Thinking the impossible makes it possible
I’ve been a motorcyclist for many years and early on in my two-wheel career I learnt a maneuver that could save my life, but that “logic” seemed to say was dangerous. Occasionally motorcyclists will find themselves going into a bend too fast. Instinct will tell the novice to simply lean harder into the direction of the bend. In fact, a quick movement in the opposite direction to the bike’s lean will induce a tighter and safer angle of lean – and get the rider out of a potentially dangerous situation.
Naturally, it takes a bit of courage to try this for the first time, but in fact, that is what many of the best leaders do: they are willing to take a calculated risk that they believe has an excellent chance of working. They frequently face barriers of cynicism, but they persist in trying. Examples abound in business.
In 1914, Henry Ford made his competitors roll their eyes in disbelief when he doubled his employees’ wages. Taylorism was the dominant strategy at the time and workers were generally considered as just another expense to keep as low as possible. Ford reasoned that attractive wages would increase his employees’ loyalty and desire to stay and contribute to Ford’s success over the long term. And he was right, they stayed, they were able to buy the very cars they were making and Ford dominated the car manufacturing landscape for many years.
The Post-It story is another well-known example of counterintuitive thinking leading to a major commercial success. In the late ‘70’s, Dr Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M, was researching adhesives and found one that “didn’t stick very well”. Rather than reject it, he was convinced that there must be a use for it somewhere. He didn’t give up pushing his idea. After several years, Art Fry, a colleague working in a different 3M location, hit on the idea of using the adhesive to make removable paper bookmarks – and the Post-it was born.
You may remember some years ago the Apple commercial that said “Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the World are the ones who do”.
So counterintuitive thinking works. But it helps greatly if it is combined with persistence, as the Post-it story illustrates. A leader must be able to overcome resistance and the tendency of many team members to stay inside “safe” boundaries.
As it happens, both these leadership traits can be measured and also nurtured and developed. For those of you familiar with the Human Synergistics® profiling technology, high scores at the “Self-Actualizing” and “Achievement” styles indicate leaders with very a solid capacity for both. We also coach leaders to use the behaviours underpinning these styles.The Post-It story is another well-known example of counterintuitive thinking leading to a major commercial success. In the late ‘70’s, Dr Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M, was researching adhesives and found one that “didn’t stick very well”. Rather than reject it, he was convinced that there must be a use for it somewhere. He didn’t give up pushing his idea. After several years, Art Fry, a colleague working in a different 3M location, hit on the idea of using the adhesive to make removable paper bookmarks – and the Post-it was born.
You may remember some years ago the Apple commercial that said “Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the World are the ones who do”.
So counterintuitive thinking works. But it helps greatly if it is combined with persistence, as the Post-it story illustrates. A leader must be able to overcome resistance and the tendency of many team members to stay inside “safe” boundaries.
As it happens, both these leadership traits can be measured and also nurtured and developed. For those of you familiar with the Human Synergistics® profiling technology, high scores at the “Self-Actualizing” and “Achievement” styles indicate leaders with very a solid capacity for both. We also coach leaders to use the behaviours underpinning these styles.