jpg" /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #999999; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Use the three big local listing services | Online Business Promotion<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Registering your business with Google Places allows it to be found more easily on Google searches and it shows up on Google Maps. All you have to do is fill out the form and register, then get your business verified through their confirmation process, which can be done either with a phone call or snail mail. Yahoo! also has a big database of businesses called Yahoo! Local. It’s free, and is certainly worth the few minutes it takes to set up. Microsoft’s Bing has a similar service that’s easy to sign up for.<span style="color: #999999;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #999999; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Get on Facebook if you’re not already there | Online Business Promotion<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even if your business does have a Facebook account, make sure it is optimized to get the most from it. Use Facebook ads, updates and Fan pages to keep fans posted on your business happenings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a business, just be careful to get your business a Facebook Page and not a Profile; profiles are for individual people only and they are limited in what you can do as a business. Moreover, if Facebook discovers you using a profile as a business, you stand to lose the whole profile and all the friends your business has accrued.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <img alt="Online Business Promotion | 6 Smart Ways to Promote Your Business Online" src="http://www.medianovak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/online-business-promotion-6-smart-ways-to-promote-your-business-online-3-850x486.jpg" /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Become a part of Pinterest | Online Business Promotion<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pinterest has created an platform for visual social media input and your company can make the most of this by feeding in well taken photos of your business products and other relevant images. Make them interesting, compelling and shareable though; some creative effort will need to be put into the photos to make Pinterest users want to share the photos around. As with any advertising, focus on what makes your products interesting and desirable and try to capture that in photographs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #999999; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Participate in forums and blogs | Online Business Promotion</span></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is one way to help promote your product or services, showing yourself as an expert and as someone who genuinely wants to help resolve people’s problems. Often you can do this for free. However, this option has one huge caveat––be sure to post in forums that are website promotion friendly if you intend on using your URL or emblazoning the post with your business details. Not all blog sites or forums allow promotion blog or forum posts and breaching this could see your business blocked and even badmouthed. In some cases you may have to pay a fee to advertise on their sites but usually you do not. In many cases, simply stating that you’re the founder/owner/director/community manager, etc. of a certain site can be sufficient to alert people to the good your company is doing online. Let them do the rest of the adding up and finding of you––consumers are intelligent.<span style="color: #999999;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Use YouTube to promote your business | Online Business Promotion</span></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps one of the most popular and creative way to show more information about your business is to use videos. Some examples of how to do this include:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Upload a video of your company, and put on as many links as you can from all sorts of topics so as many people as possible see it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Videotape launches and other public events promoted by your business so that clients who couldn’t make these events are still able to catch up on what happened.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Video how-to information related to your business, so that when someone is looking how to solve a problem your business has knowledge of, they find your video answer and learn more about you. Self-help videos on common, basic problems can be a great way to show your business’s sharing side and to garner interest from potential new customers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #999999; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Use email marketing | Online Business Promotion<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can create lists of customers, or potential customers that you can keep in touch with on a regular basis. However, be aware that many recipients regard this as spamming and may complain. Always seek to get the agreement of customers to be emailed first, and always take into account spamming laws, which detail that you’re not allowed to send people information they do not want. It makes good business sense to only send information to people who want to hear about your products or services and not to those who do not. These e-mailings can all be sent out in bulk, as if you were sending them through postal mail.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">courtesy: </span></span>http://www.medianovak.com</span></div> </div>

Online Business Promotion | 6 Smart Ways to Promote Your Business Online

Online Business Promotion | You may not have wads of cash to spend on marketing in the early stages of your startup, but that do...

Read more »

How the Creative Mind Works

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPGHokKCSm4OASClOuhFAtdLDVrzgYfZGgRO1SB1jI4eQh4yOZFo5Fd9eMGTGRskJkekPUqdgTqDFFgsylAQvDSCXeI1F28-640ggIs9oUZhLv-uJ28dw0Z6YhFqeYjK2XvtBKJYpjGjo/s1600/subatomic-particles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPGHokKCSm4OASClOuhFAtdLDVrzgYfZGgRO1SB1jI4eQh4yOZFo5Fd9eMGTGRskJkekPUqdgTqDFFgsylAQvDSCXeI1F28-640ggIs9oUZhLv-uJ28dw0Z6YhFqeYjK2XvtBKJYpjGjo/s640/subatomic-particles.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>T</b></span>he Rockefeller University physicist, Heinz Pagels,  in his book <b><span style="color: #444444;">“The Cosmic Code,”</span></b> wrote that quantum physics is a kind of code that interconnects everything in the universe. There are, for example, remarkable similarities between the mysteries of how our creative mind works and what quantum physicists have observed in their studies of the universe. Thoughts in our subconscious minds behave remarkably like subatomic particles in quantum physics which simultaneously exist and don’t exist until observed and eventually collapse into what physicists call “a collapse of the wave function.” This may be the same mental process that creates the “Aha” experience or divine inspiration that creative thinkers report.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the discoveries of quantum mechanics is that something can simultaneously exist and not exist; if a particle is capable of moving along several different paths, or existing in several different states, the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics allows it to travel along all paths and exist in all possible states simultaneously. However, if the particle happens to be measured by some means, its path or state is no longer uncertain. The simple act of measurement instantly forces it into just one path or state. It is as if the physical world wants to explore many alternative pathways before collapsing into a settled state by the interaction of an observer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Physicists call this a ”<b><span style="color: #444444;">collapse of the wave function</span></b>.” An example in physics is Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle that demonstrated that light can be seen as a wave or as a particle depending upon the interaction of the observer. Renowned physicist, David Bohm, suggested parallels between this activity of quantum physics with subatomic particles and how the creative mind processes thought.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Mind is Like the Universe<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The mind is like the universe. You have billions of bits of thoughts, observations, and information floating around in your conscious and subconscious mind, totally unobserved, with each bit presenting a multitude of possibilities which evolve and change over time. These thoughts are in multiple states such as words, phrases, metaphors, images, feelings, dreams, symbols, abstractions, voices, and so on. Particles of thought pop up out of nothingness and become entangled with other thoughts influencing each other instantaneously.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just as subatomic particles do not exist unless observed, your subconscious thoughts do not exist until observed. In other words, there is no thought independent of you, the observer.  When you are brainstorming for ideas and have a thought, the value of that thought depends upon how you interact with it. If you are an analytical thinker and automatically classify thoughts as irrelevant or unrelated, you are crippling your potential for creative ideas and solutions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We are educated to be critical, judgmental, logical thinkers and to instantly evaluate and judge thoughts based on our past experiences. If there is any ambiguity, the judgment is invariably negative and the thought dissipates back into nothingness. The ordinary mind has no tolerance for ambiguity because it is conditioned to simplify the complexities of life. We are taught to be exclusionary thinkers, which means we exclude anything that is not immediately related to our subject. If there is any ambiguity, the average person will invariably censor it and the thought dissipates back into nothingness. This exclusionary way of thinking is how we lost our natural capacity to spontaneously generate ideas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is why the average person produces only a handful of ideas when brainstorming, whereas, a creative genius will produce great quantities of ideas. Thomas Edison, for example, created 3000 different ideas for a lighting system before he stepped back to evaluate them for practicality and profitability. All geniuses produce great quantities of ideas because they uncritically search for all possible alternatives. If you ask the average person to find a needle in a haystack, he or she will stop when they find a needle. Creative thinkers, on the other hand, will go through the entire haystack looking for all the possible needles.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You give value to your thoughts when you interact with them and accept them uncritically. Once observed and accepted, thoughts become loose and move freely around in your subconscious mind. The more work you put into thinking about a problem, the more thoughts and bits of information you set in random motion. Your subconscious mind never rests. When you quit thinking about the subject, your thoughts keep colliding, combining, recombining and making associations. Eventually, bits of thoughts and information will become entangled and create a novel idea which will bubble up into your consciousness when you least expect it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Charles Darwin’s richness of imagination was equaled only by his willingness to consider what others did not consider worthwhile. His colleagues would compare new ideas and theories with their existing patterns of experience. If the ideas didn’t fit, they would reject them out of hand. Conversely, Darwin would consider all ideas and theories to see where they led.  Darwin’s colleagues called him a fool and his work the experiments of a fool. His willingness not to judge what others called fool’s experiments filled his subconscious mind with billions of colliding thoughts that eventually led to his epiphany about biological evolution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Key to creative thinking is knowing how to harvest your thoughts and ideas.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The key to productive creative thinking is to harvest the quantum wave-like proliferations of thoughts which abound in our subconscious mind. We make these real by observing and accepting them without judgment of any kind. After a conscious preparation to produce new ideas, list every thought, particles of thoughts, hunch, and, in short, everything that comes to mind without categorizing, evaluating or judging.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My favorite technique to generate ideas is to give myself an<span style="color: #444444;"> idea quota</span>. A quota will focus your energy in a way that guarantees fluency of thought. Suppose I ask you to list alternative uses for the common brick as fast as you can. No doubt, you would come up with some uses, but my hunch is not very many.  The average adult comes up with three to six.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, if I asked you to come up with sixty uses for the common brick as fast as you can, this forces you to come up with 60 ideas. By forcing yourself to meet a quota, you put your internal critic on hold and write everything down, including the obvious and weak. To meet your quota, you find yourself listing all the usual uses (build a wall, fireplace, outdoor barbeque and so on) as well as listing everything that comes to mind (anchor, projectile in riots, ballast, a tool for leveling dirt, material for sculptures, doorstop, device to hold down newspapers, a portable step to carry with you so you can stand on it in crowds, stone crab cracker and so on) as you stretch your imagination to meet your quota.  A quota allows you to generate more imaginative alternatives than you otherwise would.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Can you create a new pillow?<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Two designers wanted to create a new unique pillow and decided to have a free-wheeling brainstorming session with a quota of 120 ideas. They listed every idea that popped into their minds. Pillows made of grass, pillows with different scents, pillows which played lullabies, pillows that recorded night sounds such as snoring and talking, pillows that move gently like rolling waves, pillows that woke you by being timed to wake you with a dim glow that grows brighter and brighter as more time goes by—like waking up to the rising sun, pillows with text devices so you say “good night” to your loved one miles away, and so on.  After they reached 120 ideas, they walked away from the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Three days later they met and agreed to produce a novel pillow. They decided to have electroluminescent wire woven into the textile pattern of two pillows. When you touch or hug one the other starts glowing correspondingly — even if it is located somewhere else in the world. The two pillows are connected wirelessly via a communication platform on the Internet and thus you can experience a sense of closeness over long distances.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The designers produced a number of uncensored ideas to meet their quota, recorded them and then left the thoughts to incubate in their subconscious minds. The thoughts collided, combined, and recombined in a million different ways until the most likely combination of pillows glowing by touch via the internet surfaced as the idea they decided to pursue.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In each and every experience there is a multitude of other experiences lying in wait. Once you chose one,  you marginalize the others. To say it very simply, the moment we call something “a” we have marginalized all of its other possible states (b, c, d, e, etc) into nothingness because we don’t see them. By not marginalizing any of their ideas from brainstorming, the pillow designers multiplied their possibilities. Instead of just “a,” to work with, they had a, b, c, d, e, f, and so on and ended up combining three or four of their possibilities into a new, novel and creative idea.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white;"> </div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you spend your time and energy looking for reasons why things can’t work or can’t be done, you end up with nothing. You can’t create something out of nothing. You need to persistently work on your challenge and uncritically feed quantities of thoughts, ideas, opinions and observations into your subconscious mind so it has something it can actively create into the new and novel ideas you need for your personal and business lives.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Courtesy: www.</span></span>creativethinking.net</span></div> </div>

How the Creative Mind Works

T he Rockefeller University physicist, Heinz Pagels,  in his book “The Cosmic Code,” wrote that quantum physics is a kind of code t...

Read more »