Page 211 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

202 MIND FARMING

Let’s say an airline company challenges its ground service and
flight crews by asking them to find ways to improve on-time depar-
ture by 10 percent. That question will stimulate many new ideas in
people, as they examine the departure procedures, determine what
causes delays, and apply some good old-fashioned ingenuity to solve
the problem. And if they do a good job, they just might reach their 10
percent improvement goal.
But let’s also say that the airline’s competitor has asked its people,
“How can we improve our departure record by 50 percent?” Just by
asking a better question, the second airline has triggered more
curiosity. Employees in the second company will probably consider
some of the same improvement measures as those in the first airline,
but they will also strive well beyond the first team—not just looking
for marginal improvement but for paradigm-shifting changes—sim-
ply by asking what some engineers I once worked with call a “stretch
question.”

HOW TO DEVELOP ACTIVE MINDS

Nurturing active minds is as much a part of developing a corporate
mind-set as thinking habits and practices. Developing a corporate
mind-set starts at the top of the company and within each department,
and it is critical to long-term success on this front. Are the leaders in
your company dreamers? They need to be if they are to truly lead your
company past the competition and into a bright future.
As for the pure mechanics of an active mind, how do you get people
to come up with more ideas? One simple way is to actually keep score.
“I’d like to see 50 new ways to capitalize on this opportunity,” you
might say when soliciting some solutions. You can further push your
people by challenging them: “Make sure you have your 200 outtakes
within reach in case I want to look at the ‘chaff.’ ” That kind of encour-
agement will certainly do it.
Also, when conducting brainstorming sessions, make quantity your
goal, not quality. The quality will take care of itself.
Expect many solutions to even the smallest of problems. Develop
this thinking style at the lowest levels in your organization, not just at
the top. Tomorrow’s thought leaders in your company will come from
today’s rank and file. My 100 MPH Thinking tool is particularly effec-
tive for activating minds.