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Personal Brilliance

Irreverent Curiosity

May 27, 2011

British scientist and author Jacob Bronowski said, “It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.” A great example of achieving success through an increased sense of curiosity is the high school student in Lincoln, New Hampshire, [...]

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The Role of Consciousness

May 2, 2011

Consciousness is used to monitor the environment for us, bringing stimuli from the environment to our attention and awareness. The process can be seen when we’re quietly reading inside our home on a windy day. Our focus is on the reading and our awareness includes the book, possibly the comfortable feeling of being inside, and [...]

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Meijer: I may be able to find chopped green chiles

April 25, 2011

Meijer is launching an app that will direct me to the right shelf for the product I want. Hallelujah!!! I’m pretty domestic. I like to cook, do my share of the clean-up, etc. But send me to the grocery store and my blood pressure increases 50 points. My wife makes a great dip that requires [...]

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3 Ways to train people to be curious

April 21, 2011

One trait of the innovator is to lead by example and there is no more important area for this than curiosity. We’ve talked about the negative training received throughout our lives that is designed to dampen curiosity to the point where the brain literally stops coming up with questions. We have to teach the people [...]

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Find Your Game

April 4, 2011

It’s easy to focus on something if you enjoy it. Have you ever been lost in a great movie or a book? The feeling is that time is suspended and you are surprised how connected you are with the material. Concentration on the material comes easily. If someone walks in the room you may not [...]

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Identify the most impossible solutions

March 16, 2011

Poet Theodore Roethke said: “What we need are more people who specialize in the impossible.” When faced with a challenge, try to identify the most absurd solutions possible. This can be a fun exercise and may unmask a solution. This process tends to expose the boundary lines in our thinking. One client, for instance was [...]

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Systems – The Key to Focus

March 7, 2011

When your head’s in the clouds of brilliant thinking how do you stay in the present and get the mundane things done? We always hear about the cliché absent minded genius. Granted when you’re solving a big problem with far-reaching effects keeping track of the car keys doesn’t seem that important. But a balancing act [...]

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Mind Expansion

February 27, 2011

On the path to brilliance it’s important to consistently expand your mind, opening new pathways. My friend David Staley talks frequently about domain bridging in which various disciplines come together for innovation. We can bring that concept down to the personal level. What can you do to open up new pathways? Well, let’s ignore LSD [...]

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Bad habits – a need or a want?

February 14, 2011

Jenny quit smoking. The last time I saw her she was excited to announce that she had gone seven weeks without a smoke. I just saw her again the other day and she was headed out into the cold to light up. When I asked her about it she said, “Well things happened in my [...]

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Look and Listen With Intent

January 31, 2011

Listening is important when having a discussion with someone in person or on the phone, but it’s also important when reading comments on a blog, reviewing customer feedback, or watching a front-line person interact with your customers. Here are just a few tips for active listening. Try them in conversations over the next week and [...]

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