Have you ever grappled with a difficult problem. Sat with it for days, weeks or even months getting more and more frustrated?
But what if the answer was right next door. Literally.
Transcript
Have you ever grappled with a difficult problem. Sat with it for days, weeks or even months getting more and more frustrated?
But what if the answer was right next door. Literally.
My name’s Rashid Kotwal.
Heard a great example of this the other day. The chap runs an innovation hub geared towards start-ups working in the hardware manufacturing space.
A team had been grappling with a problem for about 6 months and getting absolutely nowhere.
One day they happened to start a conversation with an older gentleman who’d been coming in for years just pottering around at the next table.
He looked at what they were doing and fixed it within a day.
Unbeknownst to them he’d started and sold multiple successful companies in this space.
His knowledge and experience were invaluable.
But they never knew. Why not? Because they’d never thought of getting out of their siloed mindset, looking around at who might have the answer.
A huge difference between innovation cultures like Israel and Silicon Valley and Australia is the former have a collaborative, open to sharing culture.
People aren’t afraid to reach out and ask for help. To network and find out who’s out there that could help. Either directly, know someone or know someone who knows someone.
We’re a clever nation. There is so much great stuff happening. But how much more successful would we be if we all had inquisitive minds and stopped working in a vacuum.
But that takes a mindset shift. To realise that showing vulnerability and acknowledging you need help is a strength.
To being flexible in your approach. Not pre-judging people, thinking they couldn’t help.
To deliberately taking the focus off yourself and opening your eyes and ears to what’s going on around you. When speaking with someone think in terms of who you could connect them with. And then ask them to do the same.
Get out and mix in new circles.
Your network will grow and who knows where the next great idea or solution will come from.
And here I should mention that we have a very large extensive network. If you’re looking for someone that could possibly help you, the chances are we may well know someone who knows someone who knows someone. So give me a hoy.
Till next time, this is Rashid Kotwal.
