Having a Genius

There are lots of different ways that we look at people but sometimes we need to let go of our initial judgments. As a society, we have created an idea of what we feel is normal. I feel like we need to change that norm. This is where creativity comes in. Experts and professionals tell you what is wrong and what is right but how do they know? If there are new ideas, there isn't an expert or a professional. If you are looking for new ideas or new ways to do things, you have to know where innovation already exists. We design for the middle of the bell curve but you can find new ideas at the tails.

By catching the tails of the bell curve, you are looking at the extreme users. These are users that have found new ways to use existing technologies. Some of these users are cost sensitive and find the value in innovative ways. If you can find these users and observe their behaviors, you can use that information to create new products, services, and experiences for your customers. Each customer is unique and different but our culture encourages people to be the same.

People don't have the same the likes. We don't even think the same way. Some people think visually, conceptually with words, physically, or kinesthetically. I am a physical thinker. When I talk on the phone, I have to pace. As I listen to people, I animate what they say in my head. I walk around and if I can draw on a whiteboard or a piece of paper, then I can show what I am thinking.

Going back to creativity, we as a society feel like you either are creative genius or you aren't. This simply isn't true. As kids, everyone draws or colors on paper. We all draw. We all dance. We just grow out of our creativity as we get older. We are trained to. And when it comes to "genius," the concept has changed to being a genius when originally you had a genius. In Rome, a genius was a guiding or divine spirit that would deliver inspiration to people. If the genius didn't do his part, then it wasn't your fault as the person receiving the inspiration. Nowadays once you get that label of a creative genius, you have all the pressure to perform again and again.

Unfortunately, our society is all about manufacturing with output... Output... Output... The industrial age changed everything. Our educational system came out of the industrial age. It is no wonder that most students think the same, ask for directions, and don't think for themselves. We are building people that are a bunch of followers instead of helping people learn how to think and lead.

"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you won't be original."