Modern leaders and managers live with uncertainty. The difference is, the uncertainty does not immobilize them, it emboldens them. The tools at their disposal are no different from those anyone else has access to. It is their brain and the deliberate adjustment they make to their way of thinking.
- They think in terms of possibility by asking, If?
- They think of discernment by asking, Which?
- They consider time by asking, When?
- They consider place by asking, Where?
- They consider the thing itself by asking, What?
- They think about motivate by asking, Why?
- They consider the means by asking, How?
- They think about the person or group by asking, Who?
Equipped with these questions, and a curiosity to the answers they uncover, you will find intriguing alternatives and new ways of facing old problems.
As an effective leader and smart manager, you regularly seek out opportunities for continuous improvement. Unless you are an egomaniac who can do no wrong, you probably have a few areas of focus already identified. Pick one that looks like it may have the greatest potential of saving you time, money, and future agony if it were solved, enhanced, or reimagined.
This is your IT.
On the top of a blank page or screen, ask yourself, “How can I make (IT) better?”
Next, explore the six ways described below, and list ten or more different ways of looking at your IT.
This is brainstorming, so be sure to capture all your ideas without judgment, regardless of how off the wall or infeasible they may first sound.
Think of ten ways you could
- Combine IT with something else
- Adapt IT to be more useful
- Substitute IT for something else, (or something else for IT)
- Magnify IT to make it bigger
- Shrink IT to make it smaller
- Rearrange IT to look at it from a different angle?
If you list ten ideas with each method, the crazier, the better, you will have 60 new ideas you would not have come up with otherwise.
Rate these ideas, and look for the ones that you think could be effective and relatively easy to implement. You will probably find four to six contenders. You only need one. One good idea effectively acted on can solve your problem and improve your life.
Also published on Medium.