Thinking about paradigms, and thinking WITHOUT them, will never go out of fashion. I love breaking the limits of my thinking, and truly ideating freely and without any preconceived notions.
I believe it’s my competitive nature that drives my fascination with breaking down paradigms. I do not want to lose to a paradigm – EVER!
It’s not easy to recognize the limits and boundaries, based on your life experiences, that you are putting on your own thinking. But you can break through the walls of your own paradigms with a little conscious self-reflection. Use your mind’s inner mirror and challenge yourself with questions like:
“Why did I come up with that idea?”
“Why do I think my idea is a good idea?”
Or even more:
“What would my target consumer’s paradigm look and feel like?”
“What would my idea mean to my target consumer?”
“What would motivate my target consumer? What would interest and excite them?”
Brainstorming sessions and ideation can be so fun and productive – and full of energy, momentum, and inertia – when the team brings diverse experiences. Paradigms can crumble at the feet of diversity – and stellar ideas can prevail!
So, if I ever ask you “why do you think that?” it’s not because I disagree with you. I am asking because I want to learn your perspective, understand more about your perspective, and hopefully get a little smarter. I want to take a few bricks out of the walls of my own paradigm. I am asking because I want my world to be bigger.