Q: Some people see a relationship between what they experience in life and work. Why don’t I?
A: It’s not as difficult as you think. Just think about what you’re experiencing and relate it to your work.
Here’s an example of an experience that has significance to me. My wife and I were on a cruise and took one afternoon to go to a wine tasting. The host of the event said that we should follow his five steps of wine tasting: See, Smell, Swirl, Sip and Savor. As soon as he said it I saw a similarity in how I approach new ideas that I want to put in action. It’s one of those things that you can teach people so they don’t miss any of the necessary steps in creating something new:
SEE First we notice something that might have relevance to what we do in our organization.
SMELL We check out how it works, ask questions and determine whether we should give it a try.
SWIRL Now it’s time to put the idea in place, so we develop the system or create the product.
SIP The idea is now in place, so we can observe the internal and external processes.
SAVOR It’s time to market it and watch the benefit of what we’ve done.
ACTION STEPS FOR THIS WEEK
Let’s look at something you’ve been thinking about putting in place at your organization.
- Get a group of creative thinkers together for a Brainstorming Session.
- Discuss what it is that you want to create or try.
- Put your idea through the 5-S Process (See, Smell, Swirl, Sip and Savor)
- Let me know how it works for you.
If you want to learn more about Brainstorming Sessions, check out my book PerfectTIMING.
