Vujá dé (voozha-day)... the beginning of a "wee bit of an obsession".

I was informed of the term Vujá dé the other day and in short order it has gained momentum to be "a wee bit of an obsession".

Derived from Déjà vu, the phenomenon where an event happens and you feel that it has happened before, Vujá dé is the direct opposite... it's when something (or somewhere) that should be familiar, is suddenly very different.

or

A propensity for discovering something new in something you've already seen a million times before.

or

Noticing something for the first time that has been there all along; the realization that you've been unaware of something you should have noticed a long time ago.

Why the obsession? Being able to see things differently, particularly in something that is familiar, leads to new ideas, uncovers opportunities and leads to better ways of doing things. Accomplishment is found in something new and different.

So with this obsession taking hold, there is a couple of things I will need to do right away:

1. Research and understand Vujá dé* further. This will include reading the book Weird Ideas that Work by Bob Sutton (who was one of the first people to write on the subject).
2. Develop the discipline, perspectives and tools to notice something that hasn't been noticed before.

I will let you know how it goes.

iamgpe

* It seems that George Carlin, the master of seeing things that others have not, was the first one to introduce the concept of Vujá dé.

Is it a woman with flowers, creativity, or a different way of looking at things?*

It doesn't take that long to go from one to twenty-one... we have all done it, we have all seen it happen, and if by chance you are less than twenty-one and reading this; trust me, you will be there before you know it. As a father watching his daughter grow into a lovely young woman, it seemed to all happen within a couple of heart beats** - The heart of a loving father who is so very proud; I hope you can appreciate with a knowing smile that most of what I'm about to say will be heavily biased. 

A poor photograph of a stunning Sarah Edwards original that is hanging on my wall.

The title on her very first business card is "Visual Merchandiser and Fabricator". What that actually is becomes apparent as you look at her website, her LinkedIn profile, and almost everything she does for that matter. She is very much a CREATIVE by nature.

And what she creates are "visuals" that capture your attention.

Sarah Edwards Design Website

Sarah Edwards LinkedIn profile

With that obvious and shameless promotion by a loving father behind us, I wanted to offer some thoughts that came about when I attended my daughter's year-end visual merchandising show - All pertaining to the development of better ideas, better plans, better solutions, and ultimately better results (no matter what you are doing). 

Before I take us down any "creatively designed" bunny holes, it's probably worth framing up the context of my thoughts... I've found this can be done very nicely with pithy truisms.

Truism #1: Everything done will be better if more than one person is involved, which fortunately or unfortunately leads to "team dynamics".

Truism #2: Groupthink can offer some advantages but it will compromise Truism #3

Truism #3: Different perspectives lead to a "better everything" - situation understanding, ideas, and solutions.

Truism #4: Just because you don't understand it or agree with it, doesn't mean it isn't a better choice. 

Truism #5: Change will happen and what used to work will eventually stop working.

So as I wandered the show surrounded by dozens of creative souls, their talents and efforts, I found myself saying a couple of times, "I wouldn't have done it that way, but I really like it!" - And with that said, I was reminded THINKING DIFFERENTLY IS GOOD and it leads to new perspectives and ideas; all offering better outcomes. More importantly, I was reminded to search out those who have a different way of looking at things, listen to what they have to say, add their voice to the mix, and let their creativity capture your attention. 

How better to bring creativity to your situational analysis, ideas, planning or implementation then involving a "CREATIVE"... literally.

Here is to the Class of 2016!

iamgpe

*In my mind, the answer to the question in the title is all three.

** Saying  couple of heartbeats is artistic licence as a rough calculation of the number over 21 years is approximately 827,820,000 not accounting for leap years.

Why we should stand on desks more often - Literally

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

A while back I was in a meeting where the discussion revolved around our need to change our current situation to a future state that we all agreed was needed - Somewhere in all of this banter, I say something along these lines, "Evolution will get us there but it will take time where with a revolution we will get there much faster, but it tends to be bloodier".

 I of course thought it was particularly profound. Now let me say right up front we are talking business here so people very rarely get bloody and die (this is an important point) and as an aside (apologizing for my diatribe up front), we as business people like to draw from the military for strategic framework, aspects of leadership, transferable tactics and particularly language. Here is a very important point... in business, although it may sometimes have a vague feel of what war is all about, no one dies, I shall repeat again, no one dies. If you "take a bullet", in the broad sense of things you get "a do over". War, not so much.

So back to my profound statement (with a working assumption that you agree with me*), we find ourselves always existing in three states, some more preferable than others - The status quo, evolution or revolution. I will eventually get to the desk... so not to worry.

Let me quickly speak to the state of status quo first; briefly, only briefly... other than an opportunity to catch your breath (mostly in a figurative sense), the status quo offers you nothing long term... the world, and everything about it will change around you and you will become irrelevant** - I do not recommend it as the world will pass you by.

Revolution will drive dramatic change, through a spectrum from great to awful, as well as the opportunity associated with it. Here is the thing though, like war, it can take on a life of it's own, it's uncontrollable, noisy and many times random with what it offers. Sometimes it is necessary but hold on tight...very tight. As an aside this is where control is validated as an "illusion".

So now to evolution, and being that I left it to the last it's a fair assumption that it is something that I want to spend some time on... offering a thought or two. Up front I will say I'm a fan of Darwin and his theories of adapting and evolving to an ever changing environment - We need to evolve to thrive. A point though, it needs to move much faster than it historically has to prevent any slide into the status quo or creating a situation that brings on the need for revolution, be it in business or even socially. Why is that you may ask? The world is moving much faster, be it technology advances, communication or general globalization (that makes this big world a much smaller place) that creates a necessity to speed up evolution just to keep up with the environment.

And finally we get to the desk - Sorry about meandering... well not really that much. In the movie Dead Poets Society there is a scene where the teacher (Robin Williams) jumps up on his desk to make a point... I have attached the video, as it is my favorite scene in this great coming of age movie.

The video clip is packed with a number of messages but for me, in the context of what we are talking about, when he stands on his desk and asks "why", he offers hints as to how to speed up the evolution. The answer is of course, "to look at things differently and get a new perspective", as the acceleration comes through actively looking to evolve and not passively letting it happen over time.

Two other points resonate with me. When John Keating says, "if you know something, look at it a different way", it reminds us to keep challenging what we know as we just might start seeing a different and even better way. I also like when he tells a student not to walk off the edge of the table so fast like a lemming but look around - A reminder that thinking and doing things differently is not an occasional effort but should be a habitual way.

I find Keating actually getting up on the desk the most powerful in all of this, as it is the action in changing his perspective. He didn't talk about getting up on the desk, he got up on it, no talk... just "up". And this is how art in this case can challenge us... Asking what exactly are we doing to see things differently and speed up our evolution?

Thank you for reading. 

gpe

* Let me know if you don't

**Irrelevant is such a harsh word that means not connected with or relevant to something, but is what happens when you stand still as everything moves on. It's a great business word.