Challenging your belief or stance

Beliefs are the makeup of our knowledge, views, culture and norms. As individuals or tribes, our actions are a direct translation of our beliefs. For example, you shake hands with another stranger as a belief of goodwill (I hope at least on your part). Brands try to shape your beliefs about them through advertising and other marketing activities.

It is a fact that we depend a lot on our beliefs and took it for granted. Questioning your beliefs can be fundamentally unnerving. Post September 11, it took a while for Americans to change their beliefs about homeland security. Beliefs are sometimes radically shaped by circumstance. Here are some beliefs that have been shaped over the last decade.

1) Commercialization of space travel. Virgin Galactic
2) Electronic books changing the entire publishing industry.
3) Consumers telling brands what to do.
4) You can make a living out of publishing your life online.
5) Designer office chairs that can cost up to S$2,000 each.

You can probably think of more.

Your beliefs or stance of the world is a powerful subconscious inner voice that guides and alters your decisions and actions. At the same time, altering these deep seated beliefs can potentially impact your lives. One of the most powerful result of changing your beliefs is to solve difficult sticky situations and problems. Relationships, careers and health. Taking a alternative discourse to solve them. In short, changing your stance for the better.

In the book Integrative Thinking, Roger Martin challenge readers to review and change your stance. Has it stifled your thinking and vision? If it is, probably time to reassess and think about reshaping it. Your own beliefs might be the single greatest barrier and tool for creative thinking. In the business world, changing stance can help deliver better experiences for customers or tribes. For example, if we change our beliefs that a hair salon can do more than hair related services, this business model will not look for other complementary services like pedicure and manicure services.

Engaging a coach might be a possible avenue. Here is Enrico Varella & Associates where change development is carefully shaped and mentored in the hands of experts.

Please leave your comments, if any.

Mastery or Originality? Do both.

In the book The Opposable Mind, Winning through Integrative Thinking by Roger Martin. There is a section on Mastery which is counting on one's skill and experience to attain a certain level of competence to complete a certain task. And Originality which is about creativity and creative thinking. Both can be nurtured through the grinds of failing forward and experimentation. The more we try, the more we fail and also succeed.

Martin argued that the way to go is to have both Mastery and Originality combined in order to create breakthroughs solutions. What a revelation! Let’s apply this on branding.

Brand managers are always faced with the constant need to seek new ways to position their products to continuously maintain relevance to consumers and stand out from the crowd. These managers probably have the qualifications and experience to do so. Commissioning rigorous market research and sifting through these data and charts to make the most informed decision. If anything goes wrong, there is the research report to fall back on. It’s safe.

On the other hand, branding may dive straight to Originality. Creativity that stems mostly from  intuition.  Such creative elements are then mostly left to the creative folks.

Notice the problem? Products fail to take off because of either extreme inclinations.

What results is a polarisation of either overly rationalisation or abstract. Are we able to combine the two? I sure hope so. A new breed of MBA courses that include design thinking modules are already in place. Hopefully to produce design thinkers who are capable of tapping into analystics and creative thinking at the same time. 

What about you and me? Time to start?

Please leave your comments, if any.