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The Power of Being Different

Lesson 2: How to eradicate incrementalism from your life.

In the previous lesson we looked at incrementalism, which is basically, gradual improvement, from a general perspective. One of the conclusions we could draw from that lesson is, that incrementalism blocks creativity. Well, that is not only the case in business, but in our private life as well!

Although, again, it's not always wrong to perform a step-by-step process in order to improve a good product or service over time, it should never be a rule of life to merely improve existing models or patterns and not come up with something entirely different. If you like games, for instance, you probably remember how excited you were when the Sony play station came out. This was not just an improvement of an existing product, but a revolutionary step in game-playing!

Tom Peters encourages his readers in "The Brand You 50" to do some thorough self-examination in order to find out how they can be different; to discover the fields in which they distinct themselves from others (p. 102). In this book Peters also gives a number of very useful tips on how to make sure that you are injected with fresh ideas regularly, and, hence, eradicate incrementalism from your life. Here are a few things, derived from that book that will trigger your creativity:

¯     This is your life. Your unique journey. Forget what "they" will say. Do what "you" feel is good.

¯     Ask yourself: What do I want to be?

¯     Become your own brand. "Brand You."

¯     Establish your personal brand; create a Yellow Pages ad for you. What would you write?

¯     Make sure that all things you are involved in, are interesting to you. Call them, if nothing else, like Tom Peters does: WOW Projects!

¯     Commit yourself fully to The Project Life. Pursue Mastery.

¯     You -- Brand You -- are a "package."

¯     "Inc." yourself. Become accustomed to the mindset: I am a company.

¯     Don't hush anymore; speak out! Brand You is about what you value!

¯     Work on your capabilities. Brand You demands a rich, diverse portfolio of skills.

¯     Be multiple applicable. This will prevent you from becoming "obsolete." Brand You Warriors wear at least Eight Hats

¯     Paint a compelling, technicolor word picture of who you are. (In the sessions on Radicalism, we will get deeper into this part)

¯     Walk the Talk. ("Be the change you want to see in the world." -- Gandhi)

¯     Turn crummy little tasks into Hopelessly Cool Projects. It is possible! It depends on your approach toward what you're doing. If you see it as a positive challenge, you may surprise everyone!

¯     Work with what you've got! Make it a masterpiece!

¯     You are your portfolio: Think Quality of Project Portfolio

¯     You are the WOW-ness of every project. So: Score WOW-ness!

¯     Focus!

¯     You are your Clients I: Brand You is defined by his/her clients: Who they are. Who they aren't. So: listen to them! Connect with them!

¯     You are your Rolodex: Make it a habit to meet interesting people. The freakier, the cooler. And one more thing: be loyal and credible!

¯     Make sure you can add to your "product line" (= what you're excelling in) regularly.

¯     Dare! Daily.

¯     Build your own "Brand You" web site. A really cool one!

¯     You are your own P.R. agency. For starters: Join Toastmasters if you need some upgrading.

¯     Work on your Optimism. (Spreaders of doom + gloom rarely attract followers!)

¯     Renew regularly.

¯     Learn from anyone. Anywhere. Any time. Become a sponge for Cool Stuff. (Work on exposing yourself to cool stuff.)

¯     Install your own personal "Board of Directors" with people that you admire and trust.

¯     Be a leader in your own life. ("Leadership" is independent of formal position. Period.)

¯     Obtain power. Know how to play politics. Power matters, and stuff that gets done demands superb political skills.

¯     Develop your own marketing plan. We are all in sales. All the time. You need not only know what your product is, but also, how you will sell it best!

¯     So what is your product????

¯     Be a Free Agent. In every aspect of your life. Take responsibility. Be creative! Be different!!!!

So, this is Tom Peter's book, The Brand You 50, in a nutshell. If you really want to make sure that you maintain your creativity and only use incrementalism when it is strategically the wisest thing to do, you should buy this book and regularly read a couple of pages. It helps.

 

Self test:

Summarize for yourself the most essential lessons you think you have learned from this session. Save them, and you'll have a great tool for the future.

What did we do:

Write, in not more than 100 words, what this lecture was about in your opinion.

What have I learned:

Summarize in not more than 100 words (your own words) what this information about incrementalism means to you specifically.

How will I apply it:

Explain in not more than 200 words how you think you will apply the knowledge you gained through this lesson in your personal life.


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