THE POWER OF PERSONA

Is Dilip Mukerjea clowning as shown in this amusing snapshot? No, he is not. In fact, he is "demonstrating" to us a new way to see and think about a problem or a challenge or appraise a situation.

I like to call it, the Power of Persona.

Basically, it involves the imagined shift of one's mindset into behaving, or role playing, to be precise - thinking and doing - like another competent person or even another inanimate object in space.

 Indeed, many creativity gurus have formulated it in many different ways.

I believe Roger von Oech is among the first to come up with four stereotype roles or personas, in the creative thinking process, namely:

- Explorer;
- Artist;
- Judge;
- Warrior:

when he wrote his now classic 'A Whack on the side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative', in the early 80's.

You can visit www.creativethink.com to read more about them.

Around the same time in the early 80's, Michael Hewitt-Gleeson from Down Under, and working with Edward de Bono, through their joint School of Thinking initiative in New York, introduced the world to their version of stereotype roles in the creative thinking process, known as 'Six Thinking Caps':

- White;
- Black;
- Yellow;
- Red;
- Green;
- Blue;

It has been alleged that Edward de Bono, after breaking off with his protege, Michael Hewitt-Gleeson, plagiarised the material to write his 'Six Thinking Hats' in the mid-80's.

Since then, Michael Hewiit-Gleeson, has added the seventh cap, Grey Cap, to his original concept.

More information can be found here: www.schoolofthinking.org/

In 2005, Tom Kelley of IDEO, the internationally-renowned global design consulting firm, shared with the world their winning design methodology, a powerful set of learning, organising and building personas, through their book, 'Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organisation.".

Here they are:

- The Anthropologist;
- The Experimentor;
- The Cross Pollinator;
- The Hurdler;
- The Collaborator;
- The Director;
- The Experience Architect;
- The Set Designer;
- The Storyteller;
- The Caregiver;

More information about them can be found here: www.tenfacesofinnovation.com/

Actually, back in the sixties, William J J Gordon and George Prince, had developed a slightly different but unique creative problem solving process of their own, through the brilliant use of metaphors and analogies. They called it, "Synectics".

Within their proprietary methodology, they are designated as:

- Symbolic Analogy;
- Personal Analogy;
- Direct Analogy:
- Fantasy Analogy;

For example, you can imagine yourself being the object under examination and then attempt to uncover the feelings and problems faced by the object.

More information can be found here: //synecticsworld.com/.

In a nut shell, using role playing or the power of persona to explore ideas is an interesting and powerful tactic to see and think more and further.

BECOMING MORE OF AN INNOVATOR IN YOUR DAILY LIFE

As far as I know, the whole idea of what I like to call "role-playing learning personas" has apparently been first broached by creativity guru Roger von Oech, when he outlined four specific roles as follows [in his book, 'A Kick in the Seat of the Pants', published in the mid-eighties;], which one can assume in the process of expanding one's mental horizons, &/or generating multiple viewpoints, while looking at a problem situation, or business issue:

- explorer;

- artist;

- judge;

- warrior;

I have already talked about this in an earlier post.

To recap, from Roger von Oech's book:

- When it's time to seek out new information, adopt the mindset of an Explorer. Get off the beaten path, poke around in outside areas, & pay attention to unusual patterns.

- When you need to create a new idea, let the Artist in you come out. Ask 'what-if' questions & look for hidden analogies. Break the rules & look at things backwards. Add something & take something away. Ultimately, you'll come up with an original idea.

- When it's time to decide if your idea is worth implementing, see yourself as a Judge. Ask what's wrong & if the timing's right. Question your assumptions & make a decision.

- When you carry your idea into action, be a Warrior. Put a fire in your belly, eliminate your excuses, & do what's necessary to reach your objective.

Then, more or less around the same time, came creativity guru Michael Hewitt-Gleeson from Down Under, with his 'Six Thinking Caps', followed by creativity guru Edward de bono, with his 'Six Thinking Hats', culminating specifically as follows:

- white (rational, logical, objective);

- red (emotional);

- black (negative);

- yellow (positive, hopeful, optimistic);

- green (creative & innovative);

- blue (ordered, controlled, structured);

[Readers can read more about them in their respective corporate websites.]

Last, but not least, came the world-known IDEO design people with their book, written by Tom Kelley, entitled 'The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate & Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization'.

Here's their battle-tested methodology of the 'role-playing learning personas', from their book:

1. The Anthropologist:

He observes human behavior & developes a deep understanding of how people interact physically & emotionally with products, services, & spaces;

2. The Experimenter:

He prototypes new ideas continuously, learning by a process of enlightened trial & error; also, takes calculated risks to achieve success through a state of "experimentation as implementation."

3. The Cross-Pollinator:

He explores other industries & cultures, & then translates those findings & revelations - via mixing & matching ideas, people & technology - to fit the unique needs of the customer;

4. The Hurdler:

He knows that the path to innovation is strewn with obstacles & develops a knack for overcoming or outsmarting those limits, challenges & roadblocks;

5. The Collaborator:

He helps bring eclectic groups together, & often leads from the middle of the pack to create new combinations & multi-disciplinary solutions; more importantly, to get things done;

6. The Director:

He not only gathers together a talented cast & crew but also helps to spark their creative talents, by marshalling all available resources;

7. The Experience Architect:

He designs compelling experiences that go beyond mere functionality to connect at a deeper level with customers' latent or expressed needs;

8. The Set Designer:

He creates a stage on which innovation team members can do their best work, transforming physical environments into powerful tools to influence behavior & attitude;

9. The Caregiver:

He builds on the metaphor of a health-care professional to deliver customer care in a manner that goes beyond mere service;

10. The Storyteller or Tale Blazer [to borrow the term from my good friend, Dilip Mukerjea], :

He builds both internal morale & external awareness through compelling narratives that communicate a fundamental human value or reinforce a specific cultural trait;

According to IDEO, people who adopt the "role-playing learning roles" are humble enough to question their own worldview, & in doing so, they remain open to new insights every day.

In a nut shell, the personas are about "being innovation", rather than merely "doing innovation."

Take on one or more of these roles, as outlined in the foregoing, & you'll be taking a conscious step toward becoming more of an innovator in your daily life.

Come to think of it, one can also adopt the 'Problem Walkabout' approach, apparently drawing parallels from the four-quadrant brain profile of Ned Herrmann, as conceived by John Kruithof [in his book, 'Thinking Quality, Quality Thinking'], as follows:

- look at it analytically & rationally, taking a bottom-line view;

- look at it conservatively, taking a detailed procedural view;

- look at it emotionally, taking a people-oriented view;

- look at it intuitively & conceptually, taking a big picture view;

I have already talked about this approach in an earlier post [in the 'Optimum Performance Technologies' weblog].

A REVIEW OF ROGER VON OECH'S CREATIVITY STUFF

I am a raving fan of consultant Roger von Oech's creative whacks as embodied in his wonderful books & fun card decks, namely:

Books:

- 'A Whack on the Side of the Head';

- 'A Kick in the Seat of the Pants';

- 'Expect the Unexpected';

Card Decks:

- 'Creative Whack Pack';

- 'Innovative Whack Pack';

- 'Ancient Whacks of Heraclitus';

I have used all his creativity stuff ever since I started my own strategy consulting (& book store) business in late 1991.

From my personal & professional experience, I would like to say that the entire collection of Roger von Oech's creative work has been designed to serve three strategic purposes:

- understanding - & removing - your mental blocks;

- breaking your habitual patterns;

- shifting your focus & changing your paradigms;

As a matter of fact, once you appreciate & commit to these three strategic purposes in your life, you will soon realise that there is nothing in this world to stop you from getting rid of old ideas & getting new & fresh ideas.

Allow me to quote creativity guru Edward de Bono:

"...the mind is habitually uncreative - it is usually preoccupied with organising masses of incoming data into convenient patterns. Once this pattern is established, then the mind tends to rely upon that pattern in future situations, in order to facilitate decision making & action in an otherwise complex world..."

('The Use of Lateral Thinking')

Breaking old habitual patterns is definitely the first & foremost priority in your journey to creativity!

Once your shift your focus, you begin to change your paradigms or the way you look at the world around you.

Always remember this:

Your brain follows the direction of your current dominant thought.

Once you focus on something, that thing becomes the foreground. Everything else around it will fall into the background.

Most opportunties are unfortunately hidden in the background.

The moment you begin to shift your focus, you are pushing the 'foreground' into the 'background', & pulling the 'background' into the 'foreground'. Get it?

'A Whack on the Side of the Head' will help you to break through your mental blocks. They will open up your mind for innovation. This book is filled with provocative puzzles, exercises, stories & helpful tips.

'A Kick in the Seat of the Pants' takes you on a guided tour through the four stereotype roles of the creative process:

- Explorer;

- Artist;

- Judge;

- Warrior;

Understanding - & applying - these roles will fire up your personal & professional creativity.

Tactically, they will change your mental focus as you change to play each of the four roles.

I would like to add one more role from what I have learned from the Japanese creativity experts:

Antique Dealer;

This singular role will allow you to combine all the four roles into one.

'Expect the Unexpected' uses thirty of Heraclitus' (the world's first creativity master) epigrams as creative springboards. It has intriguing questions designed to topple old habits of thought & fire up your imagination.

All the three fun card decks are basically extensions of the three books, to allow convenient usage during brainstorming sessions.

From my strategy consulting experience, these three fun card decks have proven to be inexhaustible sources of inspirations.

In fact, the 'Innovative Whack Pack' combines the creative power of both the 'Creative Whack Pack' & 'Ancient Whacks of Heraclitus'.

I strongly urge readers to seriously consider having the entire collection of Roger von Oech's creativity stuff added to your office or home 'Creativity & Innovation Library', & all the three fun card decks placed permanently next to your desk or lap top at all times.