Research and discussion on the formation of genius and expert performance
Listening to a Stanford podcast from the founder of Tesla Motors, I made the following notes that I thought worth writing down…
Makes a nice snap back to reality after yesterday’s session with China NLP on values…
Daniel Smith
A few minutes ago, I was asked to attend an induction ceremony. As I perused the agenda for the early morning meeting (my unborn own child would be considerate enough to wait until after 8:45am on a Saturday morning to be born!!!) outlined eight outcomes… of which at most one were relevant to me. For me, that’s the sort of meeting that I try fervently to avoid, so I phoned the person who called the meeting to confirm whether I needed to attend… and the response that I got astounded me: “it’s procedure”.
“it’s procedure”!!!!!
Maybe wasting your time is “procedure” for some, but I like to not be one of those people… but it got me thinking about motivations. I realised – as I was speaking with the MBA-educated meeting convener – that she was motivated by fulfilling the criteria (going through the motions or just doing stuff), rather than actually achieving outcomes.
It really got me annoyed for a few minutes… until I got curious.
I noticed that some people sincerely believe that life is accomplished by going through the motions… it’s more than the difference between being efficient and being effective – I’m really talking about alignment. I’m talking about the importance of getting your actions and outcomes aligned with your overall direction or vision, and consistent with your values.
So where are you at? What are your values? How aligned are you? How aligned is your organisation?
There are now more than a hundred billionaires in China – and the youngest was born in the 1980s! And you can bet that they are lean, focused and disciplined to get profit… and profit is where you are better aligned to deliver value than your competitors. Fundamentally, that’s why capitalism can work so well… it rewards and challenges us to create ever-greater value.
In a world of hypercompetition, free design (as it is once you get to scale) and a boundary-less world alignment is everything… to deliver alignment you have to design it, necessitating self-awareness and the determination to understand your underlying values.
Because if you don’t, you can be sure that someone else will.
Daniel Smith
We talk a lot about software for your mind as a metaphor for your thought patterns – cultivating emotions (like compassion, tenacity, playfulness, love etc) or refining our thinking skills (creativity, learning, problem solving…)
However there’s some great software out there. One of them – Mindjet’s MindManager is sensational! It helps you organise, implement and communicate your ideas and concepts. I’ve just fallen in love with it (and their viewer that comes with a 5-day trial of the full software): Now I want a version for my smartphone…
If you’re looking for a more metaphorical software upgrade, I like the Four Hour Work Week generally, and particularly this post on Tim’s blog about finding your rhythm for peak creativity. His ChangeThis manifesto is pretty cool too. Though if you want a more-easily accessed stimulus for creativity, try sitting for a few hours in the couches of the Grand Cafe on the 54th floor of Jin Mao as I did this afternoon… truly inspiring!
Daniel Smith
“Great leaders” are often held up as great heroes, whose skill, luck and insight can overcome anything in their way. But the world just isn’t like that. Inspirationally larger-than-life leaders are fantastic – I have a few of my favourites – though leaders who are too sure of themselves are liable to miss the subtle and not-so-subtle changes that are happening all around them and get left behind…
Beaten by those that might have had less talent, less charisma and even less resources…
But who understood that we all make mistakes and that the world is complex, so we need to be somewhat restrained and insure against those freakish events that can wipe you out. Not to be overly focused on the negative, though being mindful of the risks. And, of course, you have to make decisions and follow through once you decide, and you need to have accurate inputs, vision and effective decision-making strategies for implementation and execution too.
I like to see the parallels between business and personal life. Perhaps not as pervasive as Dan Schawbel, though I still think that personal branding is vital for us all, but in this context, we – as individuals, communities and nations – need to remember the same points that great leaders need. Anyway, that’s what I’m working on in GeniusTraining.
Daniel Smith
Self-actualisation was the phrase used by Maslow to denote the fulfillment of our highest human needs – an experience that we can all work towards yet very few attain. Self-actualised people are detached from the good opinions of others and have no desire for power over others; they follow their bliss and are true to themselves. Perhaps it is this pursuit that led my grandfather to spend so long nurturing his precious lawn! Here are some of the key characteristics for you to consider.
You cannot achieve enough to be happy. But you can happily achieve.
Daniel Smith
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