The Idea Midwife

Sudoku Teachings, Part 2

Today, I'm working on a puzzle I am finding particularly difficult. Truth to tell...I started it days ago and still haven't finished it! I am completely stuck. I tried everything I knew to do and still no solution. My usual strategies had always been successful...until now. I keep moving the partially completed puzzle around as if being in a different physical space will cause the solution to magically appear. (Heck, sometimes that works for me -- get out of the office for a little breather and shazam! a solution just pops up).

I was even ready to "cheat" by finding the printed solution and taking a quick peek for "inspiration."  I had my rationalization all ready -- "It wasn't really cheating it was a new learning strategy:  start with the answer and work my way back." I suppose it is no coincidence that I have found probably the only puzzle collection that does not include the answers neatly tucked "in the back" or "just a click away."  Then it struck me...suduko was ready to teach me a new lesson. Was I ready to learn?

The Sudoku Puzzle Approach to Creative Business Planning

I admit it. I've become addicted to sudoku puzzles. And, they are showing up in my life in weird ways. Just the other day I was talking with a delightful group of entrepreneurial women on the verge of launching new businesses. We were commiserating about the challenges of writing a business plan. It seems so left-brained and not so much fun. Then, it occurs to me...writing a business plan, planning a product launch, creating a marketing strategy -- really any  "big hairy project" -- is kind of like a sudoku puzzle. The Teacher is at hand...consider if you will the lessons of the sudoku puzzle: 

1. Start with the "rules" of what you are creating -- they provide a container to hold your creation.
2. Do the easy things first -- they will usually open doors to complete the tasks that seem harder at the start.
3. Work in pencil and have an eraser handy -- use tools that allow you to easily take risks and make changes.
4. Follow the emerging order of what you are creating. Step-by-step is not always a straight line.
5. A fresh perspective provides new answers. What is unclear when viewed in one way, becomes obvious when viewed in another.
6. Sometimes it goes painstakingly slow, sometimes it ripples quickly -- that's just how it is. Take advantage of your momentum by going fast when things are rippling; let yourself slow down when the pace needs to be more painstaking. The ebb and flow is natural.
7. Struggling does not create progress. Stop banging your head against the answer that just won't come. Move on to a different part of the puzzle.
8. Feeling stuck is an invitation to explore a different area-- if you can't find the solution now, it could be because there is other information that needs to happen first before this box can be solved.
9. Savor the feeling accomplishment when you solve a piece of the puzzle -- and use that delicious feeling to inspire you forward.
   

The Power of A Good Story

I love a good story. Don't you? Stories work on us, they take us places, and they let us plumb the depths of our wisdom for new ways to look at familiar challenges. Metaphors challenge, confound, entertain, and change us.

At any moment, we can choose to invoke the power of story to create a new result. As a coach, I frequently use stories and metaphor to help people move from being stuck, into practical action; from defining a situation as a problem, to seeing how it is a steppingstone. And stories and metaphor are everywhere. You can’t take a half a step in any direction without bumping into a whole bunch of them -- in a book, a poem, a quote, a conversation, inspirational writings, a song, graffiti, a personal belief, a folk tale, a prayer, an email, a wish, a joke, a movie, a commercial, on a bumper sticker…heck, everything has a story just waiting to inspire you.

Birthing Ideas is Like Birthing Babies

Why  "idea midwife?" Creating, like birthing, is a natural process, with its own ebb and flow, phases, moments of wonder, times when special attention or effort is required, and times when, now matter how much you might want to, pushing is not a good idea.  Let yourself be informed and supported by this natural cycle as you bring your creative ideas to life. Consider what phase of development your idea is in, and take actions to support and encourage its development and your well being -- keeping in mind that, unlike birthing babies, when you birth innovation the gestation period can vary wildly -- and you can take a step back, in order to move forward.