Level five changes: Copy this!Level five changes are about copying, and while copying in school and writing might get someone in trouble, copying in business is a time tested way to improve any company. The trick is to copy businesses outside of your industry. By copying, a business eliminates the need for testing and it eliminates a lot of the possibility for failure. Those things that work in another business can probably work in your business with a little adaptation.
Level five suggestions for individuals include writing in books, having a visual control system and watching TV. Reading biographies of great and creative thinkers is also a good idea. Learn about their work processes and adapt them to your life. Rolf Smith believes that writing in books is a great idea. It is a good way to capture those moments of creativity that strike while reading and keep them in context. In fact, he only loans his books to people that will promise to write in them. A visual control system may consist of sticky notes around a computer, a corkboard on a wall or notes on a desk. It helps to keep things in front of you when you are required to think about them. The information will be at your fingertips when you need it. Level five thinkers will often have more piles and fewer files. Every other study will tell you that watching television is bad. It sucks the brains right out of you, but Smith says that if you watch television with all of your senses and question it incessantly, you can actually improve your ability to create. Advertising has some of the smartest, most creative people in business, and they work hard to get people to buy things. Asking about the decisions they made in commercials may help you come with ideas about how to more successfully market your business or yourself. |
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Information adapted from “The 7 Levels of Change: Different Thinking for Different Results.”