This is your IdeaShape newsletter, February 2001,
with ideas on leadership and life.
By Pam Fox Rollin, IdeaShape Coaching & Consulting
http://www.ideashape.com

Table of Contents

A. The Big Idea
B. Ideas in Action
C. Resources
D. Note from Pam

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A. The Big Idea: What's on your mind?

"In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

What's been flashing across your brain?
What potentially great ideas are you too busy, tired, driven,
focused, frustrated, distracted, or wary of the implications to
even notice that you're having?

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B. Ideas in Action: OK, so what's on YOUR mind?
And what are you doing about it?

1. What's on your mind that doesn't need to be there?

Are you still tracking appointments, tasks, etc. in your brain? If logistics are swirling around your mind while driving, exercising, or going to sleep, you're probably losing out on great opportunities for relaxed thought. So how can you make optimum use of your calendar/Palm?

What else is draining your thoughts? Guilt over things said or unsaid? Worry? Distraction from clutter? What can you do right now to get that stuff out of your way?

2. What could you dare to notice?

What's getting in the way of wanting to know what's on your mind? 
Here are some possibilities:
- ''If I think about it, I'll have to do something about it 
and what I do might tick people off"
- or, like Calvin & Hobbes, "then I might learn something"
- or, "It's not like I have time/skill/smarts/contacts 
to make a success of it anyway."
- or, my favorite, "It reminds me of other icky stuff 
I don't want to think about."

Maybe. Our fears are there for a reason and sometimes they serve us.
But are your fears serving you now? Perhaps it's time to get really honest with yourself about what's on your mind and give yourself
the choice to do something with it.

3. Use it or lose it!

Which of your "rejected thoughts" could be works of genius?
How can you test them in the real world?
For example, could you...
- mind-map ideas in a notebook, so you can at least hold those
thoughts until you decide what to do with them?
- go for coffee with someone who's smart about that area and
share/test/build on your idea?
- have some friends over for pizza explicitly to help
develop your idea into something great?
- test your idea in practice, in a low-cost way? (The chance
to beta test your idea may actually be of huge value to someone.)
- contact a related class and ask a student team to analyze
your idea?
- find someone who's doing something similar in another field
and ask them how they did it and what they plan to do next?
- write a short article about your thoughts for publication in
an e-zine or online column?
- what else?

4. How will you slow down for recharging and reflection?

Will you make 10 minutes each afternoon to clear the decks?
A couple hours each weekend just to reflect?
How will you protect that time?

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C. Resources for further exploration

"Here's an Idea/Unit of One"
http://www.fastcompany.com/online/33/one.html (April 2000)
-- Thoughts on getting more from your thoughts. I particularly like
the comments from Robert Dennard and Natalie Goldberg.

"How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work"
by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey (2001)
-- Terrific new book from a couple of Education professors
at Harvard. It's about finding language that works for exploring your
thinking and making clear commitments, at a personal and
organizational level. Chapters 1 and 2 are especially relevant.
Chapter 6 on Public Agreement is excellent.

"The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook"
by Peter Senge et al. (1994)
-- Hefty book with tons of ideas and resources for making what's
on our minds more visible and useful to ourselves and others.
The section on Mental Models is right on topic.

"Wherever You Go, There You Are:
Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life"
by Jon Kabat-Zinn (1994)
-- Beautiful book of short essays on the art of paying attention.

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D. Note from Pam

Here's some of what's on my mind:
- Helping corporate clients find ways to be more direct and
courageous in their interactions without spooking their colleagues.
- Creating a really great online resource center
for fast-moving leaders. (I'll let you know when it's up!)
- Spurring groups to greater creativity through skillful use of the
8 Jungian processes (think Myers-Briggs).
- Helping increase access to coaching for nonprofit leaders.
(We've got a small initiative team working on this in the Bay Area.)
- Planning a fun/meaningful wedding! :-)

If you'd like to get in touch about any of this, send an email.
I'd love to hear your ideas!

Thanks to each of you who sent kind words about our first
newsletter, and welcome to this second one.
Each month you'll receive an email with ideas and resources
you can use to shape your success. Some of these ideas will
strike you as obvious... I invite you to step back and look at
how this is actually working in your life. Others will seem
far out... I invite you to consider how much choice you
actually have.

I'm glad you've joined in the adventure!
Pam

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WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO...
Expand your capacity to take on bigger opportunities?
Lead your organization to bring out the best around you?
Be your most creative, focused self in your work?
Shape a life that consistently fulfills you?

IdeaShape offers coaching and related services that
help highly-capable people achieve their professional
and personal goals faster and more easily.
Contact us to explore working together:
http://www.ideashape.com

TO CONTACT US
To offer feedback, submit ideas for articles or resources,
or explore working together,
please email Pam Fox, pamfox@ideashape.com
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