Perfecting the Art of Bouncing Back - Part 2

When we last left our hero, she was learning what it meant to 'Get Clear'. Unplugging, deep breathing and physical exertion were a few ways to pull herself back from the edge, and get back on her square.

Today, we'll take the next step. We'll learn to take the clarity we've cultivated and turn it into cold, hard - intellectual capital. A focus on knowledge as a strategic asset is important because improving the management of this asset can enhance your efficiency and effectiveness and help you meet the challenges you currently face, as well as position you for success in facing the challenges of the future. Knowledge of current industry trends, events, technological advances and geopolitical climates is a resource that is valuable to an individual's ability to innovate and compete.

Most people have heard the saying, "Your network, is your net worth." but I would offer to you that "What you KNOW, is what you're worth." I still emphasize the importance of links to people (influencers, SMEs, community, colleagues) as a vital part of your knowledge assets, but many experts would argue that an individual's ability to perform well in the information age depends on their ability to acquire and use their knowledge effectively. In nearly every sector, specialized knowledge has become a critical source of competitive advantage as organizations increasingly draw on factors such as employee knowledge and innovative capacity to remain competitive. If you aren't an employee, your intellectual capital becomes even more critical and could mean the difference between winning that big client or losing out to a better-informed competitor. 

For me - improving the acquisition, generation, sharing and application of my knowledge assets has lead to many real benefits, such as:

1. Enhanced strategic decision-making abilities
2. Stronger negotiation positions
3. Engagement of stakeholders, peers and clients in new and better ways
4. Ability to innovate, incubate and pivot more quickly
5. Reduction, or elimination of redundant tasks

To help you figure out how to get ahead of the curve, and stay there... I give you:

Step 2 - 'Get Current'

• google alerts: This amazing tool allows you to 'monitor the web for interesting new content'. "Look ma! Scouring the web with no hands!" Google Alerts is a content change detection and notification service, offered by the search engine company Google. The service sends emails to the user when it finds new results—such as web pages, newspaper articles, blogs, or scientific research—that match the user's search term(s). Google Alerts may not be one of Google's most popular services, but it's definitely one of the most useful.
• podcasts and videos: Just like music can trigger creative impulses, podcasts are great for generating ideas – for some reason, there’s nothing like eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation to provoke your mind into new insights. What inspires you? Are you intrigued and interested in new ideas and expanding your horizons? What are you passionate about? Chances are, there's a podcast for that.

Another reason I love podcasts is - they’re a portable medium. You can take podcasts almost anywhere. You can listen to podcasts while you’re jogging, running, skating, or casually eating a bucket of ice cream naked on your couch. My favorite thing about podcasts, is that most of them have limited commercial interruptions, so you can keep the main thing the "main thing" and stay focused on absorbing as much information as you can from the content provided. Podcasts are perfect for firing up your synapses up before the next creative endeavor. There are several apps you can use to subscribe to podcasts you like and sync the content across platforms, so you can listen from your phone, iPad, desktop, Amazon Echo or Google Home device.

• talk to people - like, everybody you meet: one of my favorite Instagram accounts has to be 'Humans of New York'. I was probably one of the first few hundred followers. Brandon Stanton started the 'Humans of New York' blog in November 2010. Initially, he planned to gather 10,000 portraits of New Yorkers and plot them on a map of the city. The project soon evolved, however, when Stanton started having conversations with his subjects and including small quotes and stories alongside his photographs. As of December 2016, Humans of New York has more than 18 million likes on its Facebook page. Why is 'Humans of New York' so popular, so important? Because everyone has a story to tell, a lesson to impart, a gem of wisdom to pass on, a tip to share, a recommendation to give. Everyone. The barista at your favorite Starbucks, the janitor in your office building, the old woman on the ferry, the schoolkid in the convenience store line in front of you.

Now, when I say talk to everyone - please use your manners and common sense. Start by smiling, or saying "Hello!" or "Good morning!", "Nice weather, huh?" or "I have that same coffee mug!" or "Cool shoes!". You'd be surprised how eager people are to connect, and share. I have learned some incredible things, and have been given priceless advice by people whose names I never even remembered to ask because I was too busy saying "Thank you!". Like the time I met an aspiring 17 year-old artist at a volunteer event in Pomona. I simply said "Cool drawing!" referencing something she was working on, we talked for twenty minutes about life philosophy and hopes, and dreams. She left me with a gift, a button pin that said "LOVE THYSELF". Seriously. I have it pinned on my briefcase, I look at it everyday. The art of meeting everyone, I learned from my father. He was the best I've ever seen at it. He could turn his "Good morning!" to a foreman on the lumber yard into a $10,000.00 check for their stake in a real estate deal. My dad knew seemingly everything about everything - and he used that to make himself indispensable. How did he get to be an expert on everything? He talked to everyone, because he knew that everyone has something to teach you.

• forums, discussions boards: For this example, I'm going to focus on reddit - because it's the one forum/board I use most frequently and my 18 year-old son swears by it for current events, and generally unbiased/unfiltered content. I'm also a fan of 'Bigger Pockets' but that's more specialized to Real Estate, whereas reddit is like a podcast, in that - if you can think it, there's probably a subreddit for it. Most people use Reddit to pass the time. By subscribing to popular communities (called subreddits), you’ll get an endless firehose of viral content. These communities are divided by themes such as science topics, news, hobbies, and Reddit inventions such as the “Ask Reddit” format, where the community answers questions. However, with 50,000 niche communities and 250 million unique monthly visitors, Reddit is packed with information and people talking about brands, products, topics and trends.

You can use this incredibly powerful forum to your advantage, and observe what people really think about your industry, products you're interested in, trends you're analyzing and more. By using a simple three-step process, you can make 'getting current' as easy as pie. #1 - Find where your interests are hiding: this means, find the right subreddit and do some sleuthing. Spend an hour or so doing some keyword searches. Make a list of the popular subreddits for your topic and common questions that people ask. #2 - During your research, ask yourself these questions to help you narrow down the content you will use: How do people feel about your industry (or specialized topic)? How sophisticated is the market related to your topic? #3 - Analyze and monitor: Combine subreddits together to aggregate the data sources you've found and reasearched. Then, monitor that aggregation for keywords, to ensure you are staying at the cusp of the changing landscape. Lastly, you can use an RSS feed to bring the conversation to you.

• conferences, webinars: The idea is that sometimes you have to take a break from the “work” of your work to sharpen your skills. A dull axe won’t cut a tree nearly as effectively as a sharp one. I always return from a conference with new ideas and approaches that make me more effective and efficient at work. Additionally, while not all conferences offer you the opportunity to meet your business idols, your chances are greatly improved when you’re sharing the same space. Sometimes it’s about taking a selfie with someone who’s influenced you or sharing a business idea with someone you admire, or making a connection that can lead to finding your next mentor. 

Then there’s there expo floor, or just a few tables near the coffee and muffins where companies will often have tools to display that you haven’t seen yet. Apps that make us faster, less prone to costly mistakes, or give us some other sort of edge. And while undoubtedly these products can be found at their websites, it’s great to get a hands-on demonstration or be able to ask questions that are specific to your business struggles from the company itself. Lastly, it’s easy to read a blog post from the privacy of your own office. You won’t break a sweat listening to a podcast (unless you’re on the treadmill.) You don’t have to make small talk while your YouTube video loads up, or while you're browsing reddit. But you're missing out on the living, breathing people out there who have stuff to share with you! There are those among us who are born networkers but for many of us, live events and meeting new people can be a challenge. Breaking out of our comfort zones, and registering for that two-day conference is just the type of action we need to take to break out of old ways of thinking that may have us at the point of plateau.

• courses: Whatever your level of education, there’s always more to learn. You can go back to school or learn online. You can study anything from design and photography to medieval history through companies like Lynda, Creative Live, and The Great Courses. I recently took a free MIT course, "Introduction to Machine Learning". I was floored by how rich the content was, the notes and reference materials, the links and related classes. It took me a few days to really absorb everything in the 2 hr 45 min course offering, but I go back to that material nearly once a week - considering we are living in the age of AI. Courses are really square one for me, whenever I feel the need to get more current, learn more stuff, acquire more knowledge -- this one is my old reliable.
• join (or create) a mastermind group: Mastermind groups are relatively new to most people, even though most know the concept through Napoleon Hill who wrote about mastermind groups some 75 years ago with his book, Think and Grow Rich. It is widely-accepted fact that the quality of the people you surround yourself with will have a profound effect on what you know, how you live your life, how you spend your days thinking and what you do with your career or your business. Napoleon Hill is often credited with being the originator of Mastermind Groups, but the truth is Mastermind groups have been around much longer. Mr. Hill had a very simple definition of a mastermind: “The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony."

Ben Franklin is also famous for a Mastermind Group. In 1726, despite working from early morning to late at night in his print shop, Ben Franklin organized a meeting group called The Junto. This group met every Friday evening to debate questions of morals, politics, and natural philosophy, and to exchange knowledge of business affairs. Two questions Franklin asked the group each week were: “Who is thriving & why?” and “How might they be emulated?” Look at what is working in another industry. Ask yourself why it is working. Then figure out how you might emulate this success in your own business. It might mean reformulating your products, adding new elements to your books or articles, changing careers, getting a new mentor, changing your diet or expanding your services. Joining a Mastermind Group is also about giving back and helping others. As Epictetus once said, “The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.”

I gave you a lot to read this time, but I hope it was worth it! Check back soon for the Part 3 and the last piece in "Perfecting the Art of Bouncing Back" where we tackle my favorite of the three parts, how to 'Get Creative'...