Mr. Von Oech writes about the time when his English teacher in high school put a small chalk dot on the blackboard and asked the class to tell him what it was. A few seconds passed, and then someone said, "It's a chalk dot on the board." The rest of the class seemed relieved that the obvious had been stated, and no one else had anything more to say.
"I'm surprised at you," replied the teacher, "Yesterday I did the same exercise with a group of kindergartners, and they thought of fifty different things the chalk mark could be:
* a star, * a pebble,
* a squashed bug, * a rotten egg,
* a head, * and so on.
The lesson that I wish to share with you is the importance of looking for more than one right answer. When you look, you will be surprised to learn how many answers are available.
We have been trained in school to look only for the first right answer to every problem. The average person does this; the creative person looks for many.
Looking beyond the first solution to a problem can result in a whole new set of serendipitous solutions - solutions that can be a hundred times better than the first one.
Remember: When you maximize your potential, everyone wins. When you don't, we all lose.
About the Author
Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management Consultant and Trainer, conducts seminars, lectures, and writes articles on his theme: "... helping you maximize your potential." For more information go to www.maximizingyourpotential.blogspot.com, or email him at eagibbs@ureach.com.
