Explore the most valuable technique used to solve problems and create amazing innovation. Austin Vickers explains why innovation and problem solving all come from the age-old tradition of thinking ridiculously.
AUSTIN VICKERS:
Thinking ridiculously is the solution to many of our problems. One of my observations over the last ten years in working with literally thousands of people and corporations and in social situations, is that people become afraid of what others think of them and they allow this fear, this need to be generally accepted to put limitations on their thought processes.
But if you look at all of the great people in history, they were never afraid to think ridiculously. I mean imagine the person who first thought the Great Wall of China by building a wall across China that was visible from outer space. That’s a ridiculous idea to a lot of people until of course it’s actually accomplished and then it becomes one of the great wonders of the world.
Or many other people in science that have dared to think ridiculously. The first time they ever thought about putting a spaceship on the moon. John F. Kennedy in his great speech was a ridiculous thinker. Or the person that talks now about creating a cloak of invisibility, which of course the US military is actually working on by the diffraction of light, for example.
So to think ridiculously we have to actually begin to act ridiculously. Sometimes in my coaching sessions with executives I intentionally put them in situations where they have to act ridiculous in front of their colleagues and friends, and if they can then I know that they have the potential to be a great leader because they can let go of what people are thinking about them.
So the question to ask yourself is, “How often are you willing to think ridiculously? How often are you willing to step outside with a bounce of normalcy or what is generally acceptable to your friends and family members and pursue ideas, pursue thoughts or actions that may appear ridiculous to other people but are a part of your imagination for a future that you want to create?” That’s the secret… think ridiculously.