Problem Definition and Political Ice Cream

Often, in our everyday, we get told what the problem is and then everyone goes straight to solving for the problem without taking time to really understand what the problem is.

Bingo.

This has been readily identified as a key problem within our bureaucracies, political parties and how our very democracy functions.

But are we identifying the right problems?  Or are we viewing everything as a nail because the only thing we know how to do is hammer on our own interests?

Leaders don't tell people what the problem is and how to fix it; they bring them together to properly identify the problem and design a sustainable solution.

It's a forward, together kind of thing.

We began to recognize a tension where participants felt if they weren't engaged with the problem, they had less motivation.

The user knows the way As groups worked on understanding the problem, one of the greatest task is thinking of who the users are beyond what you as the designer want to achieve.  When we can let go of our designer ego, and let the user guide you to the solution then we can be responsive and human-centered.

Leadership Off the Links: Women Who Don't Complain, But Act (UPDATED)

I've learned to deal with setbacks and heartaches like an adult.  I know what I like and what I don't like.  I know what makes me tick, and what and who deserves a kick.

It's funny in a sad kind of way; on the one hand, we have Old Boy Network folk like John Tory suggesting that it's up to women to push for more money and encouraging young women to learn golf so as to cozy up to the rich white guys.

At the same time, the solution being proposed to our youth unemployment (and general disaffection with the way our system works) by these folk is suck it up and sell harder.  It's not the job of bosses to look for talent any more than it's their responsibility to proactively support and reward good work - laissez-faire capitalism and all that.

These are the same wealthy insiders who are discussing the failure of Capitalism at Davos and discussing Canada's innovation deficit at high-priced luncheons and bemoaning the fact that young people don't get the way the world works.  Oh - and then there's that whole social sustainability thing, crippled by a burgeoning mental health crisis.  Dysfunctional government doesn't help matters, either.

It's too bad the elites don't believe in committing sociology; if they did, they'd actually understand the problems we're facing and see that the solutions are already being developed and implemented.

Some of the brightest, most dedicated, innovative and solution-oriented people I know don't play golf, don't wear suits and certainly aren't interested in complaining.  To them, that would be a waste of time.

Instead, they are focused on getting things done. 

They're not afraid to give stern words to the sales-oriented laissez-faire loafers who are getting in the way of progress.  After all, when the bosses abdicate responsibility, someone's gotta lead.

And you know what else?   These emerging leaders seem to overwhelmingly be women.

The Master doesn't talk, she acts.

When her work is done,

The people say "Amazing,

We did it, all by ourselves!"

UPDATE:  The best swag for women coders according to Goldman Sachs?  Compact mirrors and nail files.  Read the comments to see the psychology of why this sort of thing persists.

I'm sure some women love to be condescended to and subjected to sexist stereotypes.  We'll see how's that approach helps the Goldman Sachs' of the world recruit women.  If it's the company's culture rather than the individuals' sensitivity that's the problem, I'm sure they'll evolve with the times.

It'd only be logical, right?

Designing Space That Engages

 

I get to meet a lot of inspirational people in my life who open up new doors of perception and, as a result, opportunity.

 

Jennifer Chan is one of the most expansive - yet articulate - minds I've met in my journeys across five continents.  She designs spaces that actually enhance the work meant to be done in them.

 

If you're in business, education, health, politics, any field that happens in a fixed space, check her out.

 

More of the below found here:

Places to be if you love books…

Mark Twain said, “In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.” Mark Twain would have lost his mind if he saw these places.

Someone’s living room

The Liyuan Library near Beijing, China

Mental Health and the Knowledge Economy: Where I'm Going Today and Where We're Headed Tomorrow

 

Today, the Economic Club of Canada will be discussing the economics of mental health:

 

The cost of mental illness in Canada is at least $50 billion per year – or 2.8 per cent of our gross domestic product. Over the next 30 years, mental health-related costs will climb to more than $2.5 trillion.

From promoting mental health in the workplace, to working with families and children at risk, to helping people stay out of hospital, the Mental Health Commission of Canada has put forward practical and proven solutions to improve mental health for Canadians while taking some stress off our economy.

There is a growing movement out there (Thanks, Senator Kirby) which recognizes that while mental health has traditionally been the "forgotten orphan" in healthcare funding, it's actually one of the greatest underpinning issues of our time.

 

Why do people commit suicide?  Why do people bully?  What sparks innovation?  How do we motivate productivity in the Knowledge Economy?  Can an understanding of cognition make marketing (and politicking) more effective?  How do we nurture resilience?  What information do we need to make the best decisions and what's the best way to absorb it? 

 

These and countless other questions are all tied to how our grey matter interprets and operates in the world.

 

As it stands, society doesn't do mental health well. 

 

We have standardized education models that still struggle with differing learning styles - even the end goal of education (A certificate? Knowledge? Critical thinking, entrepreneurialism, occupational flexibility?) is in question.

 

Workplaces tend to work on the good-behaviour, poor-behaviour model, too; people are resources motivated by carrots and sticks.  It worked throughout the industrial age when widget-making relied on set skills employed quickly, so surely it will work in an environment where communication, big-picture thinking and attention to detail matters - right? 

 

We're hammering away at today's problems with yesterday's tools and getting mad at people, not the paradigm, for failing to deliver the results we expect.  Why?  The answer to that also lies in our cognitive hard wiring. 

 

Just as we learned through fits and starts to do physical labour better at the turn of the last century, we are on the brink of a significant social transformation that will fundamentally reshape the way we live and enhance the health and productivity of our cognitive labour, empowering individuals to perform better and leading to a stronger, more sustainable, more entrepreneurial economy.  Pieces of the picture are already emerging through initiatives like the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, Social Emotional Learning, innovative student-centred post-secondary education models and design thinking. 

It's a vast, complex picture that needs lateral thinkers who can visualize how the pieces fit together.  These are the kinds of folk that don't always do well in traditional models of education and work.  Sometimes we call them "behavioural" or "underperformers"; given the right conditions and supports, they become known as visionaries, leaders, world-changers - outliers.

 

Here in Canada, we have all the raw material we need to become a global hub for innovation and a Knowledge Economy leader - we won't get there, though, using conservative approaches around science, diversity and accommodation.

 

To be the best in the emerging economy, we need to start thinking outside the box. 

 

Tomorrow's leaders will be the ones who set that example, today.  On the left-hand side of this blog is a list of background reading I'd encourage you to consider.  You'll be surprised and perhaps a bit unerved at what you learn about society and yourself, but don't let that stop you.

 

After all, knowledge is power.

7 Things That Set Real Entrepreneurs Apart (Steve Tobak)

Love this description.  I know a few folk who match it - and there's no question in my mind that they're going to change the world.

7 Things That Set Real Entrepreneurs Apart

Just because you wear a black turtleneck, jeans, and sneakers doesn't make you Steve Jobs. This is what makes an entrepreneur.

 

Lou Dematteis/Corbis

 

A VC whose name escapes me once said, "There are entrepreneurs and there are Entrepreneurs!"

I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that, but I'll tell you what I think. I think the term "entrepreneur" has become more than a little overused, watered down, diluted.

 

That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. This is supposed to be the era of the entrepreneur. Practically everyone has a business, a brand, a blog. Everybody's a CEO of one. And yet, relatively few actually embody the true meaning of the word "entrepreneur." So what does it mean?

 

To me, it means assuming significant personal risk in forming and running a business.

 

And of those real entrepreneurs, few manage to create a profitable, growing enterprise that delivers unique products, meaningful employment, and shareholder value. What makes those Entrepreneurs unique? What sets them apart from the pack? That's a very challenging question. And the answer may surprise you.

 

They defy characterization. You really have to get to know these people, work with them for years, maybe even get inside their heads a bit, to understand what they're really all about. Here's one thing I know for sure. They're each one of a kind. The real deal. They don't try to be unique. They just are. And they don't try to be like someone else, either. They know that wearing a black mock turtleneck, jeans, and sneakers doesn't make you Steve Jobs.

 

Money means little to them. It's sort of ironic how little money matters to those who are true entrepreneurs at heart. After all, the really successful ones end up with so much of it. For them, money is just a means to an end. And since money's not a distraction or a temptation, they can truly focus on what really counts: doing what drives them, what they're passionate about. Challenging themselves, proving it can be done. Building a company, wealth and all that are secondary.

 

They're on a mission from God. No, they're not really. But when they speak about their vision or idea, you'd swear they've been possessed by some sort of demon that, instead of inciting chaos and mischief, inspires innovation and creation. There's definitely an aspect of fanaticism in their zeal for whatever has captured their imagination. That could be because they truly think they're special or need to prove something. Interestingly, that aspect can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

They don't take risks for the sake of taking risks. Just as they don't set out to make money, true entrepreneurs don't usually set out to take risks, either. They just don't let anything stand in the way of whatever it is they're driven to do. They'll pursue it come hell or high water. Risk just comes with the territory. Despite being driven to do what's never been done, I just think that motivation is stronger than their fear of what might go wrong. Or maybe they just don't think about it.

 

They weren't born that way. Most of the successful entrepreneurs I've known started with nothing or at least from modest beginnings. Some had parents who did their own thing, but most didn't. They usually had mentors or people who inspired them to trust their gut and have confidence in themselves. That, to me, is a key ingredient in the making of an entrepreneur: the motivation to go for it despite the odds and conventional wisdom.

 

They're not iconic leaders. Our society loves to create heroes. We hoist them up on impossibly high pedestals. But in my experience, the entrepreneur as iconic leader is a myth. Successful founders usually have partners. Bill Gates had Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer. Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak. Larry Page had Sergey Brin. Also, entrepreneurs are often better at founding and creating than they are at running and sustaining companies.

 

They're not very patient. Whoever said patience is a virtue was definitely not a VC or anyone in the startup business, for that matter. Successful entrepreneurs don't usually care much for social convention. They have little patience for convention. They don't want to hear how things are done, have been done, or should be done. They do things their way. But here's a twist. While they will fight you tooth and nail over a key decision, as soon as they realize they're wrong, they'll turn around in a heartbeat.

 

To me, it all boils down to this: If you want to become an entrepreneur for the sake of becoming an entrepreneur, that's probably not going to work out so well. If, on the other hand, you're driven to accomplish something cool and unique without a safety net, then I think you should go for it.

Steve Tobak is a management consultant, executive coach, and former senior executive of the technology industry. He's managing partner of Invisor Consulting, a Silicon Valley-based strategy consulting firm. Contact Tobak; follow him on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. @SteveTobak

Letting Youth Lead in Ontario

In her first jobs roundtable discussion with members of Ontario's Jobs and Prosperity Council, business leaders and young entrepreneurs, Premier Wynne reiterated her commitment to create jobs and build a stronger economy and a fair society by ensuring our young people have the tools and confidence they need to succeed.

 

 

Good lord, but Premier Kathleen Wynne is off to an exciting start! 

There are established, successful business leaders out there in search of new ideas.  Social entrepreneurs, many of them young and without track records or well-positioned contacts, are cranking out innovative, value-add solutions to our modern problems.  The thing that's been missing is some way to connect these folk and give them the comfort they need to take a risk and trust each other enough to collaborate.

 

What we need is a stone in the soup, a leader who can serve as a conduit of opportunity for all these groups.

 

With a background in both education and mediation, Wynne's got what it takes to be the rock for an innovative Ontario.  She's proving as much right now, walking the walk and leading by example.

 

Something else, too - by empowering the private sector with opportunity to access new marketplaces for ideas, Wynne is building business sector confidence in her leadership.  By proactively creating opportunity for youth to develop the tools and contacts they need to succeed, she's demonstrating a deep understanding of what teachers do - helping to give them faith that she can be an ally, not an opponent.  This doesn't mean higher salaries or increased benefits, but ensuring that our education sector, too, has the tools needed to succeed.

 

Poor leaders divide and conquer to protect their own position.  Exceptional leaders invert the pyramid and see themselves as servants of the people - making leadership a form of public service, as it were.  When the goal is collaborative accomplishment rather than personal wins, everybody moves forward.

 

Call me biased, I'm incredibly hopeful about where Wynne will take us - we now have not just the leadership we want, but the leadership we deserve.

 

 

 

The Creative Mind

The pathological compulsion to create.  The inability not to look behind the curtain and understand how the magic works.  The continuous doubt that smothers any chance at complacence.  The gift of innovation.

 

Yeah, I'm blessed to know a few people like this.

Working Tirelessly to be More Creative

By Douglas Eby

Part of the widely-circulated comments by Pearl Buck (winner of a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938) includes this: “The truly creative mind [feels] the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off… By some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating.”

That “inward urgency” is a common quality of accomplished creative people.

 

Director Kathryn Bigelow wrote in praise of her lead actress Jessica Chastain in “Zero Dark Thirty” :

“Talent comes in many guises, but all original talents share the same quality: They’re unique, one of a kind. Totally unlike the rest of the crowd. Jessica Chastain, at least to my mind, is one of our original talents, a rare and gifted actress.”

 

She adds that with her roles in “Take Shelter,” “Tree of Life” and “The Help,” Chastain “was introduced to audiences and the industry. Suddenly, she was an actress that many filmmakers wanted to work with because she has real range and she gets lost in her characters, and also because she is an overall easygoing person.

 

“The other side of Jessica that not as many people know is that she is an utter slave to her craft and one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met, let alone directed in a film. Jessica strives in everything she does. She works and works, tirelessly, on a range of quality projects — large films, independent films, Broadway — she does it all.”

 

From First Person: Bigelow praises ‘Zero Dark Thirty’s’ Chastain By Kathryn Bigelow, Los Angeles Times, January 31, 2013.

 

Photo of Kathryn Bigelow directing ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ from Facebook.

 

Creativity Coach Lisa Riley writes about this aspect of creative intensity and drive.

 

“In the gifted person the calling to create can frequently be a relentless yearning. Innate characteristics of the gifted individuals such as seeking a deeper meaning and purpose; immense satisfaction in problem solving; constant curiosity and viewing a creative task from different perspectives, naturally urges them towards creativity.

 

“It’s as if all these traits merge together and become a compelling force from within to seek out creative challenges.”

 

She adds quotes from Mary-Elaine Jacobsen’s book “The Gifted Adult”:

 

“Everyday Geniuses need to create the best that they are capable of is not something that goes away with time. It’s not something we can excise, or a job from which we can expect to happily retire.

“To be sure, the intensity of creative pressure does ebb and flow, but like the tide, it always comes back.

“Unless we are extraordinarily hindered, sooner or later we must comply with the creative spirit’s urgings, because it is more persevering than any attempt by our thinking mind to ignore our gifts. Living everyday with the need to create is like sharing a room with a hyperactive little brother who elbows you, tugs at your shirtsleeve, and tweaks your ear repeatedly until you give him your undivided attention.”

 

Riley adds, “Perhaps what fuels this drive is the tremendous satisfaction, the gifted person experiences during and after the creative process.”

 

From her post “Pressure to Create” on her site The Art of Mind.

 

Book: The Gifted Adult by Mary-Elaine Jacobsen, PsyD.

 

Related post: An Intense Inner Pressure to Create.

For more about the highly talented actor, see my post Jessica Chastain on being sensitive and a loner:

That post includes comments by Jonathan Heaf, writing in GQ (U.K.): ‘While studying theater at New York’s prestigious Juilliard School [she had earned a scholarship], the actress was terrified that she’d be exposed as a talentless hack and sent home.

“It’s really why I never partied with the other students,” says Chastain.’
~~~