Excelsior Learning

…is peerless in embodying The Power of Speed.  He has an irrepressible bias for action and Xcelerates viable concepts/prototypes to implementation.  He is optimistic, intuitive, versatile and enjoys humor (especially is own).  He tunes into what his head, heart and gut tells him, learns and adapts quickly.  Once a concept or prototype passes the mustard test from his sidekick Plusser, he wastes no time and Xcelerates it quickly.  No time for delay, not now, not ever!

His Powers are:

• Be Optimistic
• Use Humor and Intuition
• Act on It

Take these actions this week to Xcelerate your concepts and prototypes to action, strengthen your creative thinking muscle and get creativity fit and anchor the creative habit to be repeatable.

1. Be Optimistic, think positive, be resolute and do not become unnerved or deterred when facing complexity or ambiguity. One way to nurture an optimistic attitude is to adopt the practice of interpreting events favorably – to develop an optimistic bias.  When facing an unsuccessful outcome, see it as temporary and isolated and modify your self-talk to reinforce it.  For example, say:  ‘This situation was difficult, and I wasn’t successful with my attempt.  I believe that by making modifications, the outcome will be successful next time.’  This way of thinking enhances positive feelings and increases confidence about future endeavors.  It also leads to increases in performance and becomes self-fulfilling as the cycle repeats itself.          
2. Use Humor and Intuition to develop a dynamic, idea-affirming creative climate! We like to laugh, prefer to be around people that make us laugh and enjoy getting other people to laugh.  Laughing is fun and is highly contagious.  When people are enjoying themselves, they are not as defensive, are much more playful and they interact and collaborate more effectively.  As a result, they generate more novel ideas, idea combinations, actionable concepts and prototypes.  Let’s dovetail from laughter to intuition – defined here as a hunch, a gut instinct, an inkling, an energy, a sixth sense.  Intuition is your heart and emotions telling you to pay attention to something.  You might not be able to put your finger on why, or what triggered it and it may not be logical – you just feel it.  Allow yourself to accept and follow it, see where it takes you and what ideas and concepts you think of.  Enjoy the journey it will be rich, vibrant…and fun!               
3. Act on It, and develop an unrelenting bias for action, lean into risk and move forward. Stay versatile, experiment, learn and adapt quickly.  One method to make this operational is to adopt the power of the Rule of Three which is based on how our brains function – how we recognize and create patterns daily.  The rule is often used to make presentations and speeches more engaging.  How about we adapt the Rule of Three to get fast traction with our concepts and prototypes?  One way is to view your concept or prototype through the lens of conducting a series of rapid experiments and test three things with the concept or prototype every week.  Move it forward.  If you do not move the concept/prototype forward every week, it is atrophying – just like with our skeletal muscles.  They are either getting stronger or they are atrophying – they are not in neutral or in a holding pattern.  With The Power of Speed, you can run three experiments with your concept/prototype this week – twelve this month.  Now that is the power of Momentum…smell my vapor fumes!