The Invisible Mentor

Archive for September, 2009

While reading Did You Spot the Gorilla? : How to Recognise the Hidden Opportunities in Your Life by Richard Wiseman, there was an exercise where you had to fill in the missing numbers on the face of a clock with Roman numerals. I completed the exercise in seconds and thought how easy the exercise was. It turns out that in nearly all instances, except for the Big Ben in London, the number four is represented as IIII on clocks and watches and not IV. Richard Wiseman is from the United Kingdom so I automatically thought that this had to be a UK phenomenon.

The next day I went looking for clocks with Roman numerals and discovered that the number four was indeed represented as IIII. I always prided myself on being very observant, so I was shocked that I didn’t notice this before. I asked many of my friends if they had ever noticed that the four was written as IIII and not IV, and I was very pleased when they all answered no.

It appears that when your brain comes across anything over and over, it tends to switch off. How many things do we miss because our brains are switched off?

Do you function on automatic pilot? Do you take the same route to work each day? Do you use the same process to solve problems? How many times do you use old assumptions when making decisions? What do you do to get a fresh perspective? How do you interrupt your brain to prevent it from switching off?

For the next month I would like all my readers to do something different, just for the sake of doing it different. Let’s consciously interrupt our brains to prevent us from becoming complacent. If you get a chance, also read Did You Spot the Gorilla? It’s a very quick read.

Photo credit: Creative Commons chrisjohnbeckett via Flickr

I interviewed a business coach and asked him what his favourite quote was. He responded that he had two favourite quotes. I will focus on one quote to demonstrate a point. My interviewee said that the quote was often attributed to Einstein, but he had seen variations of the quote. He wanted to find out definitively who the quote was by. The quote is “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting to get a different result.” I did a quick search on the Internet and here is what I found:

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting to get a different result” Albert Einstein

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting to get a different result” Benjamin Franklin

Now we have a dilemma because these are the same quote. I called the library’s answer line and asked them to check their quotations reference books to see who the quote was attributed to. Either version of the quote wasn’t in any of the reference books that they checked.

I went to the reference library and conducted some additional research. I found “The New Quotable Einstein” by Alice Calaprice, senior editor at Princeton University Press. I went through the entire book manually because there was no way to do it electronically, and I couldn’t find the quote. I contacted the author and explained the situation. Alice Calaprice is an Einstein expert and is very familiar with, and has access to the “Einstein Papers.” She responded that she had never seen that quote in all the years that she had been researching Einstein, and that there are many quotes on insanity and genius that people love to attribute to Einstein though he rarely used those words.

Should I assume that the quote must be by Benjamin Franklin? Not likely! I have not been able to find a definitive answer so whenever I use the quote I say popularly attributed to Einstein and Franklin. The point I wanted to illustrate to you is that because several people are citing information and attributing it to a source, doesn’t mean that the information is accurate. It simply means that they are all citing from the one source so you have to exercise some due diligence. Though this wasn’t a paid project, I have worked on other projects where this same issue arose. Would you be willing to put in the time and effort to find the correct answer? If you have ever faced this dilemma please let me know how you handled it.

Related Post

How to Analyze Information

Are you aware of what is going on around you? Are you known for your observation skills? How much more effective could you be if you improved your level of observation by one percent?

In Five Pieces of the Life Puzzle, Jim Rohn suggests that to be a good observer and excel, you have to ask yourself:

1. What is going on in my industry?
2. What challenges are currently facing your community?
3. What are the new breakthroughs, the new opportunities, the new tools and techniques that have recently come to light?
4. What are the new personalities that are influencing the world and local opinions?

Do you agree, or disagree with Mr. Rohn? How might answering these questions position you better in your organization and industry?

Related Post

Review of Five Pieces of the Life Puzzle

There is truth to the adage that no one succeeds alone: the Lone Ranger had Tonto, and Bud Abbot had Lou Costello. They needed and relied on each other to achieve their goals. Even the self-made millionaire used “somebody’s” resources to achieve professional success. It makes sense to have a system that allows people to pool their mental capacities to solve problems, generate great ideas and perhaps even conquer the world.

Who do you have on your support team, the people who watch your back?

Your support network should consist of about four to six people who are committed to helping each other achieve their goals. Members of this support network do not have to be from the same company, they just have to have a willingness to help others while helping themselves. Each member of the network assumes the role of “buddy” or sidekick to the other members.

Why You Need a Support Network

As part of the work I do, I interview accomplished people, and a recurring theme is the importance of having a group of people who support you and cheer you on. The language may differ from person-to-person, but the message is clear: “You need a team of advisers, people who you can call on, you need people to be accountable to, no one succeeds alone, you need people to watch your back.

How to Find Members for  your Support Network

1. Identify people in your diverse networks whose goals, personal mission and values intersect with yours
2. Initially, get together to talk about what is important to you, and where you would like to see yourselves in five years
3. Brainstorm various ways to fill the gap between where you are, to where you want to be
4. Before committing, take the group for a test drive to discover if real chemistry is there

Desired Characteristics of the Members in your Support Network

• Leaders
• Willingness to share wisdom, knowledge and experiences
• Ability to explain, teach and communicate
• Capacity to listen actively
• Old enough to have learned important life lessons
• Accomplished and possess extraordinary perception
• Unique ability to sort out the valuable from the superfluous
• Facilitates understanding
• Enlightened and understand that the world is bigger than them
• Inspiring
• Willingness to help others succeed
• Engaging
• Well-read and has exceptional intellect
• Demonstrates intellectual inquiry
• Problem solvers
• Change makers
• Passionate

Characteristics of Highly Successful Support Networks

• Established ground rules
• Clear purpose and well-defined expectations
• Non-competitive relationship among members
• Safe and secure environment
• Absolute confidentiality
• Group has structure and focus
• Members pool knowledge and resources
• Encourage each other to achieve personal and professional goals
• Members support and encourage each other to overcome obstacles
• Personal chemistry within circles among members is important
• Respect for diverse backgrounds and needs of co-mentors
• Values among co-mentors are aligned
• Members are people whom you trust
• Members have to be people with whom you can speak freely to
• Improve upon each other’s unique skills
• Members recognize both academic and non-academic achievements/professional and non-professional achievements of each other
• Commit to meet between one to two hours every two weeks
• Evaluate regularly to determine if the needs of all members are being addressed by the group

Rotate roles and responsibilities among group members. Members in your support network could be co-mentors to each other. In today’s environment, standing still is no longer an option in work and life. Use your support to partner your way to success.

What did you decide?

Decision making is a step in the problem solving process and the quality of your solutions and decisions is only as good as the information they are based on.

Decision Making 101

1. Define the decision to be made
2. Collect information
3. Analyze the information
4. Develop possible solutions
5. Evaluate the quality of each solution
6. Choose a solution
7. Implement the decision
8. Test the decision (Did it do what it was supposed to do?)

From my extensive experience in research, the eight simple steps would translate into the following process, which will help you to become a better decision maker and a more valuable employee.

Anatomy of a Decision Making Process

Stage 1: Define the Decision

• State the decision to be made in your organization in clear and simple language and answer the following questions

1. How important is the decision?
2. How do decisions get made in your organization?
3. Why does the decision have to be made?
4. What is the impact of not deciding?
5. Who will be impacted by the decision, and how?
6. Who are your allies in the organization?
7. Is the decision permanent or reversible?
8. What are the desired outcomes of making the decision?
9. Is acceptance and support for the decision critical for its implementation?
10. How much time is available for making the decision?

Stage II: Gather Information

• Every decision is a response to a situation, what are the root causes of the situation?

1. Collect files, records and other relevant documents
2. Talk to stakeholders
3. Brainstorm with colleagues
4. Conduct focus group interviews
5. Look at best practices
6. How accurate is the information
7. Does it represent a diversity of points of view
8. Are there any biases

• Read all the information gathered and evaluate the quality of them

• Distil the facts pertinent to the decision to be made
• Restructure the definition of the decision if you have to
• Draw conclusions from the information gathered and identify possible solutions (Do not limit yourself to what has been done before but open yourself to new and better alternative solutions)
• Develop a set of decision criteria to judge the quality of each solution and assess its suitability

Stage III: Consider Solutions

• Use the set of decision criteria developed in Stage II to judge the quality of each solution and assess its suitability

1. State the advantages and disadvantages of each solution
2. State the costs, benefits and implication of implementing each option
3. Do not focus only on short-term costs but also look at long term benefits
4. State obstacles to each option and how they could be handled

Stage IV: Make a Decision

• Which option best serves the desired outcome stated in Stage I?
• Is the option consistent with the mission, goals and objectives of the organization
• Select the best option
• Explain your decision to those involved and impacted

Stage V: Implement the Decision

• Put the decision into action
• Does the decision feel right to you? Learn to trust your instincts

Stage VI: Test the Decision

• Did the decision resolve the situation?
• Are you comfortable with the decision?
• If no to the above, how can you rework the decision? Can you combine elements of the alternative solutions to form a hybrid solution?
• Go through the process again if you have to

Like with everything in life the more practice you get the more adept you become. By applying the process to your unique situation, in no time you will become a better decision maker. And the best part is that the process also works for your personal life.

I read Key to Yourself by Venice Bloodworth and extracted 10 lessons I think are worth learning. This is a book I really enjoy and read each year. It is not for everyone because it is very Christian-oriented, but not preachy. First published in 1952, the focus is on Law of Attraction, long before the term became “cool.”

1. Fear nothing, you have the inner power to conquer all
2. Life gives back to us exactly what we give
3. Thoughts are causes, conditions are effects. If you don’t like the condition change your thoughts
4. Fear makes cowards of us all
5. The secret to success is to fill your subconscious with desire, ambition, courage, determination, enthusiasm, and faith in yourself
6. The greatest barriers to individual progress are conformity and a slavish devotion to precedent
7. What people are and do depend entirely on the use of their inner power
8. Most of us reflect the opinions of others – we fear the search for truth. Instead, we should think new thoughts and blaze new trails
9. Health, happiness and prosperity are not limited to time, place or individual
10. There is plenty of time to accomplish everything that is important to us

“For the best verse hasn’t been rhymed yet.

The best house hasn’t been planned

The highest peak hasn’t been climbed yet,

The mightiest rivers aren’t spanned.

Don’t worry and fret, faint hearted

The chances have just begun,

For the Best jobs haven’t been started,

The Best work hasn’t been done.”

Braley

The ability to problem solve is a valuable life skill. Below is a simple yet detailed problem solving process that any

Turning Things Upside Down

executive can use.

Problem Solving 101

1. Preparation
2. Incubation
3. Illumination
4. Verification/Implementation

Anatomy of a Problem Solving Process

Stage I: Preparation (Research/Gather ideas)

1. Describe a challenge or problem that you’re having. Writing down the problem makes it more concrete for you. Make sure that your problem statement is not too broadly or narrowly defined
2. Develop a set of decision criteria to judge the quality of the solutions
3. Describe the root causes (not symptoms) of the problem or challenge. Uncover the facts surrounding the problem
4. Who do you know that has experienced a similar problem? If you know someone:
   1. How did they resolve the problem?
   2. Would that solution work for you?
5. Collect all the information that you can find relating to possible solutions
   1. Look for case studies in your industry and unrelated industries
   2. Conduct research on the internet
   3. Conduct research using commercial databases, you can access many through your public library portal
   4. Interview subject matter experts
   5. Brainstorm with colleagues
   6. Conduct focus group interviews
6. Read all the information gathered and synthesize them
7. Extract all the relevant information by distilling the facts pertinent to your problem
8. Formulate options and test alternatives

Read the post How to Analyze Information to evaluate the quality of the data you gathered.

Stage II: Incubation (Lay the issue aside for a period of time)

1. Mull it over
2. Take a break, or work on another project
3. Let all the information sit for a while

Stage III: Illumination (The moment when the new solution (idea) emerges)

1. You have an aha moment
2. You see the problem in a completely different light
3. Or a solution (s) comes to you
4. You now have an opening to develop a strategy to resolve your problem

Stage IV: Verification/Implementation (Test out the idea then apply it)

1. Test the idea to see if it’s a workable solution to your problem
2. Use the criteria you developed in Stage I to judge the quality of the solution
3. Refine the idea if you have to
4. Implement the solution
5. Evaluate the solution
6. If you find that the solution doesn’t work, go through the process again

The type of problem solver you are informs how you approach the challenges, problems and issues that you will inevitably face in your work and life. The problem solving process outlined above is solid and has been used successfully for decades. The entire process can take hours or it can take months depending on the complexity of the problem.

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey says, “Begin with the end in mind.”

There are times when you have a specific outcome for a problem. In such instances, you have to reverse the problem solving process, that is, work backwards methodically and fill in the missing information.

To reverse problem solve, there are six steps:

1. Define the problem
   1. What are the knowns?
   2. What are the unknowns?
2. What is the end result (goal)?
3. Develop a strategy to achieve the goal (solve the problem)
4. What are the necessary steps to achieve the goal?
5. Solve the problem using the steps identified to achieve the goals
6. Does the solution make sense? Is it the best solution? Check the solution by working forwards

An Application

When I was in college, during a very difficult test for my Logic class, we were given the first two and the last two steps for a logic problem. We had the starting and ending point.

I looked at the first two steps and did not have a clue what the next step was, and leaving the problem was not an option since it was worth 30 percent of the total marks.

Without even knowing about Stephen Covey’s “start with the end in mind,” I decided to start with the last two steps and work my way to the starting point. I remember at the time just taking one step at a time. I would ask myself what the preceding step was, and the one before that, and so on. And in no time I was at the second to last step.

I was happy as a “pig in mud.” I reversed the process when I wrote the answer in my answer book. Many failed that exam so I was happy with my 78 percent.

The point of this story is to demonstrate that it is important to solve the problem one step at a time so you do not become overwhelmed.

Your Application

Describe a problem that you have where there is a specific outcome, how might you solve it using the reverse problem solving model?

Related Resources

Inspirer, Reflector, Innovator or Influencer, Which One Are You?

What Type of Problem Solver Are You?

The Importance of Problem-Solving by Ken Watanabe

Every day we are bombarded with problems to solve and decisions to make, and the quality of our solutions and decisions are only as good as the information they are based on. With so much information at our fingertips, how can we systematically analyze the information for better results. As a professional with over 15 years experience in research, I constantly have to analyze the data gathered, so the information requested by my client is streamlined and not overwhelming. Here is a simple process that could help you:

Analyze Information

• Skim and Scan
• Determine accuracy, relevance and reliability of information
• Differentiate
• Identify propaganda, bias
• Recognize omissions and faulty logic
• Recognize interrelationships

Step 1. Review the questions

Review the questions generated before the information was gathered. Why was this particular information necessary? What questions was it supposed to answer? What kinds of decisions will be made based on this information? Renew your understanding of the central issues and key questions.

Unanticipated results should not be ignored. Putting information together will often raise important, unforeseen and relevant questions. Note these for future reference and point them out when presenting the results.

Step 2. Organize the information

• Gather together all relevant information that has been collected
• Sort information into parts which belong together
• Some may have already been analyzed. Some may be partly analyzed, and some may need analysis

Step 3. Decide how to analyze information

Analysis could simply be adding up numbers and averaging them, or comparing information to examine the relationship of one thing to another or two things together. Pay attention to the source of the information.

Step 4. Analyze the information

• Look out for biased information and faulty logic
• Take note of similarities
• Contrast information by setting two things in opposition to show the differences
• Relate pieces of information to establish relationships between and among them
• Take note of emerging themes
• Identify gaps in the information
• Do you have the information you need to solve the problem or make the decision?

Step 5. Integrate the information

Put the analyzed parts together in a way that tells the complete story. It is impossible to gather all the information you will ever need, so there are times when you have to make intelligent assumptions.

Note: Pay attention to where you collect your information. Good sources are government websites, university sources, commercial online databases, which you can readily access from most public library portals, community watch dog agencies and reputable consumer groups are a few that readily come to mind.

What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right side) by email or RSS Feed.

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I am reading Key to Yourself by Venice Bloodworth for about the 10th time, and each time I zero in on something new. Though I have seen this before, for some reason it is resonating more with me now.

“Every achievement in business, literature, philosophy, or science has found its source and expression through the mental efforts of the world’s leaders. The outstanding figures of tomorrow are the creative and constructive thinkers of today.”

Do you agree with this statement? How can you be a more constructive thinker today to shape your destiny? To think constructively, I have been practicing mindfulness. It is not easy, but it gets easier every day.