Arthur Miller Quote

“One can’t stand forever on the shore. At some point, filled with indecision, skepticism, reservation and doubt, you either jump in or concede that life is forever elsewhere” – Arthur Miller

Gossip Stoppers

My friend April Callis just published a nice spiral-bound book entitled “Gossip Stoppers: 101 Insights to Stop Gossip.”  Although I don’t think it is available yet for purchase, I wanted to share two of the quotes.

Half the world is composed of people who have something to say but can’t, and the other half of people who have nothing to say and keep on saying it. – Robert Frost

Great minds discuss ideas.  Average minds discuss events.  Small minds discuss people. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Therefore, have great ideas – and share them with the world.  We need less gossip (and reality TV shows) and more creative thinking.

Jefferson Loved Books Not Banks

Here is something courtesy of Barry Kibrick, host of the PBS TV show, “Between the Lines.”  I was on his show a few years ago with my Goal-Free Living book.  Barry is one of the best interviewers on television.

200 years ago today (March 3), Thomas Jefferson spent his last day in office as President. On that day he issued a special report to the Treasury focused on the Bank of the United States. It was a dismal report, for the nation at that time was in desperate financial straits due to an embargo that was hurting all aspects of the economy.

As most of us know, President Jefferson was no fan of the banks, big business, or of big government intervention, but he was a fan of books and the “capital” they provide. So, on that note I leave you with these words by our 3rd President.

“Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital.” Thomas Jefferson – President of the United States, 1801-1809

Thanks Barry.

My Quought of the Day

My friend, Rajesh Setty, has been collecting “Quoughts.  He describes these as questions that provoke thought. In particular, he wants to know, what is one question that you wish someone had asked you when you were young…and why?

My response will be posted on his site soon – along with his commentary.  But I thought I would share my response with my readers first.

My Quought is:

“What matters most?”

Why did I choose this quought?   There are two reasons:

1. Einstein once said, “If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.” From my personal experience, most people (and organizations) spend 60 minutes finding solutions to problems that don’t matter. So relevance is one aspect of “what matters most.”
2. Recently, I have been asking myself, “Is what I do significant?” I know my work changes organizations. And I like to believe that it also changes lives. But is the change significant? Lately I have been restless. I think the reason is that I want greater significance in my life.

The second point, significance, is something I am wrestling with right now.  In fact, I have decided that this will be my theme for the rest of this year.  As we move into the last third of the year, maybe it is time for you to revisit your theme.  If you are not familiar with my concept of themes, please read my article on the topic.

Maybe it is time to ask yourself, “What matters most?”  What matters most to your organization?  What matters most in your personal life?  What matters most to your family?  When you focus on the things that matter most, you have more time.  And you can spend that free time on more things that matter.

George Carlin Quote

Today’s quote is from the great comedian, George Carlin, who passed away Sunday.  Although this quote is less raunchy than most, it’s still not quite “G” rated…

“I got a lot of ideas.  Trouble is, most of them suck.”

Although this is a simple saying, there is some real depth to it. 

The reality is, you have a lot of ideas.  Your team has lots of ideas.  And guess what, most of those ideas do indeed stink.

And this is what stifles innovation.  As adults, we worry about our bad ideas emerging.  We don’t want to look silly, so we filter everything, including the good ideas. 

How can you stop people from filtering their ideas? 

I ask teams (during brainstorming, in particular) to strive for a “high suckiness factor.” Give me all of your bad ideas; not just your good ones.  

This serves two purposes:

1. When you allow the bad ideas to flow, you also allow the (submerged) good ideas to emerge.  Everyone has them. They just get filtered along with all of the other ideas.
2. Quite often, the worst idea can be the seed for a great idea.  One of the questions I like to ask a group is, “What is the funniest, craziest, or worst idea? ” After they create a list, I ask them, “How can you make that into a great idea?”

Let’s remember George Carlin by surfacing all of our buried ideas – the good, the bad, and the sucky.

Next Page »