One of the people who has taught me the most about living a balanced, productive, and fulfilling life is leadership expert and life coach Dave Ellis. He recently retired, passing the baton to his daughter Sara, who has started a business with my brother Michael called A-Plan Coaching to make life coaching much more accessible to people who could benefit.
Dave’s teachings are best summarized in his book Falling Awake. One of the many that have benefited me is this: when one is faced with a complex and even perplexing problem or opportunity, it is essential to allocate a lot of time to generating dozens of different ideas about how to deal with it. Like many people, when I have something I want to accomplish, I want to get right to it. So I consider 3 or 4 different options, pick one, and then start.
What Dave taught me is that taking the time to generate 30 or 40 options, rather than 3 or 4, often leads to the best outcome. Sure, some of those ideas are impractical (occasionally to the point of being funny). And time spent dreaming up ideas may come at the expense of implementing one of the first you identify.
But pushing oneself to generate a lot of ideas unlocks creativity, alternative mental models and frameworks, and novel ways of looking at the problem or opportunity before you. Sometimes a ridiculous idea has a kernel of brilliance that can be mined, distilled, refined, and ultimately made into a stellar approach.
I have applied this insight many times. However, even now, after seeing the power of this success strategy repeatedly, too often I settle on a course of action after only coming up with a handful of options.
An offshoot of this insight is the power of getting multiple people to help brainstorm ideas to solve a problem of seize and opportunity confronting you. I saw this in action again yesterday, when I convened about 8 friends to brainstorm ways to make the September relaunch of my book When In Doubt, Ask For More a success despite not having much in the way of a budget. I came up with the idea of doing that in an earlier brainstorming session with my publisher and my intern, but I hesitated a few times before pulling the trigger in terms of setting it up and inviting people to take part.
The hour-long Zoom session got off to a bit of a slow start, but by the 15-minute mark everyone was contributing ideas, often building on those put forward by others. Some were more practical and detailed than others; occasionally a crazy-sounding idea made everyone laugh. A few people volunteered to try ideas they had suggested or asked others on the call to follow their lead. It was, in a word, magical! It was also a big morale boost for me.
The energy continued after the call ended, as several people sent me emails about what they would do or additional ideas that I might try. One person volunteered to buy 25 books for friends of hers. Another had me send a copy to the head of a foundation, with suggestion that they consider buying copies for all of their staff and grantees (an idea she herself would reinforce later).
What worked well about this was not just the variety and quality and sheer number of ideas, but also the extent to which most participants began to feel invested in the success of the book. Previously they had expressed interest in it, but now they were committed to it. They went from being in the stands (maybe even in the cheap seats) to being on the playing field.
I have another brainstorming call coming up on August 15. If anyone reading this is interested in taking part, let me know. If it is anything like yesterday’s session, it will be productive and enjoyable.