Muses

From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/muse
3 Muse noun: Definition of Muse: 2: a source of inspiration; especially: a guiding genius

Finding Inspiration

Muses come around unexpectedly but when you discover one you know it.

I belong to a LinkedIn discussion group called: “Ted: Ideas Worth Sharing”. One of the many topics generating what appears to be never-ending traffic is whether Wikileaks is good or bad. I made one of my rare comments - that not all whistle-blowing is good; that sometimes it can have detrimental effects. (That is not to say that whistle-blowing can’t provide positive impetus because it can.) Geoffrey Morton-Haworth noticed my comment and decided that it merited an off- line e-mail. He’s developed an application/program called Yala and thought I might be a good candidate for it. He had obviously scrutinized my LinkedIn profile and decided it was likely that we shared some common interests, and he wasn’t wrong. I was happy to follow up the e-mails with a phone meeting because I was intrigued. Not only is Geoffrey highly intelligent (he has a Masters in Management from MIT) but as his posts on Wikileaks would indicate, he’s also insightful.

In our phone meeting we talked about Yala - how and why he came to develop it; what it does and how it works. What I learned is that Yala is an application/program that provides a framework/forum for insight. (Reference http://www.yalaworld.net ) The premise is that insight naturally and organically leads to innovation and adaption; that open sharing requires the establishment of trust because as a species we’re a suspicious bunch and have a strong propensity to shoot the messenger, bicker and criticize. We also discussed the fact that people have a hard time giving themselves permission to take the time to be insightful because they don’t understand the value. (In order to implement change typically 80% of the time spent needs to be in discovery or insight.) All in all, it was a very enlightening conversation. Geoffrey acted as a muse for me which ironically led me to the conclusion that both he and I are in the business of providing muse forums for others.

Good Listening leads to Hearing Better Stories

Geoffrey and Yala was a particularly unique, wonderful and rich find for me. Yala is a complex mosaic with an alluring premise and Geoffrey himself is like an artist and sage to the extent that you feel you’ll never be able to absorb all he has to offer. And yet, I’d never known that if I hadn’t explored it. I’ve found listening to people’s stories richly rewarding; that I learn the most amazing things. I’ve found, to my great pleasure, that all I have to do is be curious, and ask a few questions.

I remember apologizing during my coaching training when I was being coached by a mentor coach that the conversation was so one-sided and completely focused on me – the coachee. Of course that’s the point, a coach is there to help the coachee accept their current circumstance and adapt in a positive way so it is, by definition, a one-sided conversation. The coach is essentially a tool to help the coachee move forward and can be an amazingly effective way of getting people “unstuck”. There’s a powerful learning component (insight) that drives the coachee to proverbial “aha” moments. What was interesting was my mentor coach’s response, which went something like this: “It’s not one-sided. I’m learning too and get lots of insights from you.” At the time I doubted that I had any pearls of wisdom that she might find useful but no longer. I can absolutely attest to benefiting, learning and finding inspiration during coaching and it is one of the reasons I love it so much. Allow yourself the luxury of listening because not only is it enjoyable, it has the added benefit of facilitating learning and insight.

Nurturing Trust leads to Hearing Better Stories

So given the rich opportunity in listening, how do you get people to tell you their stories? You can “open the door and invite them in” by being genuinely curious and interested. You need to presume it’ll be worthwhile because you have no idea of what you’re going to hear or where it’ll go. You need to establish and maintain trust. Simply listen - like you do when you read a book. Provide no negative feedback that might shut a narrator down. Don’t interrupt with negative judgments, or criticisms. Just follow the story. Trust is a funny thing in that it takes little encouragement to establish and maintain but once it’s been betrayed it’s really difficult to re-establish. Actions speak louder than words and maintaining trust means providing and nurturing a supportive environment.

The caveat is that, of course, we don’t all have the time or energy to listen to every story and need to be discriminating in our choices. But don’t limit your enjoyment by pre-judging the worth or ‘skimming through the pages’. ‘Read’ it slowly. Savour everything the story has to offer; experience (live vicariously) the highs and lows. Understand that the more closely you listen the more you will see and the more interesting it will be.

Good Stories

A good story is always compelling and that is why it has been effectively used throughout history to facilitate learning. It can also be limited to simple entertainment as it is with most modern day fiction. But I think one of the reasons it works as a learning tool is that it can provide a compelling and impersonal way of reframing. It gives the audience an example to follow while not tainting the process with a relationship that inevitably will have some baggage.

Case in point: best-selling author/journalist Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers, What the Dog Saw, etc…) credits his success to telling non-fiction stories and if you’ve read any of his books and articles you’ll know what he means. They are compelling and thought provoking. So much so, that you find yourself retelling them. Like (from “Outliers”) how the probability of making it in the NHL is related to being born in the first quarter of the year. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve told that to. Why? Because it’s interesting.

20% Rule for Nurturing Innovation

Whether it be just coaching or The Alternative Board (which includes coaching and peer advisory) or Yala: all are ways of facilitating insight and adaption. The challenge is in getting people to understand and value the benefits of having muses and giving themselves permission (i.e. invest the time) to seek them out. I believe this comes down to valuing innovation and having the insight to cultivate it. 3M so values innovation that it allows its employees 20% of their time to pursue projects of their own choosing as does Google. A business culture needs to support and nurture that type of exploration in a way that is consistent with the overall culture. If an organization is efficiency- and control-focused, then they’re not likely to support people pursuing their own agendas 20% of the time. There also needs to be a high level of trust. For example, one day a week for a person to pursue their own agenda doesn’t mean a day off. There has to be a passion for the pursuit of knowledge and a forum for fostering the type of creativity and learning that comes with supportive interaction and discovery.

It’s no secret that in order for businesses to survive they need to innovate and adapt on an ongoing basis. And yet if this is understood then why do so many businesses fail? Who doesn’t need to figure out how to improve things? But just because I say (or Geoffrey says) I can provide a forum for learning and innovation doesn’t prove it. There is always the need to establish and sustain trust. So how does one develop the confidence to try forums like The Alternative Board or Yala? My suggestion is you won’t know if it’s worth it unless you try it. Experimentation always results in learning what does or doesn’t work but also involves risk. Everything new is risky given its untried but obviously can have a payoff. Can you afford not to experiment in your business?

And for some people I suspect it’s simply a matter of being ready. If you’re not happy with their current condition but don’t know what to do about it, one of two things will happen. You’ll get so frustrated that eventually you’ll give up (a.k.a. ‘burnout’) or you’ll discover a way to become ‘unstuck’ and proceed forward. And what’s wrong with having support to do that?

If a MIT grad thinks he can benefit from fostering insight, then maybe others should too? And the fact that’s he’s figured out how to do it online? How cool is that?