If you haven't yet read the book, 'Fast Strategy: How Strategic Agility will help You Stay Ahead of the Game', by Yves Doz & Mikko Kososen, you can go to this weblink to download a 20-page ebook [actually a Powerpoint presentation by one of the authors] which will give you a quick introduction as well as broad brush.
Monday, November 30, 2009
STRATEGIC AGILITY AS A SOURCE FOR CONTINUOUS RENEWAL
If you haven't yet read the book, 'Fast Strategy: How Strategic Agility will help You Stay Ahead of the Game', by Yves Doz & Mikko Kososen, you can go to this weblink to download a 20-page ebook [actually a Powerpoint presentation by one of the authors] which will give you a quick introduction as well as broad brush.
LIFESCAPING & THE STRATEGY PROCESS
Here's the weblink to an interesting article on 'Facilitating Strategic Execution' by strategist Johan Roos, Director of the Imagination Lab Foundation, based in Switzerland.
As concurred with Dilip Mukerjea, I find that the essence of the article - "turning strategizing into embodied experiences... using your hands to craft sense... " - resonates with or rather accentuates the philosophy of 'Lifescaping', as conceived for his 'Lifescaping' seminars with the Singapore Institute of Management.
[Readers can check out the next 'Lifescaping' seminar schedule at SIM.]
As concurred with Dilip Mukerjea, I find that the essence of the article - "turning strategizing into embodied experiences... using your hands to craft sense... " - resonates with or rather accentuates the philosophy of 'Lifescaping', as conceived for his 'Lifescaping' seminars with the Singapore Institute of Management.
[Readers can check out the next 'Lifescaping' seminar schedule at SIM.]
SYNVERGENT THINKING: Mind-Mapping, PhotoReading & Syntopicon Method
The foregoing hand-drawn mind-map by Dilip Mukerjea captures his major learning points from the 4-day 'PhotoReading' workshop, which he had attended during the mid-nineties. I was then the workshop organiser, under 'Optimum Performance Technologies'.
The hand-drawn mind-map as appended below, also by Dilip, captures his major thoughts from the syntopical reading of five books, as part of the application of 'PhotoReading' strategies.
For more information about the syntopicon method, as originally conceived by Mortimer Adler's in his classic, 'How to Read a Book', please refer to my earlier post entitled 'How to Become an Expert'.
[The term 'Synvergent Thinking' was originally coined by creativity expert Michael Gelb, as explained in his book, 'Thinking for a Change: Discovering the Power to Create, Communicate & Lead'. I have used it deliberately to describe the synergistic combination of disparate processes.
For more information about the 'PhotoReading' workshop in Singapore, please contact Ms Jean Giam of Xssion Training & Consultancy, at 65361612 (O)/96850020 (HP), or check out her corporate website.]
A WISE QUOTE FOR MONDAY MORNING
"Your life is yours to create. It's time to stop struggling, to stop fighting to "make a living". It's time to step to one side, to take a time out, & design the life of your dreams!"
~ Dr Stephen Hudson, success coach;
Say Keng's personal comments:
The 'Lifescaping' methodological tool as envisaged & designed by Dilip Mukerjea for his 'Lifescaping' seminar with the Singapore Institute of Management is one good tool to use in designing the life of your dreams.
Readers can check out the next seminar schedule at SIM.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
10 LESSONS ON ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE
I have stumbled upon an enlightening article, though belated, by productivity coach Esther Derby who shares her 10 lessons learned from supporting organizational change.
Her article, entitled 'A Manager’s Guide to Supporting Organizational Change' has appeared in the January 2006 issue of 'Crosstalk: The Journal of Defence Software Engineering'.
I still think that, from the strategic implementation standpoint, her insights are still relevant in today's organisational context.
The gist of her ten lessons is as follows:
1. Communicate a Compelling Reason to Change;
2. Communicate Formally and Informally;
3. Personalize the Message: What Does This Mean for Me?;
4. Acknowledge the Unknowns;
5. Surface Rumors and Fill in the Blanks;
6. Practice What You Preach;
7. Acknowledge and Build on What People Value;
8. Reframe Resistance;
9. People Do Not Resist Change, They Resist Coercion;
10. Empathize;
Interestingly, at least to me, her insights resonate with the battle cry of "90% of strategy is execution, while 90% of execution is communication' often exhorted by business nerds.
By the way, here's the weblink to her original article. More about about her & her consulting work can be found at her corporate website.
Her article, entitled 'A Manager’s Guide to Supporting Organizational Change' has appeared in the January 2006 issue of 'Crosstalk: The Journal of Defence Software Engineering'.
I still think that, from the strategic implementation standpoint, her insights are still relevant in today's organisational context.
The gist of her ten lessons is as follows:
1. Communicate a Compelling Reason to Change;
2. Communicate Formally and Informally;
3. Personalize the Message: What Does This Mean for Me?;
4. Acknowledge the Unknowns;
5. Surface Rumors and Fill in the Blanks;
6. Practice What You Preach;
7. Acknowledge and Build on What People Value;
8. Reframe Resistance;
9. People Do Not Resist Change, They Resist Coercion;
10. Empathize;
Interestingly, at least to me, her insights resonate with the battle cry of "90% of strategy is execution, while 90% of execution is communication' often exhorted by business nerds.
By the way, here's the weblink to her original article. More about about her & her consulting work can be found at her corporate website.
DO YOU WANT TO BE A CHAMPION OF INNOVATION?
Here's the weblink to an interesting article by executive coach, Kevin Conroy.
I really enjoy reading what he wrote, & here's a quick snapshot:
"... Future prospering depends on three outcomes:
• Improving the customer’s quality of life with new products and services that deliver unexpected benefits and meet latent needs;
• Having employees contribute personally in ongoing, viable,meaningful ways;
• Inventing and then taking over new competitive space.
It is not just about out-running competitors – it’s about imagining and insight.
Strategy is not only a positioning game, it is a quest for reconfiguring existing business or early adopting business. This creates the future..."
I really enjoy reading what he wrote, & here's a quick snapshot:
"... Future prospering depends on three outcomes:
• Improving the customer’s quality of life with new products and services that deliver unexpected benefits and meet latent needs;
• Having employees contribute personally in ongoing, viable,meaningful ways;
• Inventing and then taking over new competitive space.
It is not just about out-running competitors – it’s about imagining and insight.
Strategy is not only a positioning game, it is a quest for reconfiguring existing business or early adopting business. This creates the future..."
Saturday, November 28, 2009
THE 5 SECRETS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS, by Fred Smith
1) Have a compelling business idea, one that is differentiated & sustainable;
2) Be a zealot - have passion for your idea;
3) Have a conservative business plan;
4) Believe in people & work effectively with them;
5) Learn everything about your business; change & grow as your business grows;
2) Be a zealot - have passion for your idea;
3) Have a conservative business plan;
4) Believe in people & work effectively with them;
5) Learn everything about your business; change & grow as your business grows;
Friday, November 27, 2009
PERSONAL FUTURES WORKBOOK: A GUIDE TO PERSONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING
In an earlier post of my 'Optimum Performance Technologies' weblog, I have talked briefly about the research work of futurist Verne Wheelwright.
Verne Wheelwright is a different kind of futurist. Most futurists focus on the big picture; the future of the world, the future of society or an institution, but he is a “micro-futurist”, focusing on personal & individual futures, one person at a time.
He has written the 'Personal Futures Workbook' to guide individuals through the futuring process. Tactically, it's a guide to personal strategic planning.
The newest version of the workbook is digital (PDF) & can be completed & saved on a computer.
Here's the weblink where you can download a free copy of the workbook.
More information about the author & his consulting work on Personal Futures can be found at his corporate website or at his personal weblog.
Verne Wheelwright is a different kind of futurist. Most futurists focus on the big picture; the future of the world, the future of society or an institution, but he is a “micro-futurist”, focusing on personal & individual futures, one person at a time.
He has written the 'Personal Futures Workbook' to guide individuals through the futuring process. Tactically, it's a guide to personal strategic planning.
The newest version of the workbook is digital (PDF) & can be completed & saved on a computer.
Here's the weblink where you can download a free copy of the workbook.
More information about the author & his consulting work on Personal Futures can be found at his corporate website or at his personal weblog.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
THE POWER OF OBSERVATION & THE HOLOGRAPHIC BLUEPRINT
Yesterday, Dilip popped into my place to have a quick pow-wow. As usual, we covered a broad range of interesting subjects, besides trivia of the week.
During the course of conversation, Dilip brought up a fascinating point.
He was relating a TV show he saw recently, during which a magician had interviewed - live - a woman who had earlier seen an unknown man just walked past.
When asked at the beginning, she wasn't sure about specific details of the man, but when cajoled by the magician, & at the same time putting her at ease, she was able to talk about details of the cap, the jacket, the inside T-shirt, etc., which the guy had apparently worn.
What a remarkable feat?
Actually, each & every one of us has that ability. It's innate.
Whatever person, object &/or event that falls in our field of vision is always captured by our mind, consciously as well as unconsciously.
Don't forget that we also have both a focused vision as well as peripheral vision.
Focused vision generally captures what is directly in front of us, or our eyes, so to speak.
Peripheral vision often captures what is at the corner of our eyes, even for a fleeting moment. Most scientists believe that peripheral vision is the most powerful of the two.
In fact, its vision field is comparatively much broader than the focused vision
More importantly, sensory information from the environment flows into our peripheral vision unconsciously. In other words, without realising the entire experience.
When the two vision fields are synergisticaly "combined", so to speak, you can imagine our latent power of observation.
When you scan a horizon, say in a broad sweep, you are actually using both inherent vision skills.
In reality, when we look at the horizon of our immediate environment, we are not depending on our eyes alone. We also use our ears, our sense of smell, our sense of feeling about what's around us, about the ambience, etc.
All these sensory data are somehow processed, synthesised & integrated in our mind.
The end result is what I often like to call, drawing intellectual cues from Dr Karl Pribram, Professor Emeritus of Stanford University, a "holographic blueprint" of our sense impressions, which is created by the "interference patterns" of prevailing sights, sound, smells, feelings, etc.
It is pertinent for me to point out that the "holographic blueprint" is not really a tangible thing per se.
Neurologically, it's actually a resulting networking pattern of neurons & brain cells firing in harmony during the process of assimilation of incoming data.
The blueprint may generally be fuzzy, but it's there. Always. So, once we are in a resourceful state of mind, we can often recall the blueprint with ease.
We are know that kids are truly adept in using their power of observation, so much so that we often think that only kids have that acute sensory acumen.
Don't forget, we were kids before. It is just that, as adults, our logical sensor invariably often like to take primary control.
One way to practise this power of observation is to "gaze" at our environment, & try not to "stare" at one particular point or aspect.
This is also called "soft focus".
Innovation strategist Wayne Burkan calls it "splatter vision", which I had already talked about it at length in this weblog.
What can we use it for?
One area of immediate application is reading.
With "soft focus", we are able to look at a larger area of the book pages, thus giving us the ability to pinpoint the topic sentences or key ideas rather quickly, & also learn to identify text organisational patterns, signal words, as well as contextual clues to difficult words in the text.
Once we have gotten the global overview of what we have read initially, so to speak, it becomes much more easier for us to narrow down the requisite passages to read more slowly with focused attention, in order to meet our reading objectives.
[to be continued in the Next Post.]
During the course of conversation, Dilip brought up a fascinating point.
He was relating a TV show he saw recently, during which a magician had interviewed - live - a woman who had earlier seen an unknown man just walked past.
When asked at the beginning, she wasn't sure about specific details of the man, but when cajoled by the magician, & at the same time putting her at ease, she was able to talk about details of the cap, the jacket, the inside T-shirt, etc., which the guy had apparently worn.
What a remarkable feat?
Actually, each & every one of us has that ability. It's innate.
Whatever person, object &/or event that falls in our field of vision is always captured by our mind, consciously as well as unconsciously.
Don't forget that we also have both a focused vision as well as peripheral vision.
Focused vision generally captures what is directly in front of us, or our eyes, so to speak.
Peripheral vision often captures what is at the corner of our eyes, even for a fleeting moment. Most scientists believe that peripheral vision is the most powerful of the two.
In fact, its vision field is comparatively much broader than the focused vision
More importantly, sensory information from the environment flows into our peripheral vision unconsciously. In other words, without realising the entire experience.
When the two vision fields are synergisticaly "combined", so to speak, you can imagine our latent power of observation.
When you scan a horizon, say in a broad sweep, you are actually using both inherent vision skills.
In reality, when we look at the horizon of our immediate environment, we are not depending on our eyes alone. We also use our ears, our sense of smell, our sense of feeling about what's around us, about the ambience, etc.
All these sensory data are somehow processed, synthesised & integrated in our mind.
The end result is what I often like to call, drawing intellectual cues from Dr Karl Pribram, Professor Emeritus of Stanford University, a "holographic blueprint" of our sense impressions, which is created by the "interference patterns" of prevailing sights, sound, smells, feelings, etc.
It is pertinent for me to point out that the "holographic blueprint" is not really a tangible thing per se.
Neurologically, it's actually a resulting networking pattern of neurons & brain cells firing in harmony during the process of assimilation of incoming data.
The blueprint may generally be fuzzy, but it's there. Always. So, once we are in a resourceful state of mind, we can often recall the blueprint with ease.
We are know that kids are truly adept in using their power of observation, so much so that we often think that only kids have that acute sensory acumen.
Don't forget, we were kids before. It is just that, as adults, our logical sensor invariably often like to take primary control.
One way to practise this power of observation is to "gaze" at our environment, & try not to "stare" at one particular point or aspect.
This is also called "soft focus".
Innovation strategist Wayne Burkan calls it "splatter vision", which I had already talked about it at length in this weblog.
What can we use it for?
One area of immediate application is reading.
With "soft focus", we are able to look at a larger area of the book pages, thus giving us the ability to pinpoint the topic sentences or key ideas rather quickly, & also learn to identify text organisational patterns, signal words, as well as contextual clues to difficult words in the text.
Once we have gotten the global overview of what we have read initially, so to speak, it becomes much more easier for us to narrow down the requisite passages to read more slowly with focused attention, in order to meet our reading objectives.
[to be continued in the Next Post.]
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
QUESTIONS TO PONDER
What is impossible to do, but if it could be done, would change your destiny?
What do you consider impossible to do?
What would you do if you knew it was not impossible?
How would knowing change your life?
[Excerpted from the book, 'Superbrain Study Skills: Companion Book to the InGenius Seminars for Building Your Brainpower', by Dilip Mukerjea.]
What do you consider impossible to do?
What would you do if you knew it was not impossible?
How would knowing change your life?
[Excerpted from the book, 'Superbrain Study Skills: Companion Book to the InGenius Seminars for Building Your Brainpower', by Dilip Mukerjea.]
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
21 WAYS TO INNOVATE!
Here's the link to an interesting article by Paul Sloane, author of 'The Innovative Leader', on the Innovation Tools website. He is also the head of the BQF Innovation Unit.
The 21 ways are not ground-breaking, to say the least, but I reckon they can serve as useful daily reminders to build our innovation adeptness.
[Paul Sloane has his own corporate website.]
The 21 ways are not ground-breaking, to say the least, but I reckon they can serve as useful daily reminders to build our innovation adeptness.
[Paul Sloane has his own corporate website.]
Monday, November 23, 2009
A WISE QUOTE FOR MONDAY MORNING
"All men dream... but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find it is vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they act their dreams with open eyes to make it possible... "
~ T E Lawrence, writing in his monumental work that assured his place in history as 'Lawrence of Arabia', entitled 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph';
Sunday, November 22, 2009
YOUR PERSONAL ATTRIBUTE PROFILE
In order to march forward, it is best to know where you are. The status quo then offers itself for growth.
For each of the paired attributes below, mark a cross on the horizontal line to indicate your present perceived level of development. The ideal is to be alive with all the qualities in the right-hand column.
Once you have completed all the markings, join the points to form a profile.
We are not born with these nine attributes. But we have the capacity to acquire & develop them, inspired by our prevailing beliefs & values.
Don't be discouraged if you have scored low on any of the attributes. Use that awareness as a trampoline to catapult you forward.
Do this exercise every three months to monitor your growth.
[Excerpted from the currently still "work-in-progress" book, tentatively entitled 'Brainaissance', by Dilip Mukerjea.]
For each of the paired attributes below, mark a cross on the horizontal line to indicate your present perceived level of development. The ideal is to be alive with all the qualities in the right-hand column.
Once you have completed all the markings, join the points to form a profile.
We are not born with these nine attributes. But we have the capacity to acquire & develop them, inspired by our prevailing beliefs & values.
Don't be discouraged if you have scored low on any of the attributes. Use that awareness as a trampoline to catapult you forward.
Do this exercise every three months to monitor your growth.
[Excerpted from the currently still "work-in-progress" book, tentatively entitled 'Brainaissance', by Dilip Mukerjea.]
Saturday, November 21, 2009
WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEANS TO YOU?
Appended below is an imaginal & metaphorical snapshot of Dilip Mukerjea's personal perspectives about creativity.
Readers are welcome to reflect on his "fruits of creativity" as shown at the bottom of the snapshot.
Readers are welcome to reflect on his "fruits of creativity" as shown at the bottom of the snapshot.
Friday, November 20, 2009
SEEING IS BELIEVING: THE POWER OF VISION
[My personal musings, inspired by Page 3 of 'The Brainaissance Program of iCAPitalism Seminars with... The World's Most Powerful Learning Systems for... The Learning Economy', by Dilip Mukerjea]
Where do you see yourself?
What is the significance of the foregoing question posed by Dilip Mukerjea, against the backdrop of a beautiful imaginal brain profile created by him?
He is basically accentuating what author, futurist & film maker Joel Arthur Barker has exhorted in the proprietary 'The Power of Vision' video training program, first released during the early nineties:
'A positive vision of the future is the most powerful motivation for change'.
Citing the research done by Dutch sociologist Fred Polak, American business researcher Jim Collins, Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl & Canadian educator & psychologist Benjamin Singer, respectively on the successes of nations, companies, individuals & even school children, it has been found that, when they began their climb they did not have the right resources & they didn't even have any strategic advantage.
What they all had in common was a positive vision of their future.
The message here is that circumstances do not determine the outcome, only vision does.
Having a vision is imperative to success. Vision is an essential ingredient in living to win.
Even a child building a sand castle on the beach has some sort of picture in his or her head telling them what to do next. It’s vision.
If you want to be successful in any significant endeavor - you first need to have a 'vision of the future'.
From the neurological perspective, I always like to correlate the 'vision of the future' to the 'image of achievement' as postulated by Dr Karl Pribram, Professor Emeritus of Stanford University, one of the prime architects of our modern understanding of the brain.
According to him, all our behavioural actions are governed by our 'image of achievement', & without it, we cannot succeed in our endeavours.
A 'vision of the future' or an 'image of achievement' is a picture that is seen with the mind's eye.
Where do you see yourself?
What is the significance of the foregoing question posed by Dilip Mukerjea, against the backdrop of a beautiful imaginal brain profile created by him?
He is basically accentuating what author, futurist & film maker Joel Arthur Barker has exhorted in the proprietary 'The Power of Vision' video training program, first released during the early nineties:
'A positive vision of the future is the most powerful motivation for change'.
Citing the research done by Dutch sociologist Fred Polak, American business researcher Jim Collins, Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl & Canadian educator & psychologist Benjamin Singer, respectively on the successes of nations, companies, individuals & even school children, it has been found that, when they began their climb they did not have the right resources & they didn't even have any strategic advantage.
What they all had in common was a positive vision of their future.
The message here is that circumstances do not determine the outcome, only vision does.
Having a vision is imperative to success. Vision is an essential ingredient in living to win.
Even a child building a sand castle on the beach has some sort of picture in his or her head telling them what to do next. It’s vision.
If you want to be successful in any significant endeavor - you first need to have a 'vision of the future'.
From the neurological perspective, I always like to correlate the 'vision of the future' to the 'image of achievement' as postulated by Dr Karl Pribram, Professor Emeritus of Stanford University, one of the prime architects of our modern understanding of the brain.
According to him, all our behavioural actions are governed by our 'image of achievement', & without it, we cannot succeed in our endeavours.
A 'vision of the future' or an 'image of achievement' is a picture that is seen with the mind's eye.
It is not your present reality, but what you believe as your destiny manifest in the present.
It is more than just being able to imagine something in the future. In a nut shell, the 'vision of the future' or 'image of achievement' becomes so powerful that it cause you to step into it, & live your future each day.
I often like to use the personal example of Arnold Schwarzenegger in my training workshops to illustrate the power of vision.
As documented in the book, 'Fantastic: The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger', by Laurence Leamer, Arnie was interviewed about what he planned to do now that he had retired from body building in 1976. He nonchalantly responded with his thick Austrian accent:
"I'm going to be the #1 box office star in all of Hollywood."
Arnie's first attempt as an actor was a box office flop, but he explained as follows that he would use the same process he had used in bodybuilding. [By the way, Arnie was five times Mr Universe & seven times Mr Europa.]
"What you do is create a vision of who you want to be, & then live into that picture as if it were already true."
Closer to home, a great personal exemplar of the power of vision is Sim Wong Woo, founder, CEO & Chairman of Creative Technology. Readers can go to my earlier post in 'Optimum Performance Technologies' weblog to read about what I had learned from him.
As a successful nation, Singapore is a classic exemplar of the power of vision.
When Singapore was unfortunately kicked out of the Malaysian federation in 1965, most political analysts around the world had seriously thought that Singapore was a gone case.
It was the foresightedness & tenacity of the vision of Lee Kuan Yew & his close team of stalwarts, like Goh Keng Swee, S Rajaratnam, Toh Chin Chye, among others, & his pioneering cohort of dedicated civil servants like Hon Sui Sen, J Y Pillay, Sim Kee Boon, just to name a few, who built Singapore for what she is today.
Throughout the nineties, I had done extensive random surveys of Straits Times interview reports on students who had done remarkably well in their PSLE, 'O' Level, 'A' Level exams, as well as in the presidential scholarship nominations.
I had narrowed down their peak-performing successes to the following common characteristics, in order of priority:
- they are goal-oriented (that's vision! & correlates to Benjamin Singer's research findings);
- they apply study strategies;
- they are passionate & enthusiastic in their academic as well as extra-curricular pursuits;
- they receive parental as well as teacher support;
To end my musings, & I am very confident that Dilip will concur with me that, as long as we have a 'vision of the future' or an 'image of achievement', & we then act upon what we believe or assume will be true of the future or upon our aspirations for the future, our decisive actions in turn will create the future in which we will find ourselves.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
INNOVATION WEB RESOURCES FOR YOUR EXPLORATION
Here's a small list of interesting innovation resources to share with readers:
1) CONCEPTFEEDBACK: Professional & Constructive Feedback for Marketers & Designers
Getting ready to launch a brand new concept? Would you like to know what other professionals think before you release it to the world? Concept Feedback is designed specifically for you!
2) IDEA-A-DAY: Where Ideas Are Free
The founder, David Owen, has written a book, entitled 'The Big Ideas Book', drawing some 500 best ideas from his website.
3) IDEASCULTURE: Ideas While You Sleep
They deliver ideas. Then show you how to select the best one and implement it to bring your idea to life.
4) NOSCO: Ideas Exchange
NOSCO is basically a software & services company specialised in idea management. It offers an unique Idea Exchange, an online suggestion box where you can buy shares in ideas.
5) NOVITATE: Methods & Tools for Innovation Management
The Novitate.com portal is a comprehensive tool with the purpose of creating and sustaining the innovation process and for managing projects.
6) PSFK: One of the World's Leadng Sources of New Business Ideas
PSFK is primarily a trends research, innovation, activation company that publishes a daily news website.
7) SPRINGWISE: Your Daily Fix of Entrepreneurial Ideas
Springwise is one of the world's leading sources of new business ideas, powered by a global network of 8,000+ spotters. You can tap its resources to build the Next Big Thing!
1) CONCEPTFEEDBACK: Professional & Constructive Feedback for Marketers & Designers
Getting ready to launch a brand new concept? Would you like to know what other professionals think before you release it to the world? Concept Feedback is designed specifically for you!
2) IDEA-A-DAY: Where Ideas Are Free
The founder, David Owen, has written a book, entitled 'The Big Ideas Book', drawing some 500 best ideas from his website.
3) IDEASCULTURE: Ideas While You Sleep
They deliver ideas. Then show you how to select the best one and implement it to bring your idea to life.
4) NOSCO: Ideas Exchange
NOSCO is basically a software & services company specialised in idea management. It offers an unique Idea Exchange, an online suggestion box where you can buy shares in ideas.
5) NOVITATE: Methods & Tools for Innovation Management
The Novitate.com portal is a comprehensive tool with the purpose of creating and sustaining the innovation process and for managing projects.
6) PSFK: One of the World's Leadng Sources of New Business Ideas
PSFK is primarily a trends research, innovation, activation company that publishes a daily news website.
7) SPRINGWISE: Your Daily Fix of Entrepreneurial Ideas
Springwise is one of the world's leading sources of new business ideas, powered by a global network of 8,000+ spotters. You can tap its resources to build the Next Big Thing!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
HOW FAR CAN YOU TURN?
I have found the following interesting exercise on the net.
I have had the experience of learning a variation of the exercise during the late eighties, when I had attended a mind power seminar, which eventually gave me a good understanding about the mental rehearsal technique often used by peak performers.
"Here is a short AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT lesson for you to enjoy.
By doing it, you will demonstrate to yourself that your body has a potential far different from what you normally think.
NOTE: This lesson involves turning the head. It is important that you turn slowly and gently, stopping if you get any signals of strain, discomfort or pain.
If you have pain in turning, turn only so far that you are pain-free. A very small turn is OK.
To begin, sit comfortably on the edge of a chair with your hands relaxed in your lap.
1. Gently turn your head to the left. Notice a point on the wall that is the furthest point you can comfortably see. Return to the centre.
Repeat a few times.
If you had pain in turning, turn only so far that you DO NOT have pain. A very small turn is OK.
Gently turn your head to the right a few times and return to the centre. Each time, notice a point on the wall that is the furthest point you can comfortably see.
Turn gently, only so far as you have no pain.
2. Feel which side you would like to improve.
The other side is the better functioning side.
3. Cradle your head with the palms of your hands, so that the heel of your hands is at your jaw line, and the fingers may rest around your eyes. Notice that your elbows rest on your chest.
Keeping your elbows glued to your chest and your hands cradling your head, gently turn to the better functioning side as far as is comfortable and back to centre. Notice that the whole upper body turns.
4. TEST: drop your hands and turn to the side you wanted to improve. Notice the improvement!
Take a moment to realize how organic learning does not happen mechanically in the muscles, but in some higher faculties of the nervous system.
Isn't this more interesting?"
[Source: Issue #1 of SENSEABILITY, A Quarterly Newsletter of the FELDENKRAIS METHOD®, produced by The FELDENKRAIS GUILD®;]
I have had the experience of learning a variation of the exercise during the late eighties, when I had attended a mind power seminar, which eventually gave me a good understanding about the mental rehearsal technique often used by peak performers.
"Here is a short AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT lesson for you to enjoy.
By doing it, you will demonstrate to yourself that your body has a potential far different from what you normally think.
NOTE: This lesson involves turning the head. It is important that you turn slowly and gently, stopping if you get any signals of strain, discomfort or pain.
If you have pain in turning, turn only so far that you are pain-free. A very small turn is OK.
To begin, sit comfortably on the edge of a chair with your hands relaxed in your lap.
1. Gently turn your head to the left. Notice a point on the wall that is the furthest point you can comfortably see. Return to the centre.
Repeat a few times.
If you had pain in turning, turn only so far that you DO NOT have pain. A very small turn is OK.
Gently turn your head to the right a few times and return to the centre. Each time, notice a point on the wall that is the furthest point you can comfortably see.
Turn gently, only so far as you have no pain.
2. Feel which side you would like to improve.
The other side is the better functioning side.
3. Cradle your head with the palms of your hands, so that the heel of your hands is at your jaw line, and the fingers may rest around your eyes. Notice that your elbows rest on your chest.
Keeping your elbows glued to your chest and your hands cradling your head, gently turn to the better functioning side as far as is comfortable and back to centre. Notice that the whole upper body turns.
4. TEST: drop your hands and turn to the side you wanted to improve. Notice the improvement!
Take a moment to realize how organic learning does not happen mechanically in the muscles, but in some higher faculties of the nervous system.
Isn't this more interesting?"
[Source: Issue #1 of SENSEABILITY, A Quarterly Newsletter of the FELDENKRAIS METHOD®, produced by The FELDENKRAIS GUILD®;]
CUT RED TAPE: REDUCING BUREAUCRACY, RAISING STANDARDS
[My personal musings, inspired by Page 2 of 'The Brainaissance Program of iCAPitalism Seminars with... The World's Most Powerful Learning Systems for... The Learning Economy', by Dilip Mukerjea]
Dilip Mukerjea poses a very pertinent question here:
"Is red tape the only thing that's keeping your organisation together?"
To me, red tape also applies in the personal setting.
Just like bureaucracy, red tape is the opposite of efficiency.
In actual fact, 'bureaucracy' & 'red tape' are synonymous.
They suggest a lack of initiative, a bias for inaction, & excessive adherence to archaic rules & inflexible routines. Even more serious, they create an impersonal force dominating the life of oneself as well as others.
So, how does one deals with the bureaucracy running amok & the tyranny of red tape, so to speak, in a personal setting?
I offer a few suggestions:
- examine your own work performance (key result areas), with the view to cut down time & effort-consuming activities;
Dilip Mukerjea poses a very pertinent question here:
"Is red tape the only thing that's keeping your organisation together?"
To me, red tape also applies in the personal setting.
Just like bureaucracy, red tape is the opposite of efficiency.
In actual fact, 'bureaucracy' & 'red tape' are synonymous.
They suggest a lack of initiative, a bias for inaction, & excessive adherence to archaic rules & inflexible routines. Even more serious, they create an impersonal force dominating the life of oneself as well as others.
So, how does one deals with the bureaucracy running amok & the tyranny of red tape, so to speak, in a personal setting?
I offer a few suggestions:
- examine your own work performance (key result areas), with the view to cut down time & effort-consuming activities;
- apply Pareto's Law or the 80/20 Rule, & focus on high leverage activities that move you forward;
- explore & adopt alternatives & options that generate the greatest net benefits to yourself, as well to others around you;
- review regularly what works & what doesn't work, especially your habitual routines, to ensure relevancy & effectiveness;
- consider: what do I need to do more of? what do I need to do less of? what do I need to start doing? what do I need to stop doing?
- talk regulary to other people, especially stakeholders;
- embrace adhocracy by benchmarking against other high-performance individuals &/or organisations;
- develop a personal bias for initiative & action;
[Readers can go to this link to download a free copy of the book, 'Busting Bureaucracy: How to Conquer Your Organisation's Worst Enemy', by Kenneth Johnson.]
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
WHICH BOOSTS CREATIVITY: LOVE OR LUST?
Here's the link to a fascinating article by Dr Scott Barry Kaufman, writing in his 'Beautiful Minds' weblog on Psychology Today.
He muses about 'Love, Lust, and Creativity'.
What has caught my initial curiosity to read the article are the two contrasting research findings:
"Love enhances global processing and creative thinking whereas sex enhances local processing and analytic thinking. Thus, contrary to the intuitive notion of creativity and analytical thought as fixed human capacities or stable personality traits, they can easily be changed by subtle cues in the environment or by mere thinking about certain situations."
"... when men are chatting with a female who is a stranger, their cognitive ability takes a nose dive. Not better, but worse."
Read on.
He muses about 'Love, Lust, and Creativity'.
What has caught my initial curiosity to read the article are the two contrasting research findings:
"Love enhances global processing and creative thinking whereas sex enhances local processing and analytic thinking. Thus, contrary to the intuitive notion of creativity and analytical thought as fixed human capacities or stable personality traits, they can easily be changed by subtle cues in the environment or by mere thinking about certain situations."
"... when men are chatting with a female who is a stranger, their cognitive ability takes a nose dive. Not better, but worse."
Read on.
Monday, November 16, 2009
THE POWER OF ASKING 'WHY NOT? QUESTIONS
While taking the following digital snapshots at the underground pathway leading into the Tang's Plaza on Scotts Road/Orchard Road junction, a handful of apt quotes flashed through my mind:
"Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream."
~ Malcolm Muggeridge;
"If you want to succeed, you have to forge new paths & avoid borrowed ones."
~ John Rockefeller;
"What others apprise, the same you want to; what others avoid, the same you want to; that is why, you fail as others; how ridiculous it is!"
~ Lao Tzu;
"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."
~ Coco Chanel;
To me, they epitomised the wonderful spirit as embodied in the power of asking 'why not?' questions in one's mind.
I realise from past experiences, that in the course of exploring options to a problem, asking 'Why Not?' questions often put our minds in a shifting perspective state.
In a nut shell,... to think differently; be different & make a difference!
In fact, asking 'Why Not?' questions often challenges our asumptions & beliefs about the world. They also provoke our status quo.
In strategic as well as tactical terms, they can ultimately help us to take the things we see everyday, & think about them in new ways, & explore unnoticed possibilities - or unintended implications - along the way.
Hence, I am gratified to know that the Singapore Design Festival is pursuing the same line of thought.
"Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream."
~ Malcolm Muggeridge;
"If you want to succeed, you have to forge new paths & avoid borrowed ones."
~ John Rockefeller;
"What others apprise, the same you want to; what others avoid, the same you want to; that is why, you fail as others; how ridiculous it is!"
~ Lao Tzu;
"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."
~ Coco Chanel;
To me, they epitomised the wonderful spirit as embodied in the power of asking 'why not?' questions in one's mind.
I realise from past experiences, that in the course of exploring options to a problem, asking 'Why Not?' questions often put our minds in a shifting perspective state.
In a nut shell,... to think differently; be different & make a difference!
In fact, asking 'Why Not?' questions often challenges our asumptions & beliefs about the world. They also provoke our status quo.
In strategic as well as tactical terms, they can ultimately help us to take the things we see everyday, & think about them in new ways, & explore unnoticed possibilities - or unintended implications - along the way.
Hence, I am gratified to know that the Singapore Design Festival is pursuing the same line of thought.
A WISE QUOTE FOR MONDAY MORNING
"... For the secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live for. Without a stable conception of the object of life, man would not consent to go on living, and would rather destroy himself than remain on earth, though he had bread in abundance... "
~ 'Legend of the Grand Inquisitor', from Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 'The Brothers Karamozov';
Sunday, November 15, 2009
THE LAW OF FORCED EFFICIENCY
"There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always time to do the most important thing."This is the Law of Forced Efficiency, according to Brian Tracy, international speaker, author & consultant.
He elaborates that:
- The more things you have to do in a limited period of time, the more you'll be forced to work on your most important tasks;
- There will never be enough time to do everything that you have to do;
- Only by stretching yourself can you discover how much you are truly capable of;
- You perform at your highest potential only when you are focusing on the most valuable use of your time;
He asserts that the key question one should always ask is this:
"What is the mos
t valuable use of my time, right now?"He concludes that this is the question that dominates all time management, as well as the key to becoming a highly productive person.
He suggests this simple exercise to pause and reflect on the above question: [as well as other worthwhile questions, e.g. what are my highest pay-off activities? what exactly am I paid to do? what can I do that, if done well, can make a real difference in my life?]
Take a few minutes each day and sit quietly where you cannot be disturbed.
During this time, let your mind relax and just think about your work and activities, without stress or pressure.
In almost every case, during this time of solitude, you will receive wonderful insights and ideas that will save you enormous amounts of time when you apply them back on the job. Often you will experience breakthroughs that will change the direction of your life and work.
WHAT ROLE DO YOU PLAY IN TEAM INNOVATION?
Creativity guru Roger von Oech, & also author of two great classics, namely, 'A Whack on the Side of the Head' & 'A Kick in the Seat of the Pants', among many others, propounds 4 important role-playing personnas, in team innovation so to speak:
- explorer;
- artist;
- judge;
- warrior;
Likewise, creativity guru Edward de bono, & also progenitor of 'Lateral Thinking', has his own version of six important role-playing personnas, using the analogy of wearing coloured hats.
Interestingly, his one-time protege, Michael Hewitt-Gleeson, from Down Under, has seemingly a competitive version of seven important role-playing personnas, using the analogy of wearing coloured sports caps.
The award-winning industrial design firm, IDEO, has shared their perspectives of important role-playing personnas more specifically in team innovation in the wonderful book, 'Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate & Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization', by Tom Kelley, General Manager.
[Please refer to my earlier post, entitled 'Becoming More of an Innovator in Your Daily Life', of this weblog.]
In a nut shell, & as I see it, based on my own personal & professional experiences, the real purpose of all these role-playing personnas is to generate shifting perspectives in one's mind, to ride on the cross-functional synergies of different departments or business units, & to leverage on the diversity & the intellectual capital of all the people in, within as well as outside the organisation (e.g. customers, suppliers, facilitators, competitors).
Needless to say, human ingenuity is such that no one plays a single role. It's always a multitude of roles, or may even be composite roles when raw ideas take birth in human minds.
What follows is Dilip Mukerjea's version, visually speaking, of role-playing personnas in team innovation:
TEAM INNOVATION
DESIGNER
EVALUATOR
GENERATOR
IMPLEMENTOR
PROMOTOR
So, what role or multitude of roles do you play in team innovation?
[All images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]
- explorer;
- artist;
- judge;
- warrior;
Likewise, creativity guru Edward de bono, & also progenitor of 'Lateral Thinking', has his own version of six important role-playing personnas, using the analogy of wearing coloured hats.
Interestingly, his one-time protege, Michael Hewitt-Gleeson, from Down Under, has seemingly a competitive version of seven important role-playing personnas, using the analogy of wearing coloured sports caps.
The award-winning industrial design firm, IDEO, has shared their perspectives of important role-playing personnas more specifically in team innovation in the wonderful book, 'Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate & Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization', by Tom Kelley, General Manager.
[Please refer to my earlier post, entitled 'Becoming More of an Innovator in Your Daily Life', of this weblog.]
In a nut shell, & as I see it, based on my own personal & professional experiences, the real purpose of all these role-playing personnas is to generate shifting perspectives in one's mind, to ride on the cross-functional synergies of different departments or business units, & to leverage on the diversity & the intellectual capital of all the people in, within as well as outside the organisation (e.g. customers, suppliers, facilitators, competitors).
Needless to say, human ingenuity is such that no one plays a single role. It's always a multitude of roles, or may even be composite roles when raw ideas take birth in human minds.
What follows is Dilip Mukerjea's version, visually speaking, of role-playing personnas in team innovation:
TEAM INNOVATION
DESIGNER
EVALUATOR
GENERATOR
IMPLEMENTOR
PROMOTOR
So, what role or multitude of roles do you play in team innovation?[All images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]
Saturday, November 14, 2009
WHAT'S MY LINE?
What follows in this blogpost is a series of wonderful images, all created by Dilip Mukerjea, with their respective captions as shown, & specifically arranged in a convenient sequence.
For the fun of it, I just like to call it 'What's My Line?'.
However, in reality, the sequence actually represents a very powerful idea generation technique.
What technique is that?
SUBSTITUTE
CONNECT
COMBINE
ADAPT
ADOPT
ADJUST
ABSORB
MODIFY
MAGNIFY
PUT TO OTHER USE
ELIMINATE
REVERSE
REARRANGE
RECYCLE
If you are still at a loss, please proceed to this link to get the correct answer.
[All images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]
For the fun of it, I just like to call it 'What's My Line?'.
However, in reality, the sequence actually represents a very powerful idea generation technique.
What technique is that?
SUBSTITUTE
CONNECT
COMBINE
ADAPT
ADOPT
ADJUST
ABSORB
MODIFY
MAGNIFY
PUT TO OTHER USE
ELIMINATE
REVERSE
REARRANGE
RECYCLE
If you are still at a loss, please proceed to this link to get the correct answer.
[All images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]
Friday, November 13, 2009
A GUIDE TO THE BRAINAISSANCE PROGRAM OF iCAPITALISM SEMINARS, by Dilip Mukerjea
In an earlier post, I had brought readers' attention to a handy 32-page pocket-sized guide introducing the 'The Brainaissance Programme of iCAPitalism Seminars' with... 'The World’s Most Powerful Learning Systems' for... 'The Learning Economy', conducted by Dilip Mukerjea.
What follows in this blog post is an updated & expanded version, now with 36 pages, following the addition of his brand-new 'Passiontations' program.
Unlike other presentation programs, I am proud to say that 'Passiontations' is designed to woo audience with wow!
Also, his ongoing 'Lifescaping' seminar has been restructured with a more cogent focus on 'strategic visioning', for both business as well as personal applications.
To recap, 'The Brainaissance Programme of iCAPitalism Seminars' captures the continuously evolving succession -(work-in-progress, to be more precise) - of resource tool-kits, ideas, strategies, tools, hints, tips, games, tests, quizzes, designed for people of all ages to tune-up and sustain the preeminent information processor and perpetual idea generator inside their heads.
They are masterfully conceived and meticulously crafted by Dilip Mukerjea.
As I had said earlier, the understanding, application and adaptation - & more importantly, diligent application with focused execution - of these tool-kits will help readers across all ages to be prepared for exploring uncharted grounds & navigating complex landscapes through the years to come in our rapidly-changing, turbulent and chaotic world.
In a nut shell... to help you become future ready!
Over the years, 'The Brainaissance Programme of iCAPitalism Seminars' has been conducted under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management. However, they are also available for custom-engineering design to suit both private & public sector organisations, via consulting arrangements with Dilip Mukerjea.
Departing from my earlier endeavour, I now intend to do a page-by-page running commentary to highlight useful takeways for readers from the entire repertoire, as well as to share my personal & professional perspectives, covering his seminars, books & bookazines.
For a start, the front cover of 'The Brainaissance Programme of iCAPitalism Seminars' is shown in this blog post.
Dilip Mukerjea can be reached at dilip@pacific.net.sg, or through the weblink of his consultancy outfit, Braindancing International Pte Ltd.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
RAPID RECAP: SERVANT LEADERSHIP
3M’s chairman and CEO, Livio D. DeSimone described the new role of the leader as “one of creation and destruction~supporting individual initiative while breaking down bureaucracy and cynicism,” essentially removing barriers to progress. Such a leader is in service to his or her followers, not commanding and concussing, but clearing a path for advancement.SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Servant-Leadership is an expression coined by Robert Greenleaf. In his words:
“The servant leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. He or she is sharply different from the person who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.
For such it will be a later choice to serve – after leadership is established. The leader firs
t and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”Source: 'The Servant As Leader' published by Robert Greenleaf (1904-1990) in 1970.
Greeleaf goes on to ask whether those served grow as persons and if they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?
Furthermore, he expresses concern towards the least privileged in society, whether they will benefit, or, at least, that they not be further deprived.
The concept of traditional autocratic andhierarchical modes of leadership are being phased out. Focus has shifted to the arena of workers and the enhancement of their personal growth.
Through teamwork and community, institutions can become paragons of societal excellence; with uncompromising high standards of ethics, care and compassion, the servant as leader becomes an example of a spiritual guide on the river of life.
“Most people in big companies today are administered, not led. They are treated as perso
nnel, not people.”~ ROBERT TOWNSEND, American business executive, CEO of Avis car rental group, and author. 'Further Up the Organisation' (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1970; revised edition Micahel Joseph, London, 1984)
"While in the past, many managers could succeed by imitating another company’s strategy or organisational model, today’s leaders are forced to invent, not copy: there are no surefire strategies or models to copy. Above all, the adaptive manager today must be capable of radical action ~ willing to think beyond the thinkable: to reconceptualise products, procedures, programs and purposes before crisis makes drastic change inescapable."
~ ALVIN TOFFLER, American scholar, lecturer and author. 'The Adaptive Corporation' (Gower, Aldershot, Hampshire, 1985)
[Excerpted from the 'Lifescaping' seminar participant's manual. The 'Lifescaping' seminar is conducted by Dilip Mukerjea about four times a year under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management.]
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