AI is Coming for Your Job…. 

It is inevitable that artificial intelligence will take over many jobs currently performed by people; maybe the entire job or possibly certain parts of it. Maybe not right this moment for your job, but it is going to happen. AI coupled with robotics of every type will continue to take over more and more complex jobs. We can fear it, deny it, but it won’t change the trajectory of what is happening.

Humans do have an advantage; one that will hold up for the foreseeable future. It’s our ability to be highly creative. The human brain has an incredible ability to create in ways that defy explanation. We can create in every way imaginable.  We can write, draw, design, build, dance….we are always creating in this world. When we choose to create with purpose and intent, there are no limits to what we can achieve.

I personally believe that creativity is a skill that everyone can learn and master. After a lifetime of exercising my “creative muscle” I am amazed at how I can always improve. If you have never thought of yourself as creative, I believe it never too late to open up our ability to create with intent.  The more we are creative with purposeful intent, the better we get. For me, my early days as a creative in the product design world were hit or miss. I stressed over deadlines, hoping that the great ideas would appear. When they did, I was barely able to appreciate them as it was on to the next program and the stress of thinking up the next great idea.

For me the secret to creating unique ideas with purposeful intent was developing a process and practicing that process until it became second nature. The difficult part of the process, it requires confidence and faith that the process will work! My creative process was just like every new thing I have tried to get good at in my life. Painful at first as I struggled to consistently achieve the results I craved.

My creative process has evolved over the years. The process has many steps and there were skills I had to master. Here are just a few important takeaways I have learned from three and a half decades of operating in highly stressful, creative environments:

If you are feeling the stress you are already F#$%@*. Small amounts of stress can be a good thing. It can get us moving. Feeling a lot of stress over a creative project you are engaged in, though, is not so good. The stress starts a cycle of thinking that can close the mind down. I used to have a lot of days like that early in my career; staring at the proverbial blank white sheet of paper, rehashing the same, tired old ideas. Becoming more and more stressed as the deadline loomed ever nearer.

Often you will hear or read about how the best ideas come in the shower or when doing something completely unrelated to the problem that needs to be solved. It is true that doing something else besides obsessing about the creative problem can provide positive results. But it is usually not an option to run out and take a shower in the middle of a team brainstorm session!

The first step then, is to recognize that the stress level has reached a point where the creativity level is diminishing. Recognizing this simple fact is the first step to stop the stress cycle. Then we can deliberately decide to take different actions. They can small actions, such as deep breathing or visualizing the solution as already complete.   This can get us back into the creative zone…..where the ideas are flowing.

Develop a process – For me, mastering the ability to access highly creative ideas in my field of work, at any time, was my goal. Before I had a creative process that I loved and believed in, I might work for weeks on end, struggling to find the right creative solutions.  Then at the 11th hour I might wake up in the middle of the night with the game winning idea. This process was highly stressful, miserable and not always repeatable. It would burn me out and make me dislike solving problems; which was a shame. I believe being in our creative flow is where we can find some of our greatest joy.

The goal of my creative process is to allow my mind to relax because it knows exactly what to do next, regardless of the complexity or nature of my creative endeavor. Once my mind is relaxed, I can flow through the steps. It is between the steps of the process that the magic happens. Ideas appear. If at any point I start to doubt or stress about the outcome, the idea stream slows and stops. I recognize that, go back to the process and get back into the creative flow.

Prime the mind with information – This may seem really obvious, but the more information you learn, the better your chances are that highly creative ideas will flow. Always keep feeding the mind with different subject matter. Make a point to learn about all kinds of things. Things you may not understand; things you may not even think are interesting. You never know how or when this information might become the catalyst for the next great creative idea.

Our human brain’s ability to put seemly unrelated things together to create something new is a super power; it’s fun and fulfilling. It’s also how to keep AI from coming for your Job!

Learning to love the difficult

If you are like me, there are tasks you want to take on to reach certain goals in your life. These tasks, though, may be unappealing to you, difficult to initiate, or difficult for you to sustain. It could be developing a workout routine, eating better, meditating, or business related such as sales outreach or social media marketing. Taking on new tasks in order to reach our goals can be uncomfortable, unenjoyable and even a bit scary; until they becomes our new normal. Getting to that new normal state can be a challenge. I found over time that I was developing a process in regard to approaching new and difficult tasks. This process made a big difference in my outcome. My old way made tackling difficult new tasks hard and no fun. I would ultimately burn out and even suffer heath issues. The magical flow and passion to continue was mostly absent for me. I would use will power and sheer grit to tackle difficult tasks.

For example, when I first heard about taking cold showers years ago, the possible health and emotional benefits, I was in. The problem was, I hated cold showers even more than I love hot ones. Disregarding that fact I jumped in the shower one morning and turned the water to cold. It was miserable. I shivered and could barely keep myself under the water. The next day I tried it again with the same results. After a few days I gave up. I have tried this a few times over the years with the same result each time.

Fast forward to a few months ago and I tried the process again. This time I approached it with a totally different mindset and process. Instead of just jumping into the cold water, at the end of a normal shower I slowly turned the water colder. I stopped at the point where it became uncomfortable to me. My mindset change was that instead of being ego driven, going for the coldest water possible, I decided to take as many days or months as I needed to gradually increase my tolerance to the cold. I removed my expectations of what I thought the outcome should be. Day after day I would slowly turn the water colder, stopping when it felt too cold. I didn’t judge myself if the best I could do was lukewarm. Some days I could not even match the level of cold from the day before. The one thing I did was insist on consistency. Every day, I ended my shower with the cold water. It took over a month, but I slowly began to enjoy the cold more, and even began to anticipate how the cold would feel good.

“The one thing I did was insist on consistency.”

As the cold water was running down my back I thought of the other areas of my life where I attempted things only to give up. I realized a pattern of jumping into things I wanted, but whose difficulty I was unprepared for, and how I struggled to mentally stay consistent. I remembered back to when I began rock climbing, bouldering well beyond my skill level. I wanted to be good in the worst way. I needed to climb the advanced climbs. Within days though, I was bored. I wanted to give up because I just could not climb those climbs. It was demoralizing not to mention boring. My form was poor, my strength and conditioning not there, and I didn’t understand the technique required. Then I decided I needed to start with the most basic climbs and master them first.

I remembered when I first tried to master extreme low speed u-turns on my motorcycle. I tried the tightest u-turn I could and almost dropped an 800 pound motorcycle. It was only when I started with very large circles, slowly over time mastering them that I was able to make the tighter turns. Day after day I practiced. Some days I was worse than the day before. I kept at it, mastering each level of turn. The process of improving at these hobby related tasks, made me think about how I handle new areas of my business life. Do I jump in, going right to the deep end, using sheer will power to keep going? Am I actually enjoying what I am doing or is it just another dull task I have to get done? What if I applied the same principles of the cold shower, bouldering and u-turns? What if I followed a process of conditioning and success at each level? The result being that I actually learn to enjoy and look forward to new tasks and activities that at first seem difficult and unpleasant.

The answer for me was a process I could follow. I believe in processes. Once I have one, there is a path to success. Here are the points I recognized I needed to understand and implement in order to have a repeatable process. A process that would allow me to tackle what I perceived to be, difficult and unenjoyable new tasks.

Know the reason why you really want it. It may seem obvious, but the reason why we do anything has to be enough to see us through the difficult points in the process. If the discomfort or fear of the activity is greater than the desire to achieve it, it will be very difficult to maintain. I wanted what I thought the value of cold showers would provide me enough to get me in the ring every day. The “why” for me personally wasn’t enough for me to stick with it, but it was enough to keep me showing up every day. I realized how much of the things I don’t enjoy doing were driven by ego desires of being better, comparing myself to others and being what I identified as successful. Those ego types of “why” never provide lasting fulfillment or enjoyment. I realized the right “why” could be enough to get me started. It set me on a path with an entirely different set of motivations. In combination with the other tools I will go over in this article, the proper motivation makes all the difference.

Don’t make yourself hate a new difficult task – Most of my life I did things I didn’t really like or enjoy. Some I downright despised. I did them because I felt they were necessary for my success. I used extreme mental focus to keep doing them. This choice was very detrimental to my health. I became anxious, was constantly under high levels of stress, and suffered physical ailments as a result. I wasn’t aware enough to realize that there was any other way. The shower analogy really showed me that even something I thought I truly hated could begin to be enjoyable if I allowed myself to feel success during the process. After all, when we are present and enjoying what we are doing, we perform at a high level and our creativity and insight are at their highest.

Success breeds more success – It is amazing how much success can build our resolve to continue. I never appreciated how much a very little amount of success, when fully appreciated, can change my mental state. Acknowledging the small successes makes me want to do more, get better, keep the course. Recognizing the small incremental wins also improves confidence and gives me enormous power and resolve to continue. The feelings of gratitude that result from acknowledging the small wins are significant. Looking back on any number of these difficult or unpleasant tasks and activates, which I have applied this process to, has shown me that there is a higher level of enjoyment. There is also a higher level of being present with the task. As opposed to wishing I could just get it done.

Be consistent – The only way this process works, I have found, is if it is applied consistently over a prolonged period of time. Using the previous points listed here will make it easier to be consistent. I noticed this with my meditation practice. It was only after many days in a row of sitting silently, alone with nothing but my ever present thoughts, that I was able to relax into the mediation and begin to enjoy the process. I often use anticipation, meaning that before I begin, I think about how much I will enjoy the benefits of the particular task.  If it is mediation for example, I anticipate how relaxed I will feel after it is over, and the connection I will feel to my inner power and creativity. Consistency also helps me feel successful, which will trigger a whole range of powerful emotions.

“I often use anticipation, meaning that before I begin, I think about how much I will enjoy the benefits of the particular task.”

Will power and sheer grit work, but you most likely will never learn to love it – I know this because I lived it for over four decades. I realized that if I don’t feel some bit of enjoyment in what I am doing, I am most likely not performing that task anywhere near my peak level. Being in a state of “just getting it done” is not only unsustainable and bad for our health; it also cuts us off from our connection to the powerful creative state. That powerful creative state is how we achieve great performance. There are times when will power and grit kick in to keep us moving when everything else fails us; but only for a moment. If we live in this state too long, we will ultimately burn out and loose our resolve to push our boundaries and grow. I believe we either are growing or slowly dying.

Stay away from the fear – I have found that every time I push myself too far in any new task, I will encounter some form of fear. A little fear can be okay, it can be motivating. Too much fear can cause more resistance and add more hurdles to overcome. Fear can be sneaky. Often I don’t even realize the fear. I only realize I am in it when I am aware of the actions I am taking, or not taking. The fear can take over when we push ourselves too far beyond our skill level or mental comfort level. For me, being aware of the fear state is my best tool to combat it. One tool I use to become aware of any hidden feelings of fear is my daily meditation. I find that my body can alert me to that which my mind is unaware.

No judgment – I judged myself constantly. I was never good enough for me. I criticized myself for my inability to muscle through any task. I judged myself as weak if I gave up. I never forgot my failures and kept a running tab. Then I judged myself even more for that list. Learning to give up self judgment has been a process and I continue to find additional layers of judgment the deeper I go. Letting go of labeling most things as good or bad has given me much mental freedom. If the internal judgment occurs in the pursuit of any new, difficult task, be aware of it. Judgment I have found, takes me out of the present moment and throws me into my head. Doubt creeps in and mistakes occur. Learning to recognize the judgment and letting go of it is an important part of this process.

I set out to be consistent and follow a process with each new task I undertake, especially the difficult ones. If I fail now and again, I attempt to let it go. The reality of the process I outline here in this blog is that it is a complex give and take of many different things. Used together the above steps have allowed me to perform at a higher level than I have in the past, with more enjoyment and better results. I try to remember all this every day, going back to the “why” that started it all.

They will derail your development program, unless….

How do you feel about expectations? Do you think they are valuable in our lives or do you believe they hamper productivity and cause dissatisfaction? Whatever you believe, consistently managing expectations, our own and others, is one of the most difficult parts of any product development program. The way the team feels about how progress is going can sometimes be more important than the actual reality. How the team feels can dictate the program direction in either the negative or the positive. How any of us feel at any given moment is usually directly related to whether our current expectations are being met. A result we did not expect occurs; are we happy, angry, upset or looking for someone to blame.

“The way the team feels about how progress is going can sometimes be more important than the actual reality.”

We all have expectations in every part of our lives. Expectations related to business programs can be particularly difficult. Money, time, and quality results are usually the culprits here. These expectations can have real consequences; consequences that affect the ultimate success of the program. Expectations are arbitrary, and even if we don’t realize it, we have enormous power in affecting our own and others. An example, someone on the team believes a particular task should take less time and require fewer resources than you believe are needed. How can that expectation possibly be addressed and a new one established, especially if that person holds a leadership position?

At this point the expectation has been set and can be much more difficult to counter. The time to address expectations is before they are made. This is done by educating and setting the proper ground work before the program starts. In my last blog on communication, (https://www.driveninnovation.com/blog/2020/1/28/the-mindset-change-to-master-any-communication-forever ) I talked about how to effectively get others to understand the reality you wish to establish. If someone on your team expects a task to happen more quickly than you can achieve, and that expectation is not rectified, you will always be fighting against the notion that you are somehow not doing things correctly and taking too long. That negative overtone will taint all communication to some degree. Negative expectations are a killer for creativity, team collaboration and overall team wellbeing.

How does one manage expectations of team members, clients or managers in regard to product development and invention programs? These programs are all about creating something new and by definition, are perfect candidates for rampant expectations by everyone on the team. After all, if you don’t push yourself and your design concept to the limits and beyond, how can you possibly come up with anything new? And yet, failures from pushing the limits, no matter how valuable they are in lessons learned, rarely go hand in hand with statements like “great job” let’s fail some more! The further along in the process, the more those missteps seem to hurt. The pressure of limited time and resources are always an issue. The real question to ask when you begin any new program is, “What are the possible expectations of your team for your particular program?”

“ Negative expectations are a killer for creativity, team collaboration and overall team wellbeing. ”

If you ask directly you may get unrealistic answers or no concrete answers at all. Setting expectations is not easy work. It requires knowledge, experience and confidence to effectively get a team in alignment on what to expect and ultimately how that reality will lead to program success. In the end, no matter what the expectations are, there needs to be a path to success along with the resources to get there. Here are a few ways to set expectations so the entire team knows what to expect. These points will help everyone remain positive with the program process and handle the difficult parts with more ease.

Set the program expectations from the very beginning. Undoing exceptions is a difficult thing to do. Try setting the expectations at a top level first, and then set more granular expectations as issues arise later on in the process. It can be hard to set expectations for problems that may or may not occur in the future. Trying to address every possible outcome at the beginning of a program can be exhausting and overly negative. But…you can be very aware of the key areas where problems typically occur in your product development process. Set the top level expectations in these areas educating the team on what to expect.

Rank the ultimate goals of the program and share them with every team member. All programs start with an end goal in mind, even if it changes later on. Not every part of a program is as important as the other parts. These points may seem obvious, but often team members working on both critical and less critical areas of the project don’t know the end goal or the importance of their part in relation to that end goal. Working in a vacuum is one way that expectations get mismanaged. Problems can occur when team members work in isolation on their particular part. Then when the separate parts come together, the solutions may not satisfy the end goal.

To keep all team members aware of the end goal may require including information that seems non relevant to their particular task on that program. An example is; a designer of a particular part of a product was not apprised of all the manufacturing goals and therefore could not meet the expectation. The result, their product solution for that particular part of the design may not be manufacturable at the target price. In this example, having the cost expectation set at the beginning of the program, communicated with the entire team, could have prevented this situation.

“Problems can occur when team members work in isolation on their particular part. ”

Understand your manufacturing processes, their potential problems and limitations. Expectations are particularly troublesome in areas of transition. Transition from one discipline to another, such as engineering to manufacturing are where many problems occur and the issue of unmet expectations can sidetrack you program. Keep this in mind as you plan your design. The more you push your design process and the more innovative your program is, the bigger the chance that expectations will not be met. When you understand the limitations and possible pitfalls in development processes, it is easier to set proper expectations.

Know the limits of your particular program. One of biggest problems with expectations being unmet, occurs when there are mistakes or development problems. As much as we talk about failing fast and often to get to the right solution, the reality is no one likes failure. Disappointment, anger, and frustration can happen if you push your program beyond the resources and the will of the team. It can be very difficult to know where the breaking point of any particular program is in regard to how inventive the solution should be versus the time and energy required to get to a successful solution. The more you dig into this area, the more you can manage your program effectively.

“Disappointment, anger, and frustration can happen if you push your program beyond the resources and the will of the team.”

If your program has anything less than unlimited budget or time limitations, (and of course no program does) be realistic with how far you are pushing your design solution. If you don’t know what the real driving forces are behind you particular development program, it will be very difficult to meet expectations.

Get to know your team, clients and partners to learn what their existing expectations might be. This is a process that takes time, but can begin immediately. The more effort you put into this area, the more benefit you will see. It is always good to establish clear communication, trust and understanding between team members. This helps to establish realistic expectations that can be agreed upon. 

Let go of expectations and focus on the process – Expectations really are wasted energy. In every aspect of life, expectations force us out of the present moment and into the future as we contemplate what we think we want. They don’t accomplish anything and ultimately do more to derail us than anything else. Expectations may even be the source of our unhappiness. In regard to development programs, it does no good to expect anything. The fact that we expect a specific result, never guarantees we will receive it. It is far better to focus our energy on what we can do and be the best at that. Then be prepared for anything.

“In every aspect of life, expectations force us out of the present moment and into the future as we contemplate what we think we want.”

Product development programs that require long timelines and large groups to complete will not go smoothly unless effort and energy is put into making them so. There are many factors to creating a successful program. Setting and managing expectations is right at the top. Try adding these tips to your repertoire and see how much more effectively your program can function.

Contact us at DrivenInnovation.com if you want to know more about this or have a product development problem you need solved.

The mindset change to master any communication, forever!

I have designed a lot of products in my career.  The technological advancements in regard to design tools, from the beginning of my career to now, have been amazing. When I started as a design consultant, there were few CAD options. Computers were rarely used for design or engineering. As designers, we rendered new product images by hand in a very labor intensive manner. The advancements in design tools, design development programs, manufacturing and materials makes many parts of the process easier and improves overall quality.

There is one part of the process that has not changed quite as much, if at all; people. We are pretty much the same. The one people related issue which continues to create problems, lost time, mistakes, wasted money, is communication.  Communication between team members, clients and manufacturers is still a problem even though there has been much work done in regard to building great teams and increasing team communication. Communication can break down, regardless of the best intentions to keep it flowing smoothly. Add in today’s tight timelines, with teams located in all parts of the world, and the problem of communication gets infinitely more challenging.

The one people related issue which continues to create problems, lost time, mistakes, wasted money, is communication. 

Building effective teams and team communication has been studied a lot. The quality of the team you assemble is a great way to combat future breakdowns in communication. The more you work together, the better the team gels and the better the communication becomes. But, we are always working with new people; people we just met or new additions to the teams we interact with. Even a new vendor, manufacturer, or a new hire at a group you don’t directly control, increases the chances for communication breakdowns. 

We evaluate every program we work on to assess how well the project went and how we can improve. If there are problems, we look at how they occurred and what we could do to be better the next time. The reality is that communication breakdowns happen during the product development process. At times, it can seem to be beyond control, no matter what your level of experience. Maybe it is. Maybe it is just “how it is;” the cost of doing business.  Communication breakdowns happen and they just have to be dealt with. I don’t like that answer though, because it means that I am a victim to circumstance. While this may be somewhat true at times, there are a few things we have learned that take the control back. Things you can do to establish effective communication between anyone on the team. It does not matter if they are right next to you in your office or on the other side of the world.

The first, is to truly believe that breakdowns in communication are the fault of the person communicating, not the receiver of the communication. That may seem ridiculous, too much work, or just not possible. One thing is true, if you believe this, your communication style will be different. If you really believe that any and all mistakes or issues created by your communication with others are your fault, you will be very likely to make sure you are, without a doubt, understood. This might sound crazy, but if you accept this premise as true, your mind will begin to think differently. New ideas on how to get you message across will come to you. You might decide to take a course on communication. You may not settle for one email requesting a particular outcome. You might follow up until you know your desired outcome is understood.

If you really believe that any and all mistakes or issues created by your communication with others are your fault, you will be very likely to make sure you are, without a doubt, understood.

You could decide to fly to a particular location to ensure that there are no mistakes. It is human nature to step up our game when we perceive that the blame is landing on our shoulders.

Use multiple modalities of communication, written, verbal, in person, and video, whatever it takes. Not everyone receives communication the same way. When I first learned this in a seminar, how I subconsciously received information, I was blown away. Up until that point, I was just blurting out information thinking that it was being heard and understood. Not so. Some prefer to hear information; some see it, and some feel it. If you don’t know your audience and you use only one modality, your communication will be lost to the majority of the group. Just being aware of this simple fact will elevate your communication to new levels.

Don’t expect to say something once and be understood. When I was younger, I would say something once, or write an email once and think that was good enough. I actually thought that if I repeated myself, others would get annoyed by hearing the same information again. Then I realized, what I said was not nearly as important to others as it was to me. Shocker! What we think is important might not even be on someone else’s radar. I started repeating myself, a lot. A strange thing started to happen. I found that those that didn’t hear me had additional chances to understand what I was saying. Those who had heard me reached greater clarity on what I was saying.

What we think is important might not even be on someone else’s radar.

Know the level of information that is right for every encounter. Going too deep into a particular topic at the wrong time bores people and the message gets lost. Some audiences only need the abridged version; usually larger groups. This applies to emails as well. Long, detailed emails often get skimmed or not read completely. Break them up into shorter ones. Put different issues in separate communications so they can get the same level of attention.

No matter how good we are at communication, we can always be better. Communication is, I believe, the most import thing we have as humans. It encompasses so much. We use it in business, in our personal lives, as groups and even between nations. It takes constant effort and awareness to be good at it. If we all practiced better communication, I guarantee our lives would be easier. For now, those that take the responsibility to be more effective in communication will be the ones who benefit the most. They will be the ones that get the most accomplished, become the best leaders and be the ones that have the most influence.

Contact us at Driven Innovation if you want to know more about this or have a product development problem you need solved.

The secret to creating.

How can we consistently create the things we can’t envision? Well the short answer is you can’t. The long answer is to follow a series of steps, putting yourself into a state where you can begin to envision what you wish to create.  As a product designer, my job is to create new products that don’t yet exist.  As designers we are given a problem and then we set out to solve it. When I was a new designer right out of college, I struggled to even get started. I had no process or even any true confidence that I could succeed. Sometimes I got lucky, and sometimes, well not so much. It was really hit or miss. Ironically that affected my confidence in a negative way even more. I could never trust that I “had it under control.” The more something mattered to me the more I struggled to “see” my way to the successful solution.

I had no faith. When I doubted myself, it was like pouring water on a fire, the ideas dried up. Over the years I have developed a process which allows me to ask the right questions and that allows my brain to start coming up with the right answers. Having complete faith in the process has also created real confidence and the ideas flow even faster.

But what if you are the product? What if you wish to create an improved version of you? What if you wish to create an improved version of your future? As I work more deeply on myself, and I look to continually design my own future, the task seems to get infinitely more difficult. I find the process is vaguer and the faith part more elusive. I have found that if I can’t literally wrap my mind around some future desire being a possibility, I have to get myself to a state where I can begin to see it as a possibility. It is from this place that I can create. It is in this place that the faith lives.

Take on the negative self beliefs. You can’t build a strong foundation on weak ground. I believe for me that negative beliefs are illusions. Maybe that is true for you too. During an Ayahausca ceremony in the jungle of Peru, I saw my own true state of being from outside my body. My physical body looked many times larger than it really is. Emanating out of me was a field of energy that kept expanding. It was large, very large. Alongside me in the vision were the feelings of shame, self criticism, guilt, and failure. They look so small and pathetic next to my true essence. In that moment I no longer felt those negative emotions; they were completely gone. I spoke and said “how can these feelings that have ruled me most of my life just be gone?” The all knowing voice in my head said “I just showed you who you are and how small the negative illusions are, what else do you need?” I said “Yeah, I get that but how can they just go away?” The voice said “You want them back?” “Noooo,” I said. The voice continued. “Just go back to your normal life and do everything the same as you have and those negative beliefs will all come back. I promise”

I realized in that moment that what I do, moment to moment will either feed the negative beliefs or feed the positive empowering beliefs. I cannot live a sloppy, unaware life and expect to feel good about myself. I never wanted to be aware every moment of my life. It sounded tedious and “like” way too much work. I wanted to be distracted and oblivious to my life because I didn’t know any better. That vision on Ayahausca showed me a door into a realm of self love and self responsibility that made me want that more than I wanted the unawareness. That brings me to the main point here; you have to have a vision of what you want that inspires you to want to make the changes. For me, doing the work got me to my personal vision. Once you have the vision and the desire, everything begins to change.

Discipline is great at helping to quiet the negative self talk of the mind. When I was in the jungle on my personal retreat, I made a list of things I could do at any given moment in order to keep myself aware and focused.

Walk with intention and awareness, Stand up straight, Meditate, Observe without judgment, Harness the energy of my body, Consciously move my energy, Exercise, Eat well, No coffee, No alcohol, Limit sugar, Limit fats and oils, Limit TV and social media, Read, Walk in nature, be creative/ do creative tasks, stop labeling situations as good or bad, breathe deeply / focus on breath, stretching, journal, move with intention, focus, eat with awareness, rock climb, motorcycle riding, separate the mind from body sensations and body pain, visualize before sleep, exercise acceptance, be in the present moment.

These tasks help me to remain focused on the present moment. We cannot create anything of real value when we are being overridden by the ego mind and negative self talk or focused on our past or future.

I have noticed that when I slip into unawareness I am more likely to react to life’s situations, getting sucked into moment to moment drama, then to observe life and respond from a place of calm intelligence. These steps which I list here help me stay present, aware and focused. For me it took a month of being mostly by myself for me to realize what things in my life were triggering negative thought loops. I have also learned that the discipline I incorporate in my life quiets my mind. The ego part of me becomes silent, almost as if it understands that it is pointless to resist. I am going to override it anyway.

When I am in doubt, and cannot feel the future I am trying to create, I find I have to take these small, disciplined action steps, daily, or even moment by moment to override my minds constant need to doubt every bit of change. As my faith in the vision I wish to create comes back into focus, I take bigger and bigger steps toward that goal.

I am learning that this is a lifelong practice that requires constant attention. One would never think we could exercise for awhile and then never exercise again and stay healthy. The same is true for creating the ideal version of ourselves and the life we desire. There is no getting there, only the process that goes deeper and deeper until we leave this earth. I found a real sense of peace in knowing that, once I accepted it. If we love something we take care of it. When we love ourselves, we take care of us, body, mind and spirit. There is no end to our development, there is no race to get anywhere and there is no winning or losing. There is only the process of going deeper and deeper into our own understanding, fulfillment and exploring our own individual action. There is no judgment when we take a detour or get temporarily lost. Just realize it and get back to the path.

The benefit of continual self realization work is continued awareness and insight. This awareness and insight keeps us anchored to the present moment, where all creation happens. Where we are the most content and fulfilled. It is in this state that we perform at our greatest potential. We are open to creative input. Our minds are open and relaxed not stressed and scattered.

The truth is we are always creating. We are all fantastic manifestors. We are creating every single moment of our life. I never even realized that, until one day I did. I realized I was creating the life of an endless loop of struggle and trial. I was a professional at it. The awareness of this fact was enough to put me on a different track. In hindsight it felt like I was a fire hose at full blast with no one holding and directing it; shooting everywhere; rarely hitting the fire.

The first step in any journey of improvement of the self is awareness. If we are unaware of what we are creating in our lives, how can we expect to create what we want, except if it happens by pure luck? Awareness is a powerful healer. I have found that at times just the awareness of a negative thought, panic feeling or undesirable physical body response to a life situation can be enough to cause it to evaporate. If we are creating by default at any given moment, no matter what, why not create with intention and have the life we desire.

If you would like to learn more about any of the concepts discussed in this article, please reach out to us at getdriven@driveninnovation.com.

Two lives, one conclusion

Three weeks ago I returned from a solo, twenty six day retreat in the Amazon jungle of Peru. I traveled 24 hours by plane, car, and then boat up the river  to the lodge where I stayed. I slept in a thatched roofed hut and ate a very strict diet; no salt, coffee, alcohol, red meat, spices, oil or sugar. There was no internet,  nor electricity; a generator ran for a couple hours each evening. This trip was the latest step for me in a self improvement journey that began twenty years ago. During the retreat, I spent most of my time alone. I worked with the shamans, took native plant medicines, and meditated.  Without any way to distract myself from my thoughts, it was difficult physically, spiritually and mentally. It was also one of the most life changing experiences.

When I returned from this trip, the reintegration process was just as difficult as the trip itself. I realized I was living two different lives; the life of my design and product development career and the life of my self-development and spiritual journey. I also realized that they should not be separate, as the concepts and insights I have learned from the self development journey should be the foundation for all aspects of my life, including my business. 

Let’s be clear, my self-development journey has taken me to some extreme ends, from fully immersive five day long “mental boot camp” like courses, to ancient plant medicines with Shamans in the jungle, multiple times, and everything in between. This level of self-development work has led me to the same conclusions. The basis for everything I do in life needs to include self love, love for others, non-judgment and developing solutions that are mutually beneficial to all involved. Without these things in place, I may be monetarily successful but I won’t be fulfilled.  Conversely,  I may be fulfilled but struggle to reach my financial or career goals.   Or, if I benefit myself at the expense of others, eventually it will come back to bite me.

There was some fear at first when considering fully merging these two separate areas of my life. On the surface they seem so different from each other.   How could they possibly merge together as one? The reality is, they have been overlapping for years already. I have been taking knowledge learned in my self-development journey and using it in all aspects of my life, including business. 

Here are some highly beneficial things I have learned in twenty years of internal growth and how they apply to great business practices.

We all win or eventually we all lose – Years ago in a self development course we played a game. The object was to win as much money from the banker as possible. The group was divided in two and separated. Over ten rounds each team could choose either X or Y.  If X was chosen, both teams received the same amount of money. If Y was chosen, one team got more money, and the other lost money. The way to win the game?  Getting the most money from the bank was for both teams to always choose X for each of the 10 rounds. We failed at the game because we chose Y. We got more money than the other team but failed on the real objective. The world is a perfect mirror to this game right now.  The only eventual success for us is if we all succeed. The world needs more win-win solutions in many different areas. When the entire world is lifted out of poverty and lack, we all win.

No problem was ever really solved by ignoring it or trying to contain it. Pollution and disease on the other side of the world will eventually make it to you. But just like the game, if we focus on the bigger goal, the right decisions can be made and the right solutions appear.

We only create in the present – There is no past or future, other than in our thoughts. Thinking about the past keeps us there and our thoughts of the future eventually create that reality. The only time we are in top creative and peak performance is when we are fully present, in the only time there is, now. If we approach our work with a heavy mind, focused on past mistakes or future problems, there is no way we can be innovative. We only rehash old ideas, feel stuck, frustrated and tired. Being totally in the present is invigorating and allows infinite creativity to flow through us. I have learned this truth from the creative process over the years. Truly innovative and creative ideas come when we are fully present. Worry, stress, thoughts of the past or future, judgment, negativity keeps us out of the all powerful present.

“The only time we are in top creative and peak performance is when we are fully present, in the only time there is, now.”

Past and future are concepts of the ego, whose goal is to influence us to do things the same as we have always done, meaning no change and no growth. Real connection and trust with others is only built when we are present. The solutions the world really needs will be created by many people working together at their highest level. But, if you just want to start by performing better at your current job, try keeping your mind in the present moment and see how much better you perform. 

Self Love, love for others and for what we do is essential – I learned the magnitude of the importance of self love one night while taking plant medicine. During the ceremony, I felt the most alone I have ever felt in my life. It was so extreme I felt like I was dying. I felt like I had nothing and no one at that moment. It completely encompassed me. I also was in excruciating physical gut pain. At the moment I thought,  I can  take it no longer”, all the loneliness and pain vanished. All I felt was the most amazing love. It was a level of love so complete, I struggle to describe it in words. I realized in that moment, the pain and aloneness were illusions that covered up the love in me; the love that we all have access to within us. That love will not fight to been seen, we have to go look for it beyond the illusions of our mind. 

This love is required in business, desperately. It is when we are in this state that creative solutions flow, we do our best work, we motivate and inspire others and others want to work with us. We have all been around people that love themselves, others and life which, in turn, helps us to feel great. They lift us up. That is the power of love. There is no blame, no judgment. Things get done and they get done right. Imagine your entire team functioning at that level!

Stress and fear start in the mind – After about eight days of being mostly alone in the jungle, I started to panic. The sun went down around 6pm each night and the mosquitoes came out. After dinner,  the best place to be and not get bitten, was on my bed under the mosquito net. It was hot and a little bit claustrophobic for me. The fear that I just wasn’t going to make it 26 days surfaced in my mind. I felt the panic, and then was immediately aware of the thought that caused it. That awareness caused the fear to just vanish. 

Often, our thoughts can create a corresponding feeling in the body and then the body, in turn, can trigger the mind to think the thought. It can become a vicious cycle of the body and mind. In this state, we become reactive to situations in our life; the mind and body, already on high alert and ready to act in a preprogrammed way; definitely not an example of living in the present. Stress also can be caused by thoughts. Those thoughts can manifest as body aches and pains. I saw how my own thoughts had been causing my massive neck and back pains along with migraine headaches. Awareness is a major key to mastering our thoughts. When we do that we become powerful creators and leaders.

Energy is real, I mean really real – We have all had a massage and after they tell us to drink lots of water and take it easy. Sometimes it can even feel like we are getting a cold. That is because the massage moved energy in the body and as that energy is released.  Sometimes it doesn’t feel good.  In my recent retreat, I felt how powerful moving energy can be. I have internally stored grief and self criticism in my life. These are feelings I had but never dealt with effectively. I knew I was repressing these feelings, I just didn’t think it mattered all that much. By the time I realized how wrong I was, I was clueless on how to deal with this repressed energy. Well, the shamans in the jungle know how to release trapped energy. I literally felt flu-like sickness for over twenty four hours, as my body purged deeply stored emotions. What we don’t deal with will eventually, deal with us.   Storing up negative feelings has a heavy price when it comes due. We are energetic beings and our energy is felt by others; both the bad and the good.

We learn most effectively through feeling - I mean really learn; the type of learning that stays with us and makes real lasting change. These real learning moments are sometimes called peak emotional experiences. It can happen in a second or take a long time, but when we feel something to a great degree; it can make a drastic change in us. We probably all have an experience like this where an event happened and it affected us so strongly that we never forgot it. This happens to us a lot more than we may realize. We have experiences all the time and they affect us. Why not be more proactive about creating the peak emotional experience that we want, not just accept the ones we don’t want?  During some of the immersive courses I have taken, along with this latest trip to the Amazon and plant medicine, I felt these lessons, sometimes over and over until it changed my actual thoughts. 

“Getting others to feel the message we are giving is crucial to getting buy in and team support. ”

This definitely applies to business. How many of us have been subjected to the Power Point show that seemed to never end and lacked all feelings. Getting others to feel the message we are giving is crucial to getting buy in and team support. This can be done in many ways, even subtle ones. You don’t have to break out in tears to make others feel your point. The point remains, when others are emotionally involved in what we say, they remember it and are more likely to support our goals. 

The message here is that everything we do is connected. Trying to compartmentalize our lives, this is work, this is family, this is my time, this is a hobby, and where we are happy and fulfilled in some and not others only seems to fracture us. We can still have all these separate parts of our lives, but the true foundational principles apply to them all. If we are miserable or unhappy in one area of life, it is going to spill over and affect everything else, eventually. As I start to really learn this, my life is coming together and I begin to feel the true sense of calm, love and fulfillment.

If you would like to learn more about any of the concepts discussed in this article, please reach out to us at getdriven@driveninnovation.com.

Want to Increase Your Next Hardware Program's Chance for Success?

There are no guarantees of success when developing a new product. In fact, there are no guarantees for success in anything we undertake in life. As product developers, though, there is something in us, some internal optimism that pushes us to create new products and experiences. This optimism drives us to embark on the long journey of developing a new product.  We believe we will succeed, no matter the odds.

Optimism aside, there are some cold hard facts about new product success that are important to keep in mind. Not knowing them doesn’t make them go away. It only makes your competitor that does, more likely than you to be the one to succeed. I don’t believe that there is one magic bullet for success in developing a new product. Just as in life, it comes down to a combination of many things in just the right order and amount. Like the ingredients in the perfect meal.

”There is no magic bullet for success in developing a new product. Just as in life, it comes down to a combination of many things in just the right order and amount.”

The odds of creating a successful new product are one in ten to one in twenty depending on whom you ask. Optimism in the product development process is absolutely critical for success, but it is not enough to believe in the success. We need to stack the odds in our favor. Here are just five things; ones that may not be so obvious, that I have learned make a noticeable difference in increasing the odds for success in new product development.

Lose the ego. We all know when we are really good at something. To be a legitimate expert in anything requires a lot of time, effort and critical self evaluation. The problem happens when we get over confident and start to believe that we are experts in other areas outside our core competency. It is actually really easy to do.

You read a bit about a particular product development area, maybe saw someone else do it and boom, you now know what it takes and your off advising and telling others what they need to do and how to do it. Unfortunately we cannot be experts at all aspects of the product development process. We need to have team members that truly understand the areas where we are not experts.

The reason for this is that we don’t know what we don’t know. What seems easy is easy until you overlook that critical area and find yourself in a situation that is difficult to rectify. I get it, we all think that we are smart and can do many other people’s jobs, and we know better than the experts we consult. Sometimes we do; more often though we don’t.

My rule for myself is that if it is not in my core area of expertise I need to defer to someone I trust for what to do and what not to do. Especially when my ego is telling me that it is easy, I can do it, what could possibly go wrong? Having the courage to admit what we don’t know is probably one of the biggest advantages in creating a successful product. You most likely won’t know what you did wrong until it is too late. Hire the experts and listen to them.

“Having the courage to admit what we don’t know is probably one of the biggest advantages in creating a successful product.”

Know yourself, and know people. Learning all there is to know about ourselves and the motivations behind why we do what we do is a lifetime job. Learning all about others and why they do what they do might require another whole life. We can greatly improve our understanding though. Those that become aware of their motivations and what motivates others are at a real advantage in product developemnt, and in life.

They are the ones that have productive teams that are creative, communicate well and stay focused. They handle problems and deal with changes as part of the process, not as major meltdowns. Lean about how you communicate best, and learn how your team members give and receive information. Wasted time and effort happens when team members do not understand their role and how it fits in with the main program goals. Keeping team members isolated or out of the loop in order to save time usually ends up adding time as their solutions will miss critical areas to which they are not privy.

"Continually invest in your own personal development, through reading, courses, coaches and seminars and watch how much more effective your product development programs become."

Don’t work in a vacuum. Developing a product is hard, really hard. It can require massive amounts of effort just to get the product concept to work, let alone focus on all the other very different tasks that must come together perfectly in order for your product to be a success. As hard as it may seem to do during the day to day development, keep your eye on the end goal and make sure to continually consult with the experts you have assembled to keep the product on track for success.

Taking your eye off the end goal, even for a short while, can result in the product moving in a direction that may solve one issue at the detriment of an even more important one down the road. For example, you may want to add a feature that seems easy to implement but in reality it becomes much more difficult to execute and you miss critical marketing milestones.

“Taking your eye off the end goal, even for a short while, can result in the product moving in a direction that may solve one issue at the detriment of an even more important one down the road.”

Or, you may decide not to have certain features because the time to implement them will cause you to miss a milestone, but those features are absolutely crucial for your target market. Making critical decisions without the proper expertise is straight up gambling. Developing a product is difficult enough; you want to increase the odds of success, not add more risk.

"The only way to make the correct decisions is to consult the experts in each area of your team every time new information is learned and evaluate the pros and cons of each possible direction."

Don’t waste your time on the things that won’t pay you back. In hindsight it can be very easy to see where effort was wasted. That knowledge after the fact is also not very valuable to your development program. How can you know what effort is valuable and necessary and what effort isn’t? The key to avoiding wasted effort is to continually evaluate new information as it is learned and asses if that information requires a course correction. Not evaluating new information as it is learned because it’s not convenient or would require changes you don’t want to make is shortsighted. Making more, smaller course corrections is much better for the health of your development program than fewer, more drastic changes. Unfortunately, you will most likely find that out once most of your resources are used up or you are out of time.

"Evaluate new information as it is learned, consult your team of experts and decide if the new information requires a course direction adjustment. Dismissing new information as irrelevant or not important often leads to building the wrong product or a product that doesn’t function as required." 

The ultimate manufactured cost of your product is determined early in the design process. All the early design decisions you make and all the features you decide to include in your product will cost you in the end. Early on in the design process there are no manufacturing ramifications to adding features to your product, picking certain materials, or even the way you design and assemble your product. The true ramifications of those early decisions will become known only once you hit the manufacturing phase. How much they will cost you really depends on a lot of factors. If you are not paying attention to the ultimate cost of the design features you implement at the beginning of the program, you may be very surprised by the cost estimates you receive once you get to the manufacturing phase.

Know that the overwhelming majority, as much as eighty percent of the ultimate cost of your product will be determined in the very first weeks and months as you design the user interface, chose the product features and pick the design direction. That means that by the time you move to manufacturing your costs will be all but fixed. There will be very little room to reduce the manufactured price of your product. Should it be more costly than is acceptable, you might find that your only option is gut your product features, drastically reduce the product quality or perform a major redesign.

"Hire manufacturing experts for each manufacturing process required to build your product and pay very close attention to the ramifications of the design decisions on your manufacturing costs by consulting your manufacturing experts early and often."

If you are in the process of developing a hardware product and you need input, please contact us at Driven Innovation. We are here to help! 

Don't Start a Product Development Program Without Knowing These Points!

Don't get caught making product development errors. Save time, save money and avoid making critical mistakes! Checkout Value Bombs! #12 -#14 from our ongoing posts in this series on "15 Things You Should Know Before You Begin Your Next Product Development Program!"

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Don't Start a Product Development Program Without Knowing These Points!

 

Don't get caught making product development errors. Save time, save money and avoid making critical mistakes! Checkout Value Bombs! #9 -#11 from our ongoing posts in this series on "15 Things You Should Know Before You Begin Your Next Product Development Program!"

View fullsize

Don't Start a Product Development Program Without Knowing These Points!

Don't get caught making product development errors. Save time, save money and avoid making critical mistakes! Checkout Value Bombs! #6 -#8 from our ongoing posts in this series on "15 Things You Should Know Before You Begin Your Next Product Development Program!"

View fullsize