Often times when a new idea is presented to us, our first reaction is to see what's wrong with the idea, the danger in the idea, why it won't work.
It's reasonable that we want to make sure we don't do something that's a bad idea, and it's reasonable that if we continue in this way we will kill a lot of valuable ideas.
What might be a way to find value in ideas? Here's a personal story from Bob Eckert that illustrates his gator brain in action and how he used a process to upshift his thinking that led to a positive outcome in a tricky situation.
Next time you are woken up to your gator brain behavior by someone who pushes back on you (and there will be a next time) - look for what is good about the idea. Even better, lean on the full POINt (Pluses, Opportunities, Issues and New thinking) process to to make sure you are treating new ideas wisely and giving valuable ideas a chance. Learn more about POINt in our white paper.
Great and memorable story. Thinking of getting a tattoo - control the gator.
Posted by: Bruce Fern | 10/08/2014 at 11:49 AM