Reframing the assets that we have

Abundance, assets, constraints, creativity, Leverage, possibility thinking, problem solving, Uncategorized

Inspite of the fact that I write about marketing, product management, finance etc. The fact is that I am also learning every day. While I have some theories like “Riding the Elephant ” , I am actually a Work in Process.

So when I come across something which I have used earlier and I read a book in which a similar idea is written, then it becomes a validation of my ideas.

In marketing you will constantly come across constraints. Actually in life itself, you will constantly come across constraints. But in case of marketing, I have noticed that Murphy’s law decides to become applicable at the most inappropriate times.

At those times you have to be as resourceful as possible. One of the ways of becoming resourceful is to first identify all the assets at your disposal.

Next see how the same asset can be utilized in a different way.

Third “who” could benefit from the reframed asset and last

How could you benefit from the assets that person or organization has and then go about showcasing them, about how it could be of mutual benefit to both the concerned parties.

One thing which I have used very effectively is the spare technical manpower in our company. I have actually gone and spoken to partners to check if they’re facing technical problems in going to the market.

We have been able to work with partners because of just this one asset that we have and they can’t afford. Due to that they take us to the market, we help them sell and give us all the services.

Sometimes it could be the internal setup or processes or messaging that you have built, which could be repurchased for the other side, in return for something that they have.

In marketing you always need to keep looking with an abundant mindset of how you could reframe the assets you have to get what you want.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Welcoming constraints

constraints, creativity, Fear, Human Brain, possibility thinking, problem solving, Uncategorized

I have written multiple times before how I used to be scared when problems came my way.

One of the first people to influence me against being scared was the writing of Jay Abraham. One of the things that has stuck in my mind is one statement – the bigger the problems you solve, the more you can earn.

Over the years, as I have matured the ability to handle challenges has also changed but still there are times when constraints baffle me.

Realizing that its the rain which tries to create all our challenges has helped me in managing the thought process around handling constraints.

A book that I found useful with a good set of tools for welcoming constraints is A Beautiful Constraint by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden.

While a lot of people will talk about looking at the positive side of things and about, thinking out of the box etc. This book gives practical tools which if you use make your brain actually look for options and find solutions.

The more I read about the challenges that we face, the more I realize its our brain which creates mountains out of mole hills.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Utilising thinking time – with structure

creativity, Flow, Focus, Habits, Human Brain, Thinking

In my posts earlier, I have shared with you some of the good tools I have found for focusing our time. I have especially liked the Dean Jackson video on Focus Finder. The methods he uses are simple yet profound. The key thing is that you have to ensure you are able to ensure you are able to pull out time for thinking activities.

Since we have so many things prompting us and drawing attention to them, getting dedicated thinking time is almost a rarity even for me. The challenge is that the brain has got so used to the idea of getting disturbed, that if you keep your phone away to concentrate on some activity, you actually feel guilty and end up seeing the phone just to ensure that you have not received an urgent call. The next off course is email. You dig into one and by the time you finish that there’s another one demanding your attention.

So inspite of so called success with some of the tools which have helped me, I have not yet been able to take maximum benefit out of the thinking process.

So I am working out to see how I can make thinking time a habit using the process suggested by B.J.Fogg in his book Tiny Habits. To make it useful I have also tried to incorporate a system of identifying the next problem to be solved in advance so that when I do get time to think, my brain is not going helper skelter, trying to figure out what needs to be done.

So yesterday when I tried solving one problem, I identified problems which are two layered below it. Meaning if don’t solve those problems, the problem I was trying to solve yesterday will not get solved. Therefore even though I did not solve the problem completely, the ideas that came to me during the thinking time, gave me some items to focus on to solve, before coming back to that problem.

Today since I did not have to think in terms of the problem to be solved, the moment I focused on the problem, my mind went into flow quickly before the door bell rang and disturbed me. But in that short time, with the problem to be solved, defined in advance, my brain was getting into action faster and came up with ideas much faster. If this can work, then I may not have the most elegant solutions immediately but would have started moving faster to solve challenges.

Please see if this works for you and let me know your views.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Habits – Path Dependence

Brain size, creativity, Energy, Habits, Human Brain, Uncategorized

I have generally been talking about how the human brain eats 25% of the energy that a body needs even though it is only 2% of the body mass. This is one of the reasons for procrastination in my opinion because the brain wants to conserve energy and by delaying the process of using the brain it’s able to save energy.

Since motivation is something which is fickle, you would rather convert something into a habit, so that it gets done automatically with a predetermined set of steps – something which B.J.Fogg explains very well in his book Tiny Habits.

Now the challenge with habits is that once formed, they are difficult to dislodge. So you become – literally a creature of habit. The human brain loves habits because they run on auto pilot, and don’t consume too much of energy. Since one of the key functions of the brain is to ensure your survival, the brain loves everything that does not consume energy so that it has enough when it has to figure out ways to survive.

With habits though you always follow a predetermined “path”.

However with changing situations in all our lives, you need to find ways to move away from the so called “beaten path” What made you successful then, will not make you successful in the future. Nokia realised it too late, Kodak realised it too late and there are a whole lot of other names that you can list. All these companies had put up terrific systems (equivalent of habits) to ensure economies, to ensure quality etc.

But the same systems got them blindsided.

Companies are also made up of people and when companies get blind sided, its the people who have actually got blindsided because they have become creatures of habit. To solve a new problem they use the same old tools, the same old sources of data which they have used earlier. But since the problem is new, the old tools don’t work and we are not willing to go back to first principles to solve the problem. Sometimes it pressure of time, sometimes revenue takes precedence and there are a whole lot of other reasons.

So the key thing to figure out is when to use creativity and when to go with something which has already proven useful many times before. When do you travel on the well tread path or choose a different road when you hit a fork.

As team leaders this is a problem which we face all the time and finding better ways to solve a problem is something that I am continuously looking out for. If you have found a way which helped you to creatively solve a problem pls let me know below in the comments.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!