We hope you are having fun with this Live-With and will post your experiences below. Please also share your thoughts about matching how you spend your time with your values, goals and what you love to do. Go for progress, not perfection... Remember the “Love-to-Do Commitment” you have made. How is it progressing?
We covered a lot of material about IDEO and we encourage you to share any reactions or questions that were stimulated. Based on the video and the discussion, you can share some ideas and comments about this company? What are some of the concepts that might be useful for YOU in your own organization?
Finally, have you made any progress with seeking (through interviews) insights about, “How might we help people access their creativity?
Have a great week.
Hal and Julie
PS: sorry this post was opened so late...
EEE/Do What You Love: This week I have appreciated the reframing of EEE to "Do What You Love." In applying EEE, I find that very few activities actually qualified under all three. Often what I love is hard, requires significant effort and may not be enjoyable in the present moment. "Do what you love" allows me to cast a wider net while still being true to who I am in all my (and our) various "parts" including professionally, physically, as a spouse or partner, friend etc. In paying closer attention to this distinction and attempting to codify my experiences, it seems that at least two of the three "Es" apply in every case to "do what you love." So, completing our household budget was easy and effortless, surely the clarity gained and the plan we have devised to will result in increased enjoyment over the long term. However, the process of data entry, formula creation etc. took the aid of a glass of wine to become enjoyable in the moment. Similarly with physical activity, the exertion is not effortless, but I love it. In assessing my "Creative Wellspring" one category that came up for me was a love of risk, challenge & accomplishment so my experience this week may be directly tied to that category set. I am going to need at least another week to really activate against the "live with" to actually stop doing those activities that I don't love. For a variety of reasons that I won't expound upon here, it may prove to be a ripe week to put that to the test! I will be very interested to learn about other student's experiences with this.
ReplyDeleteIDEO: The learning I was able to apply was to establish a cross-discipline team to address an opportunity. Historically, I would have solicited feedback (in email or brief conversation) from those peripherally involved but not directly responsible. This time, I stated the need in a message and asked everyone to attend the same 30-minute meeting. Results were excellent: people felt energized to contribute in a new way, all around ownership of the solution was stronger than ever, successful completion has a higher likelihood because identified solutions were far better for our client as a result of being more holistic, relationships seem stronger among two individuals who were historically contentious with one another, etc. Then, word travelled around the office and others (including several who did not participate) sent me messages sharing ideas they hadn't felt would be valued before (making me note that likely their VOJ had been talking). Personally, the experience took a problem for my department (something I wouldn't have loved) and turned it into a very positive experience, which still resulted a good solution, it became something I loved. (Note, in line with my earlier comment, more effort was required to do it this way than the former approach would have demanded).
Interview: Mine is scheduled for tomorrow at 5:30 so I can't add value to the conversation just yet. That said, I am hopping to tap into the experiences of others in identifying a few dumb/authentic/real questions that seemed to yield best reposes. Please share if you have even one or two...
Why is it so challenging to “do only what you love”? How does one recognize an appropriate balance? As I began practicing this “live with” exercise, I estimated a starting baseline of about 50/50. As I become aware of the activities I do because I feel they are necessary (but not what I love), I will question why they are necessary. Why do I need to do them? Do I really need to do them? Is there a different way of addressing them in a manner that is more consistent with “doing what I love”? It is helpful for me to turn the question into a more creative approach. I also find myself questioning what role the VOJ may be playing in this analysis. With some effort this past week, I estimate I have progressed to about 70% doing only what I love. With some additional focus, I think I could probably reach 80%.
ReplyDeleteThis week I have focused on the "Love what you do" and apply it widely to all activities ( even to some that usually do not fall in the "Do what you love" category for me). The result is a very pleasurable week and a new outlook on some activities. Transformation in progress...
ReplyDeleteI really like this live-with and it took me back to my teenage years (around 15) when we had to decide what direction we going to take (which field of study we were going to choose). Our system is a bit different from the US. We had 3 choices: A (alpha): languages/arts, B (beta): sciences, and gamma: combination of alpha and beta. I was always passionate about languages so I chose the alpha track, and later chose to study English Language and Literature. Some of my relatives were concerned that there would be too much competition (because everyone in the Netherlands speaks English) and that I would not make enough money with that and suggested choosing Law or Medicine instead (VOJ). I didn't want that and stuck with my choice. I'm really glad that I did, as I believe that when you enjoy doing something, you'll become good at it, and you'll be successful. I've seen many of my fellow students who only thought of making a lot of money, and they dropped out of college and are still looking for what they really want to do. So now that I have a good job that I like, I'm reevaluating my purpose. Although I'm passionate about translation, these days I spend very little time on actual translation and more time on tasks (assigned by others) that I do not really enjoy. Besides, I'm thinking about how I can make a positive contribution to society, which I feel is currently lacking. There are so many things I enjoy doing, but at the end of the day, I'm too exhausted to do them. This past week, I looked at my creative wellness exercise, and I made sure I made time for the things I enjoy: I went for a run, I made masks for a party, I checked in with friends that I hadn't talked to in a while, planned a dinner with friends, and signed up for a volunteering event. While this seemed like a lot of things, they were fun, made me feel relaxed, gave me more energy, and I got a sense of accomplishment. I'll try to make time for the things I like on an ongoing basis now.
ReplyDeleteJust watched the IDEO video again and I noticed several things I read in both CIB chapter 6 and the article on W.L. Gore. For example, at IDEO, they have mantras for innovation written everywhere: one conversation at a time, stay focused, defer judgment, encourage wild ideas.
Just like at W.L. Gore, at IDEO there are no titles, no permanent assignments, and everyone is equal. There is no hierarchy. If the environment is right, business is easy. The environment should be fun and allow freedom, which will encourage creativity. This is in contrast with a lot of corporate cultures, where employees are measured based on how much time they spend at their desks, and where things are overplanned and people who different ideas are outsiders. Also, at IDEO, employees are encouraged to learn about things themselves. There is no playbook. Similarly, Gore did not belief in manuals or rules prescribing fixed solutions, as they would take judgment away from individuals. Associates had to come up with their own ideas and solutions.
I think in my organization, it would be good if more people would encourage others to be successful. I feel that in a lot of corporate environments, the culture breeds competition among employees, which can have a damaging effect and does not promote creativity.
I interviewed a few coworkers, and also talked to Carol of this class. Two of my coworkers mentioned that they leave difficult tasks until the last minute. One of them seems to be exhausted all the time and does not have any time to do the things she really enjoys. Although she mentioned she enjoys cooking and she invited friends over on the weekend. I think we can help people access their creativity by making them think about their "purpose" and what they really enjoy and actually do those things, and by transforming their attitude about difficult tasks. Maybe mentoring programs or workshops could help people become more creative.
To complete on the IDEO video and David Kelley, I recommend this video.
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of TED talks (ideas worth spreading).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16p9YRF0l-g
Like others, I really enjoyed this 'live with". In being forced to look at why I was doing every task - from cleaning the house, to exercise, data entry or 'big picture' report writing - I was able to identify which of the the 3 Es it fitted into and why I was 'loving' it. Often, like Katie, I noticed that I sometimes needed to look to the long term to appreciate the 'enjoyable'. However, just noticing this did make the task enjoyable: it made me more conscious of my long-term purpose or Work, which was incredibly satisfying. 'Love what you do' also helped in my mindfulness, and in calming the chatter and the VoJ. I was able to focus on the moment - whether that was taking a walk in Yosemite, enjoying a meal with friends or being involved in a meeting and ignore everything else. In fact, I'm very excited about a big meeting I have coming up this week, when I will be able to use all of the tools to work towards a goal, and hopefully also show some leadership. It already feels like it is going to be 'easy, effortless and enjoyable' - a few months ago I would have had a headful of VoJ, general chatter and apprehension, preventing me from moving forward in the most useful way.
ReplyDeleteLastly, last week's class made me think about this article: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying
It is important that we live our lives in a way that we don't have these regrets.
One final comment on the culture articles. It would be useful to see how these thoughts about culture could be applied to non-profit making areas. They've given me a lot to think about.
ReplyDeleteIt's terrible to see that not only for me, but for most of people "just do what you love" is such a hard thing to do. But, you can't expect the world to change, YOU have to be the change, and I started trying to "love what I do". And it's insane how sometimes we just forget to enjoy ourselves and with the daily stress we stop doing the little things that we love, but once you turn off the "automatic mode" and really plan your day to give ourselves some moments of delight, everything gets better, from our professional to personal.
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Creativity:
I believe the most important thing to be creative is to be curious. Curious people are always trying to discover new things, and a limited mind is the enemy of the creative mind. When you have lots of reference, knowledge, experience, it's natural to come up with lots of solutions for a problem (eg) and as much patch you have, more certain you'll get to an "eureka".
I believe people's biggest trouble on accessing their creativity is their strong VOJ and the daily stress. When our minds are working in multiples tasks it's hard to really focus on each thing (maybe impossible), and focus is what you need to activate the creative mind.
When I give a challenge to my kids I can clearly see what makes their creativity flow.
1) they never have much expectations, so they're open to try different patches to get to an end.
2) they really focus on the project, they live that moment and give 100% of their self.
3) They have fun.
And following those steps, their imagination never stops.