Page 169 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

CHAPTER 16

Redefining the

Acceptable Range

Every individual and every corporate culture, it seems, has an accept-
able range of thinking, a spectrum of consideration, a comfort zone in
which they evaluate ideas.

The more open-minded people and more progressive companies
obviously have broader acceptable ranges than their less open
counterparts.

This concept of “acceptable range” became apparent to me over the
years when I first recognized a rather vague pattern of behavior fol-
lowing many of the brainstorming sessions I conducted. I also noticed
that this acceptable range expanded as a result of the changed state
people found themselves in after participating in one of my skills devel-
opment programs, whether it was a two-hour Do-It-Yourself Lobot-
omy or a three-day Creative Camp.
Let me explain by recounting a conversation that happened on the
way to the airport with a client. This discussion, following a brain-
storming session, served as an epiphany for me in finally crystallizing
the concept of acceptable range and how it limits creativity. My com-
pany was brought in to help a work group in a large corporation
reduce the time-to-market cycle from 120 to 90 days to remain com-
petitive in a particular business category. I’ll change the names and the
business category to protect the confidentiality of the company
involved.