Posts Tagged with Innovation

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Inspiration for Multipotentialites, From Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh is one of my favorite artists. Aside from admiring his amazing artwork, I enjoy learning more about him through his surviving letters. There are over 900 letters that provide insight into his mind and universe, especially those to his brother Theo. I first got insight into Van Gogh’s life when my high school art teacher gifted me the book Lust for Life by Irving Stone. This book brought me to tears, with its descriptive narration of Van Gogh’s passionate and dramatic life.

Van Gogh continues to inspire me – from his yearning to do more in life and have an impact, to his love of nature and allowing it to inspire his art and his commitment to his work.  As multipotentialites (polymaths, scanners, renaissance souls) often struggle to find their place and purpose in a society that promotes “normalcy,” I find Van Gogh’s experience and point of view relevant and inspirational.

Here are some of my favorite Van Gogh quotes to inspire multipotentialites:

On life and your purpose

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?

Think of all the great accomplishments we enjoy today. Can you imagine life without these? What if no one had the courage to invent the light bulb, the internet, airplanes or cell phones? Do you want to be courageous and attempt something in your lifetime?

How can I be useful, of what service can I be? There is something inside me, what can it be?

Have you found your purpose? Are you still seeking it? If you haven’t found it yet, don’t give up.

The way to know life is to love many things.

Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.

There is so much to experience and enjoy in life. As a multipotentialite, you experience and learn a lot by exploring your multiple interests. As you explore, you learn what resonates with you and about yourself. This is a true path of discovering your passion and igniting your motivation to pursue it relentlessly. When your heart is in your work, the outcome reflects your passion.

On challenging the status quo

I wish they would only take me as I am.

You know when you’re meant to do something other than what everyone else is doing. And being true to this and who you are is hard. You want people to get it and understand you, but the reality is, many of them won’t. You have to find peace with this and own who you are.  Don’t limit who you are and what you do to appease others.

Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.

It is easier to do what everyone else is doing – the path is already paved, there are many examples of what you should do, and you don’t have the onus of figuring things out on your own.  But when you want to be and do more, you realize growth doesn’t come from your comfort zone. Venture off the beaten track and explore.

One must work and dare if one really wants to live.

If you really want to live on your own terms and reach your full potential, you have to put in the work.

On your power

If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time, insight into and understanding of many things.

Multipotentialites have interests in many things and purse them for a period or a lifetime. All things are connected, and due to their expansive knowledge and experience, multipotentialites are equipped to see patterns and connections.  This ability is valuable and powerful, especially for leveraging one field to improve others through innovation.

There is no blue without yellow and without orange.

We wouldn’t have what we know know if someone didn’t imagine possibilities and have the courage to act on them.  To get blue, you take two colors you know and bring them together to create something new and useful.

On taking action

I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.

By staying in motion and doing, you learn and grow.  Multipotentialites pick up new interests all the time and roll up their sleeves to learn about them. They’re not afraid to try new things and make learning an action sport.

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.

Sometimes you feel like you’re never going to reach your goal. But remember that in order to accomplish that big milestone, you have to take many small steps along the way. Take them and celebrate each one to stay motivated.

On perseverance

I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.

I am still far from being what I want to be, but with God’s help I shall succeed.

Once you know what you’re working toward, your “why” will motivate you. Stay the course and trust the process. Keep putting your work into the world.  The universe will echo the vibrations you emit.

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How do you stay inspired as a multipotentialite? Do Vincent van Gogh’s quotes above resonate with you? Share your thoughts below! I’d love to hear your perspective!

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Success is at the Intersection of Your Skills

Change is happening at an unprecedented rate, leading to increased competition. I usually hear about the impact of this on companies, but it is worth paying attention to how it impacts people like you and I as well.

Why should this matter to you? The pace of technological change affects what we do and how we do it. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, 3D printing and other transformations lead to more automated and efficient processes which impacts the role that people play. New technologies result in less manual human input and enable remote work and teleconferencing with mobile and cloud technology. If workers don’t need to be local, the talent pool expands beyond geographical borders and global competition for talent increases.

This impacts all workers, including those in traditional careers, creatives and entrepreneurs.

So what can you do? If you live in an area susceptible to flood, it makes sense to get flood insurance.  If you’re investing in the market, it makes sense to diversify your portfolio. Similarly, I think you should be smart about how you plan and improve your chances of success.

Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, one of the most popular and widely distributed comic strips, shared an approach that worked for him in an interview with Forbes:

The result is the Adams success formula: “Every skill you acquire doubles your odds of success.” Adams says you can raise your market value by being “merely good—not extraordinary—at more than one skill.” Adams told me his career is an example of the success formula in action. “I’m a poor artist. Through brute force I brought myself up to mediocre. I’ve never taken a writing class, but I can write okay. If I have a party at my house, I’m not the funniest person in the room, but I’m a little bit funny, I can write a little bit, I can draw a little bit, and you put those three together and you’ve got Dilbert, a fairly powerful force.”  Adams says the addition of a little business knowledge (he has an MBA from Berkeley’s Haas School of Business) and the sum of his “average” talents makes him more valuable than any one skill alone.

This advice isn’t conventional. In fact, we live in a world that reveres choosing one thing to focus on and we’re expected to become an expert at it. But here, Adams promotes a different approach which works for those in traditional careers, for creatives and entrepreneurs.  This is especially helpful for multipotentialites (polymaths, scanners, renaissance souls) who have a variety of interests and want to combine them all to provide value.

I’ve used this approach myself.  I layered on skills, education and experience to help people and companies at the intersection of strategy, creativity, innovation and technology.  I’ve worked on projects for companies with a variety of goals from implementing new technology, improving customer experience, or developing talent and each requires a different combination of my skills.  So this approach has been valuable to me because:

  1. I have a variety of skills
  2. I can pivot as needed and leverage different combinations of my skills

To thrive, and not merely survive, you have to differentiate yourself and leverage your intersection with your unique combination of skills.

How can you get started with using this approach yourself? Here are the steps:

Do an inventory of your interests and skills. Look broadly at the things you’ve done. Inventory your professional experience, personal pursuits and hobbies and other experience you’ve gained from volunteering etc.  Also think about what friends, family, colleagues and clients come to you and pay you for. Make sure to also assess your interests; it is important to find alignment with what you do and what you like doing.

Invest in yourself and seek to improve. Once you identify your list of interest and skills, think of how you can improve them.  You don’t have to be an expert in each but improvement will help your positioning.  For example, if communication is on your list, seek public speaking opportunities to practice.  If you’re interested in a field, study it on your own, take online classes or enroll in a university program to solidify your knowledge.   Practice and experience are essential so find opportunities to put what you’ve learned in action.

Identify your unique intersection.  Now that you have your skills and invested in improving them, think about how you can bring them together and connect them.  Ultimately, your unique intersection doesn’t need to have all the skills you started with, just the relevant ones. For example, Jake Tapper found a way to combine journalism, cartoons and writing. You can combine interests and skills in real estate, wine and engineering to design wine tasting venues or sports, travel and hospitality to improve the lodging experience for traveling athletes.

Provide value. Use your intersection of skills and experience to do what you’re uniquely positioned to do better than anyone else.  Identify opportunities that require your combination of skills and allow you to use them to help others.  Pivot as you go by leveraging the right mix of your skills and experience for each opportunity. For example, a project to build a technology solution will require more technical skills while a project focused on brainstorming new products will require more creative skills.

To thrive, and not merely survive, you have to differentiate yourself and leverage your intersection with your unique combination of skills.

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Are you someone with multiple interests and intellectual pursuits? Have you figured out how to combine them to your advantage? Have you tried an approach similar to what is described above? How has it worked for you? I’d love to hear your perspective!

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Six Ways To Manage Your Multiple Interests

Are you a multipotentialite? If so, then you know that having multiple interests adds variety and meaning to each day.  These interests can range from music, interior design projects, a stamp collection, history or photography.  Multiple interests aren’t just for the artsy types. Anyone can have multiple interests including people with traditional careers such as doctors, lawyers or engineers.  It is just a matter of recognizing these interests and finding a way to incorporate them in your life.

So how do you make that happen? Being true to yourself and ensuring these interest are present in your life can be challenging. Here are some considerations and strategies to get the fulfillment you need:

1. Manage and prioritize your time.  This is key if your interests aren’t part of your day-to-day via a career, job, vocation etc.  Make sure to prioritize time for yourself that will allow you to pursue your interests.  For example, you may need to pass on the impromptu happy hour after work if that means missing your painting class.

2. Schedule your interests. If you have multiple interests, you can allocate time for each during the course of the week. Schedule time on Monday for running, on Tuesday for tutoring and on Wednesday for learning French.  A predictable cadence will help keep you accountable.  Set up reminders if you need to!

3. Designate different locations. If you’re transitioning from one interest to another, it helps to change your location. This will help you mentally prepare so when you step into the garage, your brain knows you’re getting ready to build the bookshelf.

4. Involve others. Your interests are personal but depending on what they are, you may be able to do them with others or with an organization that has the same focus. For example, you can learn Spanish alone or you can participate in a weekly coffee hour on Saturdays to practice with others.

5. Distinguish been fleeting and long-term interests. You’ll outgrow some interests and that’s OK. Others will be intrinsic to who you are, last a lifetime, and lead to greater opportunities. Learn to tell the difference between what’s a fad and long-lasting so you know when to pivot and where to devote more focus.

6. Be flexible. As things change, including your list of interests, be adaptable and flexible.  The more you learn and discover, new interests will come your way and you’ll want to have enough space to explore them.

Exploring multiple interests is possible when you manage your time effectively and get organized.  Prioritize designated time as you do with anything else that is important to you. Jim Rohn said it best:

If you really want to do something, you‘ll find a way. If you don’t, you‘ll find an excuse.

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Are you a multipotentialite? How do you manage your multiple interests?  Do you use different strategies than the suggestions above?  I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

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Align Your Team’s Thinking Style To Improve Performance

The ability to work together and collaborate effectively has a big impact on how much teams accomplish.  This has traditionally been assessed by the output of the team which is the combined contributions of the individual team members via their assigned tasks. Inherently, the evaluation of team performance has been based on what individual team members do.

In What Kind of Thinker Are You?, Mark Bonchek and Elisa Steele argue that it is “how teams think together that most determines their performance.” They propose that similar to how team members today “have assigned doing roles, there should also be thinking roles.”

Their three-step method entails first identifying the “focus on your thinking in a particular context or setting” such as ideas, process, action or relationships. As an example, if you and your friends are planning a trip, do you generate ideas of places to visit, plan the itinerary, take action to book the flight or call up friends in Paris to let them know you’re coming? The next step is to observe if your orientation in that setting leans toward the big picture or the details. Lastly, combine these two dimensions to see your thinking style.

This exercise is good to help us identify our gaps.  Chances are, we don’t have all of the thinking styles above covered on our own.  Make note of where you stop short.  Is it a recurring theme in your work? This presents an opportunity for us to identify team members who compliment us.

I’ve worked with teams that were formed in this way where each person’s role is aligned with how they think. In one example, a product management team had an idea for a new service that would improve customer experience and generate additional revenue for the company. The initial two-person team outlined the new service as explorers and experts. They then added a project manager who was more planning and process-oriented and identified all the necessary milestones to make the new service a reality. Next, an extended team was put in place to drive and take action in functional areas such as operations, marketing, sales, training etc. Lastly the core product management team and project manager combined efforts to build relationships with supporters and strategic partners.  Ultimately, the service was launched successfully with the combined effort of individuals whose contributions aligned with their thinking style.

When we’re all operating in our zone, we get more done, are more effective and perform better. It makes sense to focus on our strengths and get help in areas where we’re not as strong.  When this is someone else’s strong point, it ends up being a win-win for the team. Richard Branson said it best:

Surround yourself with people who complement your weaknesses and share your passions — success will follow.

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Where do you fall on the chart above? Can you think of teams you were a part of that had an imbalance? What was the impact on team performance and morale? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

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