when, in the 1980s, he launched the first bagless vacuum cleaner. He had been frustrated by the way that conventional cleaners lose power as the bags fill up with dust and dirt. Delivering more power to the vacuum cleaner may have been one (partial) solution, but instead, Dyson adopted a different way of thinking. He started from the premise that vacuum cleaners were no longer ‘allowed’ to have bags, and this led him to devise an entirely different approach – the cyclone system – which has proved remarkably successful.
• Think creatively. Change from narrow to original thinking. If you have trouble developing innovative, creative ideas, try using a device such as the pattern diagram (Secret 1.6) to help fire your imagination.
• Change your habits. It can help to learn new skills in order to give you a broader set of tools for tackling work and solving problems.
All of these ways of thinking differently involve taking risks. If you are naturally cautious, you may be unwilling to take risks. Think why this is. Here are some possible reasons:
• “I don’t want to make a fool of myself.” The response to this is simply, “does this really matter?”
• “It might not work out.” The response to this is to quote the saying, “a person who never made mistakes never made anything”.
• “It’ll take a long time.” Well yes, it may, but think how you learnt to drive or how you learnt a foreign language. Weren’t these incredibly worthwhile skills that took some time to learn?
Just because you have done things in a certain way in the past doesn’t mean you have to follow that way always. You can change your way of working.
We are not just people who think. We are humans – sentient, emotional, physical beings. And as part of developing mind power, you need to develop yourself as a whole human being.
Here is a list to prompt and encourage your development.
• Break your normal routine. You can start in an easy fashion simply by watching different programmes on television; seek out a more diverse range of programmes than you usually watch.
• Read about current affairs. Devour your favourite website, a quality newspaper or periodical such as The Economist or Newsweek.
• Think. Don’t just read. Think about the big underlying issues to problems, news stories and other narratives. Take time to reflect. Schedule in time to relax your mind from concentrated action.
• Challenge yourself. Move out of your comfort zone. For example, I recently was a student for a four-week intensive course – I found the experience demanding as it was 35 years since I was last a student on an educational course!
• Jot and sketch. Carry a pencil and notebook, or electronic equivalent, with you to jot down or sketch fresh ideas as they come to you.
one minute wonder Rather than working through your lunch break, go out and look around you. Break your routine: buy sandwiches from a different shop, go to a different café or order different food. Look around you with a fresh pair of eyes, take in the sights, smells and sounds. Imagine you’ve just landed in your city as a tourist – what would you notice?
• Learn to listen. But don’t just listen…really listen. What are people saying and not saying? Reflect on what you’re learning. Talk with friends and colleagues. Discuss issues and ideas; express your latest thinking to gauge responses.
• Be alert to your different senses. Make yourself look up at the sky. Stop for a moment or two and listen to the sounds around you. Reflect on them. They are part of who you are. (Drinking Coca Cola reminds me of a family holiday in France, for example.)
• Absorb some culture. Go to an art gallery or museum. Or, if that doesn’t take your fancy, go to a trade exhibition.
• Care for others. Don’t become so absorbed with yourself that you neglect people around you, in your community and in the wider world. Engage in some practical action to be helpful.
• Get physical. Take up a physical sport such as jogging, cycling or swimming. As well as the health benefits, it will help relax your mind.
• Express your artistic side. If you are creatively inclined, fit that into your regular schedule.
• Meditate. Spend time in a form of prayer or meditation to help you connect with more than the physical world.
We are whole people and need to develop different aspects of our lives.
Read and listen more effectively
Knowing your aims in reading and being able to read texts quickly are important skills. Taking in, thinking about and understanding what you read is also vital so that you can keep ahead of the game. We read not only words but also numbers in charts, graphs and diagrams, and there are techniques you can learn to improve how to read these. Listening, evaluating and then asking appropriate questions are also key skills that you need to cultivate.
When reading a document, it is important to know the reasons why you are reading it. Are you reading to gain specific knowledge of certain details? Or are you reading to gain an overall grasp of a subject? Knowing your purpose will determine the approach you choose to follow.
Different reasons for reading include:
1 To get an overall idea of the text – this is known as skim-reading or gist-reading.
2 To gain a lot of detailed understanding of information in the text – this is known as intensive reading.
case study Depak was given the brief to research the background of moving into a new market for mobile phones. He quickly found the best websites and navigated to the appropriate pages, where he found summaries of the new market and was able to take notes and present them to his meeting.
“A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others”
Abraham Lincoln, US President 1861–1865
3 To find a specific piece of information – this is known as scan reading.
4 To understand the writer’s purpose in the text. Because the writer’s purpose may be implicit rather than explicit, this is known as reading to infer.
We use different reading techniques at different times. For example, to look at a
