As we move into the busiest time of the year, it’s important to make space for creative thinking, and to examine the direction our teams, businesses, careers, and personal projects are heading in.
In September we were delighted to welcome two thought leaders, Dave Gray and Jenny Blake, to The 21st Century Workplace podcast, to discuss strategies for infusing our days with creative thinking and habit disruption, as well as making meaningful pivots in our businesses and lives.
Bubbles of Belief with Dave Gray
Dave Gray joined us to discuss his new book, Liminal Thinking. Gray argues that our habits create bubbles of belief—deep, and often unconscious, beliefs we hold about our lives and limitations. We all cruise through at least part of each day on autopilot, whether taking the same route to work, ordering from the same coffee shop, or having the same conversations in our workplace. These habits reinforce our beliefs, and we begin to feel that our route to work is the most convenient, the coffee at the corner is the best in the area, and delivering status reports is the best way to communicate with our teams. By simply disrupting these routines we can create opportunities for new ideas and solutions.
The New Norm of Career Pivots with Jenny Blake
We were also joined by Jenny Blake to discuss her new book, Pivot: The Only Move that Matters is Your Next One. The days of following a 30-year career trajectory are over. The path to success is no longer linear, and we can all expect to take many turns in our careers. Blake offers a four step Pivot Method for making effective career transitions. The key is to plant yourself firmly within your strengths, scan the environment for opportunities, pilot the change, and launch into a new venture. A pivot is methodical, and it creates new opportunities. As millennials take over the workplace, and technology quickens the pace of business, strategic pivots are the new norm of career development.
In the hustle of Q4, it can be easy to focus on getting through tasks, and executing strategies established during annual planning. Both of these authors offer tactics for strategic change. Disrupting habits can create space for radical creative thinking. A pivot can help you to see new, exciting opportunities. These two recent episodes of The 21st Century Workplace podcast offer practical insights to help you make the most of this busy season.
Author
