In middle school and high school my dad and I would have massive arguments about my math homework. And by “massive,” I mean arguments that make episodes of The Real Housewives look like polite differences of opinion over tea and crumpets.
The issue was not my struggles to understand the work (though I’m sure that played into things) but rather my insistence on knowing WHY I needed to learn the content in the first place.
My dad, a metallurgist before becoming a computer engineer, seemed to think the answers to “Why?” were (1) you will need to know this in the future and (2) because this is the assignment.
To which I would respond, (1) no I won’t because I’m going to be a lawyer or a writer and even if I’m not those two things I can say with 100% certainty I won’t be an engineer and (2) that is not an acceptable reason.
As you can imagine, things would escalate from there.
In the decades since, with the exception of some single-variable algebra and basic geometry, I have yet to use most of the math that I was forced to learn and I still insist that “because that’s the assignment/the rules/how things are done” is not an acceptable answer.
Usually I apply that same stubborn curiosity to help my clients find and capitalize on opportunities to do things differently and better, create value, and innovate.
But, in the last week as I, like most Americans, find myself largely confined to my home, my curiosity is extending to my own environment and habits and I’m not always prepared for the insights that emerge.
WHY am I trying to maintain all my pre-pandemic habits?
Initial Answer: Because the experts say I should
Insight: I have a choice and now is the perfect time to decide which habits to keep and which to change. So far, I’m keeping all habits related to basic personal hygiene, dressing, and eating, while also experimenting with other habits, like how I schedule my time
Real Answer: We’re in an unusual time of collective uncertainty which makes this the perfect time to examine, re-evaluate, and change the things we often take as given. Like our own habits
WHY am I watching non-stop news?
Initial Answer: Because information is empowering in uncertain times
Insight: A screen showing “Breaking News” AND the global and US COVID-19 diagnosis and death counts AND numerous experts AND a crawl with dozens of other stories is not information. It’s noise. If the “news” has been known for 4 hours, it’s not “breaking,” it’s broken, move on.
Real Answer: I need to schedule my information consumption and focus on facts.
WHY am I not using this time to get feedback from my own customers, especially since this is the first thing I tell my clients to do?
Initial Answers: (1) I don’t want to bother them, (2) They’re busy with more important things, (3) They never complained so I’m sure it’s all good (4) I need to focus on the future, not the past, (5) I have other things to do, (6) Oh look, another email/text/Facebook post/bird/distraction!
Insight: I don’t want to for the exact same reasons most of my clients don’t want to have open-ended EPIC (empathy, perspective, insightful, and connected) conversations with their customers — I’m afraid that even though they say they love me they also know that I’m not perfect and will have really great and helpful suggestions that will require me to change. (in all honesty, this is the nice version of what I say to myself)
Real Answer: Time to put on my big-girl pants, follow my own advice, and go ask for feedback. It’s the only way improvement, innovation, and most importantly, client delight will happen
WHY do I suddenly feel the need to go outside and spend all time with people?
Initial Answer: Because it’s Spring, the weather is nice, and I like people
Insight: I want to go outside and be with people because I have been specifically told NOT to do those things. Just as I’m an introvert who does not like bugs or pollen, I also have a rebellious (intrapreneurial?) streak which makes me want to do exactly what I have been told not to do.
Real Answer: I can go outside or open a window, stand in the backyard, or sit on the front porch. I can socialize, I just need to use technology and bring my own drinks and dinner to the FaceTime/Zoom/Skype/Google Hangout
WHY are there 6 dozen eggs in the refrigerator?
Initial Answer: My husband is losing his mind OR he forgot that he bought 2 dozen eggs in each of the last two trips to the grocery store.
Insight: These are strange and uncertain times and that rattles even the most stoic and level-headed of people. My husband was a submarine warfare officer in the nuclear navy and often tells stories of sleeping on the missiles because they were more comfortable than his bunk and unarmed. This is not a guy who reacts emotionally to events or who worries about the apocalypse. He is cautious and practical and, sometimes, annoyingly reasonable. But he also bought 6 dozen eggs in less than 7 days.
Real Answer: Be patient, have empathy, listen to, and support everyone. Especially they people who you think may least need it. Also, I need to get over my aversion to quiche and other egg-heavy dishes.
In conclusion
Stay curious, turn off the news, be open to feedback and change, be supportive of others, let me know if (1) you’ve ever had to use calculus in your personal life and/or (2) have a great egg-heavy recipe
A relentless stream of news and updates are coming at us, warning us about COVID-19, a declining stock market, rising unemployment, and the financial crunch facing millions and millions of individuals and families.
On the other hand, we’re also getting daily notifications from companies about what they’re doing in the face of all of this news, tips for working from home and maintaining our mental health, and encouragement to support our friends, families, neighbors, and strangers in new ways.
Should we be scared or stoic? Isolated or connected? Hoarding or sharing?
Whatever you choose (and it is your choice), I encourage you to also be creative.
I’m not talking about being creative in the capital C way and take up painting, sculpting, composing, or any of the other activities we typically associate with the fine arts.
I’m talking about calmly assessing your situation, clearly acknowledging the constraints that are requiring change, and then exploring the “new normal” you can create.
This is what innovators do and you, yes YOU, are an innovator.
Innovators know that creativity thrives within constraints. If anything is possible and everything is permissible, you can do whatever you want! But that’s not how the world is. Not now and not before COVID-19.
We, people and businesses, have always faced constraints because we’ve never had infinite resources, money, or time. But we acknowledged the constraints and created within them. That’s what we have to do now.
Caterers have to order food well before events take place so when events are cancelled, caterers are left with a lot of food that they’ve already paid for and without the event income that was going to cover their costs.
Devil’s Food Catering in Portland OR faced exactly this situation. Instead of letting the food go to waste or trying to become a take-out shop on their own, they created Handbasket by teaming with other with other Portland area restaurants, breweries, distilleries, bakeries, and other providers to create “handmade menus for quality in-home dining experiences during this of social distancing.”
Some people are gifted with the motivation to workout and some of us, well…aren’t.
In-person classes and personal training are often the solutions we rely on because we feel a sense of connection with our instructors, trainers, and classmates. As gyms close and social distancing becomes a way of life, the loss of live workouts can deepen our sense of isolation.
Recognizing this, local gyms, studios, and personal trainers in cities across the country are offering livestream classes so that we can continue to feel connected AND healthy AND active from the comfort of our own homes.
p.s. the link above is for the Boston area but I found similar articles for Philly, Washington, Houston, and even Wyoming
Spears Who Dare bills itself as TED meets Broadway, “a groundbreaking speaker series produced like a Broadway show, featuring speakers from around the world who want to ignite change and inspire new ways of thinking.”
Scheduled to take place on March 24, the organizers recognized that, like many other live events, their original plans for a live Broadway event needed to change. Last week, they shifted from live to livestream, planning a 6-camera shoot of each speaker and performer sharing their messages and art in an empty theater.
Then NYC closed the theaters. Within hours the organizers shifted again and asked each speaker to record a “mini-movie” that could be edited together to create “a full-blown Speakers Who Dare Film” to be shared with a global audience, viewing together on the original event date.
People
Seeing your coworkers when you can’t (or don’t want to) videoconference
Homemade games for when you’ve already played all the games you bought
More homemade games for when you really need to interact with people outside your own home
How and what will YOU create today?
Just in case you need a nudge…find the perfect gif starring the perfect celebrity expressing the perfect emotion and send it to someone who needs it
I don’t know about you, but I’m rather tired of the non-stop hysteria that seems to be occurring these days. Between COVID-19, politics, the economy, and the state of Tom Brady’s contract (sorry, I live in Boston), it seems that the world is having a panic attack.
Namaste, people. Namaste.
In an effort to not contribute to the panic, instead of writing something topical and relating it to innovation, I’m simply going to share images of something that makes me extremely happy and peaceful and relate them to innovation.
Books.
I love books. I love reading them, looking at them, talking about them, and just being amongst them. In the days before Amazon, I would go to bookstores and simply sit in the aisle because it was the most calming and energizing thing I could think of. Don’t even get me started on the sheer joy of going into The Stacks in a library.
But as Amazon grew and the big chain bookstores shrank or went out of business, my opportunities for moments of book-filled zen became fewer and far between.
That sometimes happens with innovation — when something new comes on the scene that creates value in a different way, the old solutions that can’t or won’t change fade away. Yes, I love Amazon because I can get any book I want delivered to my door in 2 days, but I also hate it because I lose the sense of discovery, joy, and peace that I got from being physically surrounded by books.
That’s why I love what independent bookstores are doing. They are innovating too, by changing the business they’re in. They’re no longer in the book-selling business (Amazon won that battle), they’re in the book experience business.
The Book Experience business is everything that Amazon.com can’t offer — discovery, community, an environment that stimulates all your 5 senses. Don’t believe me? Why do you think Amazon is opening physical book stores?
Yes, it takes time, money, risk, and resources to re-define the business you’re in but it’s worth it because it not only keeps you in business, it creates a competitive advantage that lasts.
And may even create moments of zen.
An interior view of the Zhongshuge bookstore in Chongqing, Oct. 22, 2019. VCG
People browse for books at a new store with wraparound shelving units in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 21, 2019. IC
An interior view of the Sanlian Taofen bookstore in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. From @设计美学志 on Weibo
An interior view of the Zhongshuge bookstore in Beijing, June 26, 2019. VCG
