BOOK SUMMARY 21 Zentrepreneur
·
Summary written by: Dianne Coppola
"Protecting the status quo does not foster
creativity, fearlessness, innovation and advancement."
- Zentrepreneur, page 77
I’m
not exactly sure how I stumbled across John J. Murphy’s book Zentrepreneur because
I keep an ever-growing list of books I might want to read, however, in the
grand scheme of things it matters not where the recommendation came from. What
matters is that it did land on my reading list and that I chose to read it
before some of the other competition on the list. And what a delightful and
thought-provoking read it was!
The
writing was personable and direct – almost conversation-like. Each chapter
opened with an interesting quote (and I adore quotes) and closed with a
bulleted ‘checklist for success’ – simple, yet inspirational ways to highlight
the lessons contained in the chapter and apply in your life. In between there
were stories and examples, tons of powerful questions (I also love good
questions) and some well-placed lessons on how to lead yourself and others to a
culture of innovation and fearlessness. And I was reminded, yet again, that
sometimes we are the ones hampering our own success.
The Golden Egg
Uncover Your Roots
"The
only real barrier is what you hold to be true in your own mind."- Zentrepreneur, page 218
Wow!
Isn’t that a powerful statement? “The only real barrier is what you hold to be
true in your own mind.” I certainly have read numerous books that have
discussed the power of our minds and the difference one can make simply by
changing negative self-talk to positive self-talk. Murphy, however, challenges us
to dig deeper to discover what is truly holding us back from achieving the
success we desire.
He
shares examples of how he leads teams in organizations through kaizen events
(which loosely translated means ‘good change’) where teams define the current state
of affairs using factual data or ‘undisputable facts’ and then dig deeper to
identify the root causes of the problem(s) they are facing. Murphy notes that
in organizations, “root causes are often related to flawed assumptions” which
in turn lead to flawed policy, procedure and process design.
On a
personal level, if we do not challenge our own assumptions and identify the
fears that hold us in a less than optimal ‘status quo’ state of being, we will
not be able to awaken the zentrepreneur within us and overcome these
self-imposed barriers. So, let me ask you: do you make time to reflect on what
is holding you back and why? Do you know what ‘mental boxes’ you routinely play
in? Do you try to ‘shake up’ your thinking periodically? If not, perhaps you need
to start asking different questions.
Gem #1
Are You Asking the Right Questions?
"To
apply zentrepreneurial thinking effectively, we must learn to ask questions in
a variety of different ways."-
Zentrepreneur, page 74
This
by far was the biggest take-away for me. The sheer volume of questions that
Murphy identifies throughout the book is staggering and reminded me that in our
haste to solve a problem or implement a new idea we often don’t pause long
enough to ask and answer a goodly number of questions. If you want to
immediately boost your creativity and problem-solving skills, try answering
these questions:
·
What if…? Why? Why not?
·
What are the risks of doing this? What are
the rewards? What happens if I do nothing?
·
How might I do this? Who might help me? When?
Murphy
points out that these questions are ones of “playful possibility” and help us
dig deeper to address the larger questions of “Yeah but…? So what? And, now
what?”
The
key though, is to ask these questions a lot! Not just once or twice. For
example, see what happens when you ask ‘why’ four or five times (children are
great at this one!):
1.
Why was George late? His car would not start.
2.
Why did his car not start? The battery was
dead.
3.
Why was the battery dead? He left the lights
on.
4.
Why did he leave the lights on? He was
distracted and forgot to turn them off.
5.
Why did George forget? He is human and made a
mistake. There were no cues to remind him.
Now,
consider what solutions are generated at each question level. Can you solve the
problem at level 1? No, we do not have enough information. How about level 2?
Well, the short-term solution would be to get a battery boost, however we
haven’t yet identified the root cause of the problem so it can easily happen
again. It’s not until we get to level 5 that we can generate some creative
solutions to address the problem once and for all.
Gem #2
Empty Your Bowl
"Beyond
Doubt provided the simple how to ‘let be, let go, let see, let flow’ model to
move one beyond this inertia fears, uncertainties and doubts."- Zentrepreneur, page 17
Here
is another truism that’s easy to say and awfully hard to do. Think about it. We
often say to people who appear somewhat rigid to ‘just go with the flow’. It’s
our way of saying, ‘relax, enjoy the moment, take a chance, something good
awaits you’. And yet we often forget to take our own advice!
Learning
to ask more and different questions is essential if you want to be able to
‘empty your bowl’. And while it is something you can probably learn to practice
on your own, I think it is much easier to do this with others. We all see the
world with different eyes, based on our knowledge and experiences. Tapping into
this wisdom with a sense of wonder and curiosity can help us let go of our
‘habitual, auto-pilot mind’ and open us to new possibilities.
If you
want to change something in your work or personal life and are struggling with
how exactly to make the shift, seek the ideas of others – either one-on-one or
within existing teams (work, family, community). Don’t go looking for ‘the’
answer – empty your bowl and fill it up with lots of possibilities. Then have
fun experimenting with the different solutions to find the one that works best
for you. Murphy believes, and I agree, that “We are inspired and creative when
we let go of our resistance…” Let go to let flow.
If
this is too big a leap for you, if it seems too loose-y goosey and
irresponsible, then fall back on the more business-like structure of DMAIC –
define, measure, analyze, improve and control. Moving through these stages in a
disciplined way “helps keep teams aligned and moving forward in a clear,
compelling and rational manner.” Which is a lot better than stagnating in an
unimaginative and fearful status quo situation, wouldn’t you agree?
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