I have two old notebooks I often carry to customer meetings in which I have spent countless hours writing down ideas and doing “free form” planning and thought exercises. Recently, I came across an old note to myself to “check the beginning of the red notebook for ideas”. It was from a screenshot of a digital Kanban system I used prior to our current platform for project management (Asana).
Remember when I mentioned the fresh perspective from my bean bag chair provoking some improvement and constructive questioning of how I did things? Well, over the weekend I plopped down in that chair with my two old notebooks and my current “loose” notes from my desk to “scan the red notebook” for ideas.
While flipping through the pages, I started to come across goals and ideas I had set that were now part of my reality. As I read and notated each one I had either progressed or accomplished, it felt great, almost like checking off the “hardest” thing on my to do list! I also had some new ideas, things that I will happily check off in a week, month, or some years from now.
(Electronic business card that can submit MDC Message.)
I scratched in below:
“Work in Progress 2020-2021”
I actually have the first iteration of these cards, and “revision 2” already in the works. Here is a sneak peek of the back:
On that same page, I jotted down an idea which popped into my head:
T-Shirt Design Contest
I’ve really been wanting some merchandise to share with my customers. This isn’t a new idea, but the design contest was new. I am not sure if it is practical, but it’s just an idea, who knows?
A few pages later:
Phone Gatekeeper
You might have guessed, to help filter out junk calls and answer the phone when we can’t. My update:
2021 Update
- Added phone.com service w/answering service
- Spam calls rarely make it through Robo-dial honeypot.
Yep, I figured out a way to filter those annoying Robo-dial spam calls by simply adding a “press one at any time during this message to be connected to a representative.” This is a great tactic for publicly facing phone numbers. Try it if you can, you won’t be disappointed.
Then on another page I scratched off:
Dedicated HVAC for Office
That was a big checklist idea and wow did that zone system save my bacon this last very hot summer.
You probably get the idea. So there I was again in my bean bag chair, coming up with ideas for the Five-Minute Gemba Newsletter. Specifically, me thinking about sharing mental tools and exercises like my notebook visioning to improve outcomes with you all.
This week’s focus: Visioning
My oldest recollection of using visualization was at Toastmasters. It was a great way to help prepare for delivering a speech and it really helped me. Many successful people have created their own reality by visualizing success. If you believe it, work towards it, it is likely to become true. There is no substitute for grit and determination when it comes to success. Whatever your goals are, if you are relentless in their pursuit, you are likely to achieve them. Visualization is a great way to build a growth mindset and start building your new reality.
This week, I am encouraging you to start to use visualization to build up your own determination to accomplish things that are most important to you. Visualization is a very powerful tool for your Industry 4.0 journey. Here are a couple of additional resources you might find useful to get started:
New to Visualization? Here Are 5 Steps to Get You Started
Four Visualization Techniques That Can Propel Your Success
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(This newsletter was originally published on January 12, 2021.)
Image courtesy of Mika Baumeister
