14 April 2004
As part of my coaching I always advocate a need to change our management style and start asking rather than telling because wouldn’t it be nice if we were asked rather than be told. Ever since we were children we have had ingrained in us “do what you’re told” rather than “what would you like to do”. Management must get use to asking because the status quo is changing so rapidly in manufacturing, commerce and retailing. But how... Ideas and creativity are needed in the UK to win the battle in the rapid change global market. We need right brain creativity right here in Derby, possibly more than most, because it is principally a left brain, engineering city, where right brain creativity is not part of mainstream natural thinking.
The fundamental problem is that every time we’re told, the creative right hand side of the brain never gets a look in. Being told is a left side, logical side operation. So what happens?.. the creative brain muscle isn’t exercised and it’s not allowed to get fit, because of the “syllabus” at school, the “system” at college, the “orders” at the factory, the “directives” at the office and the “keep your place” in society. Our brains are forced into the old straightjacket of conformity i.e. no ideas vacuum, old thinking routes, don’t rock the boat waters, “wadilt”* land.
The more you ask the more you’ll get, because you force the person to think, to be creative, to come up with an answer.. We need to cultivate our own incredible brain computer, and those of others by using the brain more, expand it, grow it, feed it and train it. So how can you go about the change . .ask for more in-house solutions from your staff on a regular basis…delight your customers by not using market research use “customer askers”…change the board of directors to the “board of askers”.. breed your team of askers, promote your own idea tank or solution pool, start asking today and not telling ..you’ll be really glad you did.
Einstein said, “ Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create”.
Note * “wadilt – we’ve always done it like this”
©William Barron
Creating Insight
April 2004
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