The Passion Meter
August 21, 2008
One powerful way of making a decision is to use what i have called the passion meter. This is a meter which measures how passionate you feel about a particular course of action or option.
Passion, I believe is the most important aspect in making and implementing a decision. Passion gives you energy which is what is needed to get anything up and running. If an option makes rational, logical or financial sense it still will flounder without someone, somewhere saying that ‘give it to me i will give it a go and make it happen.’
In the decision-making process, after you have created a number of options than ask yourself: how passionate do I feel about option one on a scale of 1-10? Then repeat for option two, three etc.
In a very short time you will have ranked the options according to passion. Go with the highest scoring ones. You will have a greater chance of making it a success and because you care about it you will do better work.
Try the passion meter and let me know how you go.
Turning off your Brain’s Monitor
August 17, 2008
One of the most common reactions among people who have tried Speed Thinking is that they can surprise themselves with their responses — where did that come from and further, what does that mean?
My theory is that because people are operating at speed they have no time to monitor or control what emerges. I call this operating at the edge of our unconscious.
Now for the first time we may have some evidence that might support this theory. In an ingenuous study with six highly trained jazz musicians, they were asked to play a keyboard while in the confines of a MRI scanner (a MRI scanner is an imaging tool that measures the amount of blood travelling to various regions of the brain as a means of assessing the amount of neural activity in those areas).
The researchers (Charles Limb & Allen Braun) were interested in finding out what were the differences when the musicians were playing a simple melody as opposed to improvising. Research Article: Neutral substrates of Spontaneous Musical Performance: An fMRI stufy of Jazz Improvisation.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2008/02_26_08.html
What they found was that there were changes in the prefrontal cortex, the region of the frontal lobe of the brain that helps us think and solve problems and that provides a sense of self. The large proportion responsible for monitoring one’s performance (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) shuts down completely during improvisation while the much smaller region at the foremost part of the brain (medial prefrontal cortex) increases in activity. This is the region that is involved in self-initiated thoughts and behaviours such as making up a story. The researchers explain that the suppression of inhibitory, self-monitoring brain mechanisms helps to promote the free flow of novel ideas and impulses. This pattern also resembles the situation when people are dreaming.
The systems that regulate emotion were also engaged and there was increased neural activity in each of the sensory areas including those responsible for touch, hearing and vision. The researchers conclude that there is no single creative area of the brain — you see a strong and consistent pattern of activity throughout the brain that enables creativity.
Whilst this is a single study and the sample size is small it does suggest that the evidence tends to support our theory of what could happen during Speed Thinking. So the message? Try and let go of your own internal filters and monitors and you will be amazed at the results!
Ken Hudson
Can you think too much?
August 16, 2008
I, like of millions of others, have been captivated by the Olympics. There is something about having our finest sportspeople and athletes compete fiercely then shake hands at the end that stirs the imagination.
In flicking through the reports of the
‘China’s New Jersey Net power forward Yi Jianlian blamed the loss on hesitant play down the stretch, saying his team-mates were thinking too much. We started thinking too much and when you start thinking too much you start making mistakes,’ Yi said.
This is such an interesting comment the idea that you can think too much. Presumably what Yi meant what that by thinking too much you ignore your natural instincts, you procrastinate and become hesitant. Suddenly you become overwhelmed with the pros and cons of every option. This feeling reminded of Julia Cameron’s (Author, The Artists Way) insight, thinking is not the enemy, but overthinking is.’
This is one reason why Speed Thinking is a very effective process to help in the decision-making process. In giving little time and perhaps a speed thinking tool you often become focused on the task at hand and sometimes the decision becomes crystal clear. The limited time seems to encourage you to listen to your emotional or unconscious brain and avoid the endless loop of rational analysis. I have also found in my workshops that when you ask people for a decision and in fact demand that they make one in two minutes they always can. They have to rely on their own instincts and not wait for the crowd.
Speed Thinking works on a four step process of Start, Build, Evaluate and Do. The first and last stages are the most important. You have to start and not procrastinate and you eventually have to ‘Do’ something — it could be to research the concept, test the decision or keep doing what you are already doing. But the important point is to do something.
As Goethe told us, ‘whatever you think you can do, or believe you can do, begin it, because action has magic, grace and power in it.’
The world’s fastest crossword?
August 8, 2008
We have just added a new feature to our web site that we are very excited about (see the middle bottom panel). We call it the 2 minute random crossword. The aim is to try and make a connection between two often unrelated objects e.g. it could be a tree and a person. You then place one word which connects the two e.g. living. Then build on this starting point either vertically or horizontally (e.g. lovely) or start an entirely new word (e.g. tall).
It is a crossword with a difference. First there is a time limit. Second there is no prearranged answer — there is no right or wrong. If it makes sense to you then it is ok. The really fun part is that you can create a crossword right before your eyes and your one might be entirely different from someone else.
This quiz illustrates all the features of Speed Thinking. It is fast, you can start anywhere, ideas emerge and you have to make links to often quite different objects. This is a skill that has wonderful practical benefits. For example you may be the first to forge a link that connects an existing product to a new group of consumers.
It is also a wonderful way of keeping your brain sharp.
Give it a go and send me some feedback. If you register (it is all free) then you can keep a record of how well you are going and compare yourself to others.
Best wishes ken
A Book-launch with a difference
August 6, 2008
My second book, The Idea Accelerator — How to solve problems faster using Speed Thinking (Allen & Unwin) was officially launched last Friday at the Accelerated Solutions Environment of Capgemini.
We did things a little bit differently on the day. Rather than have one official launch after work for example (which we did anyway) we had three workshops throughout the day each of 1.5 hours. Our aim was to talk briefly about the book but more importantly to give participants a speed thinking experience they would remember and talk about. There were 25 people in each workshop, containing a mixture of Capgemini consultants, clients and my clients.
We also video taped the sessions and you can see the result by clicking on the link below:
http://www.thespeedthinkingzone.com/speed-thinking-workshop.html
Some feedback from the session is as follows;
I swear we were thinking faster and more creatively. It was a good time too. Thanks Ken. Yes, it was a hit so congratulations. Natalie, Dell.
Ken - thank you so much for the invite. I learnt so much in 120 seconds!!! Certainly has opened my eyes even further, having just finished the book "Blink" all about thin slicing. Definitely a learning tool (speed thinking) we should be investigating further for our sales teams here at Dell. Chris, Dell.
Ken has created Speed Thinking as a resource to help anybody or team to unlock creativity and solve problems. Agency people will love it and will be able to apply it to their jobs and with clients.
Enough, he’s a bloody genius but fortunately his manner and modesty means everyone is engaged, energized and enlightened by his work. Ian, Proto Partners
To experience Speed Thinking and see how it can befit you and your team please email or give me a call — i would love to hear from you.
Ken Hudson
Design Thinking at P&G
July 31, 2008
Just read a wonderful story about what P&G are doing with a concept they are calling Design Thinking — http://business.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=132008SO98PC
The highlights of this new type of thinking are as follows:
1. It is transforming their culture. Design Thinking at its essence is about creating new possibilities (much like Speed Thinking) then working backwards and forwards in an iterative fashion. It is used in a visual, tactile way using half-formed prototypes to co-create new solutions with consumers.
2. Design Thinking is used in the product development process and also strategy sessions, building retail relationships and to address operational issues.
3. There are 100 internal facilitators with over 40 design workshops being held this year.
4. Like Speed Thinking, it must be experienced. It is not an academic, objective, detached process but a hands-one, playing around, fully immersed experience.
5. This new way of thinking encourages managers to bring their whole brain not just their analytical left one. The aim is to encourage managers to use the principles every day.
6. One design principle could be test faster, fail faster and learn faster (sounds like Speed Thinking).
Ken Hudson
Six tips for faster, better meetings
July 24, 2008
People are always complaining about meetings — either their too long or unproductive and when time is short this is very frustrating. So what to do about it?
These are my top tips using a Speed Thinking perspective:
1. Send the agenda out a few days before the meeting with one problem or decision highlighted. Then ask participants to bring along nine different possibilities (ask them to speed think it). If they do not have any thoughts then suggest that they do not come. Using this principle, in the first few minutes, if you have say ten people you will have 90 possibilities.
2. Decide which items on the agenda are strategic or day-to-day. Change the agenda to place all the day to day decisions up front. Then Speed Thinking these. In ten minutes the group will have made five decisions then move on to the strategic decisions. The group will have made some progress and participants will feel better as they tackle the bigger issues.
3. However long your meetings are at the moment –half the time. According to Parkinson’s Law –work expands to fill the time available. It is the same with meetings. Meetings expand to the time you have allocated. Therefore it is better to have half the time as participants will have to think faster, they become more focused, make better decisions and they remain more energized. It is better to have shorter, more regular meetings than the three-four hour marathon.
4. The extension of Parkinson’s Law is
5. Have formal gut-feel time in every meeting. This is a formal, dedicated time in every meeting to allow people to use their intuition — particularly after the group has made a decision. Participants are encouraged to express what their ‘gut-feel’ is telling them e.g. ‘i know the number don’t add up but it still feels like their is an opportunity here.’ Giving participants the freedom of using their intuition is valuable because nearly every decision is informed by our emotions and we know from research that our intuition works at a lightning speed –way ahead of our rational mind. This means that our intuition might just stumble on a breakthrough that is not obvious to the rational, logical mind.
6. Allow everyone to create ideas or solve a problem at once. One of the barriers to meetings is the idea that we must listen to everyone else. This is polite and civil but slows down every meeting which means that a ideas are lost because of this slowing down effect. Much better to give everyone a sticky note pad so that when they have an idea they can write it down immediately and put it on the wall regardless of who is speaking.
. Ideally this is when you need a facilitator that is trained in Speed Thinking Principles.
Give these suggestions a go and send me a note on how it went
Ken Hudson
Think in Threes
July 19, 2008
When faced with a problem, try to develop a range of business-as-usual, different and radical solutions as quickly as you can. This new way of thinking pushes you to develop a greater range of solutions and gives you permission to offer those really left-field ideas.
The business-as-usual solutions are a continuation of what has been done before. The different solutions are a departure from the usual and the radical are a real left-field option (think big!). Then select the best outcome (it could one of the options or a combination of these).
For example, consider the problem, ‘How do we retain our best managers?’ A business-as-usual solution might be; to pay the high performing managers more. A different approach could be to expand their responsibilities or move them to a completely new (perhaps struggling) department. A radical approach might be to provide them with a 12 months sabbatical or give them a small (Company owned) business to run.
This framework is also a very powerful way of selling your ideas. It is a good way of providing the client with real choice. Start by outlining the B.A.U. option, then the different, and finally the radical one. Clients are often more willing to entertain the thought of a radical idea if they have the more bankable tried and true option on the table.
Ken Hudson
The One Dollar A Minute Rule
July 18, 2008
An interesting way of making decisions in a time-poor world is to imagine that every working minute of your day is worth one dollar to you. If you work for say nine hours then you have $540 worth of potential time each day that you can utilize or 2700 dollars each working week!
Now i know that not everything can be equated to a dollar figure. For example if i spend 20 minutes helping my kids do their homework then that should not have a dollar value. But what this rule of thumb provides you is but one way of having a single measure of your time and to remind you that your time is valuable.
Thinking this way might just help you to make better, quicker decisions in your everyday life. For example, the other day i spent about ten minutes deciding which pen to buy — this was just a garden variety pen but i agonized over color, brand, ink width etc. Under the dollar a minute rule i would have spent at that most five minutes because that was the entire pen was worth.
Try it next time you are faced with a decision. For example if i had to decide whether to go to a meeting. Ask yourself is it worth more to me than the 60 minutes i will spend there (i.e. is it worth more than $60 to me). If the answer is yes than go for it. If not, politely say no.
The one dollar a minute rule might just help you make better, faster decisions.
Ken Hudson
What you can learn from Sports Psychology
July 13, 2008
I just found a very good site that i thought had a very good summary of the top ten rules of Sports Psychology to improve performance. The site is http://www.sportsmindskills.com/sports_psychology_rules.php.
Their top ten suggestions are:
1. Focus on the process rather than the outcome
2. Develop regular routines.
3. Associate with good people and learn from them.
4. Use imagery to pre-think possible strategies and actions.
5. Use imagery to practice skills.
6. Your self-belief will dictate your success (i.e. if you believe it can be done you are half-way there).
7. Set goals.
8. Whatever you do–do it well.
9. Practice makes perfect.
10. Have Fun.
These seem to be good, common sense guide to helping you improve your performance and results whether it is at work or in your private life.
Ken Hudson