The value of different perspectives

When's the last time you got a reminder that not everyone thinks the same way you do?  I did not long ago - and I'm still laughing about it!

A couple months ago, I was in San Francisco for a meeting with co-workers. I decided to stay over the weekend to play tourist - and just for fun, arranged my schedule so I could play a game with the local underwater hockey team.

Before I left, another Minnesota Underwater Hockey player and I chatted on Facebook about how cool it was that I'd get to swim with the San Francisco Sea Lions on Friday night. I mentioned I was even bringing my own fins!  I was really excited!

That night, in San Francisco, one of my co-workers approached me with a concerned look on her face.  She touched my arm and asked "Are you really swimming with sea lions on Friday?"  When I nodded, she continued, "I didn't know you could do that. Isn't it really dangerous?"

Taken aback, I realized that my co-worker was on the verge of an intervention.  Why? Because she was expecting me to get in the water with this:

Whereas in my mind, I was planning on doing this: 

Not quite the same thing at all!  We both had an image in our mind about the Sea Lions - but our perspectives were very, very different!

This is why I prefer to generate ideas with others even though I'm an introvert.

Every single person brings a completely different perspective to an ideation session that is based on their personal history and knowledge base. And that's excellent for ideation because it expands the range of possibiliities exponentially.

When I brainstorm on my own, it's easy to get stuck on a single train of thought. But just bringing another person into the conversation will usually bring up a connection or direction that wouldn't have come up otherwise.  

And if you take everyone's different perspectives as a jumping off point for ideation, you can really get a diverse set of ideas. (Which is exactly what you want!) 

For the record though, if you ever come across me chatting casually about playing with Sea Lions, Loons, Swordfish, Hammerheads, Oysters or Narwhals - you can rest assured that they won't be the biting kind!

Comments

[Karla G]

I totally agree, having ideas from different perspectives is critical to come up with breakthrough innovations by connecting them. I just read this book Connectivate! and I recommend reading it:

Connectivate! Companies Innovating in New Ways to be Always Available is a collection of stories of more than fifty innovative companies whose breakthroughs are changing the world. These companies have created a new economic context, making themselves increasingly accessible to create a space-time singularity called Always Available.

http://connectivate.ixl-center.com/connectivate/

[Sophia]

Best idea generation is doing something different. Maybe just take a different route to work or when you jog. Go get groceries at a different store. Whatever it is just make yourself a little uncomfortable and I bet you might get that spark!