donald mcmichael

value-enhancing outcomes

Apple_logo_Think_Different_vectorizedIf you sell, and we all do, you’re in the business of changing behavior.

Pop Quiz: How do you influence yours?

Everything that we have covered up until this point will be for naught if you don’t have (cultivate) the right mindset. One that constantly challenges how we approach tasks by asking:

“Is there a better way?”

What we are attempting to do isn’t easy. I know this, for just like you, I fight this battle everyday. Thankfully, we have evidence that it has the ability to produce outstanding returns.

So if this is the case why do so few do it?

Why it’s so hard

Researchers at Harvard Medical School were also intrigued by this question and founds that sixty to eighty percent of individuals find that the task of thinking differently uncomfortable and some even found it exhausting. The driving force had nothing to do with genetics, which shouldn’t be surprising since creative thinking is 66% driving by one’s environmental experiences. It turns out that society in general is the largest inhibitor to our ability to break though patterns. Think about it, in most aspects of society we’re punished for thinking differently instead of praised. Point blank, we’ve been trained to shy away from anything that might result in negative attention from the masses.

Clearing the old

Fortunately, there are several good resources you can turn to on this front. As a kick start, here are 5 perspectives to help launch your endeavor into think differently:

  • Challenge your ideas about how things should work; frequently force associations or connections across different ideas when they don’t naturally emerge
  • Identify the blocks that keep you from breaking out.
  • Have a vision session; go old school and pull out a pen and piece of paper.
  • Help someone else get out of their comfort zone; setting a path for yourself.
  • Commit… fully.

The video below was developed by Steven Johnson and takes a look at where good ideas come from.

What resources, tips, or perspectives can you share that will help the collective on this front?

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