One of the best ways to ensure that your planning is successful is to create your own R&D (research and development) group. All truly successful businesses have departments or teams specifically dedicated to finding and developing new and better ways to do whatever it is the company does, so why not you?
At it's most basic, and R&D group can be a small group of friends that you bribe into helping you with problems by offerings of pizza and beer. At it's most complex, it can be a worldwide network of e-quaintences who have signed on to receive email newsletters from you outlining the projects you are working on, and who in return offer feedback or creative help from hundreds of different perspectives.
Wherever your group falls along this continuum, to be effective they must have a clear idea of where you're going and what help you need. Be clear and clean in your discussions, and accept all feedback openly and without defensive posturing. Of course, if someone is taking advantage of your goodwill by scarfing up your pizza, but offering only bland or even hurtful critiques in return with no real effort at being helpful or creating solutions, don't invite them back - just be sure it's them, and not you, who are the problem!
Don't forget to keep your R&D team up to date on the progress of the projects they helped on. After all, it's their baby too, and no one likes to help out and then be left behind - if you pull a "thanks for all your help, b'bye now" routine on them, they will get frustrated and won't want to play any more, leaving you to do all that work by yourself. Reciprocate in kind by joining in their R&D teams if they ask (or offer first, to be really nice).
Creating and using R&D teams can save you much wasted time, pointless effort and avoidable pain. No one of us knows as much as all of us put together, and the group dynamic is a good example of a behavior known as "emergent phenomenon" - it often generates results that are greater than the sum of its parts. By sending your ideas and problems through your R&D team, rather than attempting to handle it all yourself, you'll end up with a far greater number and higher quality of ideas to work with (even if you do end going with your original plan) than you could ever hope to come up with on your own.
(Fun note: Even mad scientists and evil overlords, the two most basic "one-man operations" there are, take advantage of this stress-relieving concept. Remember - you, too, have minions. Use them!)
(c) Soni Pitts
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Soni Pitts is the Chief Visionary Butt-Kicker of sonipitts.com. She specializes in helping others reclaim "soul proprietorship" in their lives and to begin living the life their Creator always intended for them.
She is the author of the free e-book "50 Ways To Reach Your Goals" and over 100 self-help and inspirational articles, as well as other products and resources designed to facilitate this process of personal growth and spiritual development.
ohare limo service Grand Rapids ..On the trail in Northern Canada "Marche" was the word... Read More
Ever watched a really brilliant idea meet with resistance and... Read More
It's the summer of 1973, and a young film director... Read More
To be a success is not always to be a... Read More
The people in your team may feel a bit uncomfortable... Read More
One of the greatest challenges a coaching manager has is... Read More
You are new to Internet Marketing, you join one Affiliate... Read More
Team building takes work but the results are worth it.... Read More
Survival: The Name of the New Economic Game People rarely... Read More
Many believe a leaner government promotes better freedoms with respect... Read More
Most managers simply herd some people in a room with... Read More
The company picnic is a beloved tradition at many firms.It's... Read More
In a recent group coaching session, a client mentioned that... Read More
Teams are often useful in situations where the task cannot... Read More
A tight knit team is a group of competent individuals... Read More
It's not true in every organization, but it is true... Read More
When leaders, consultants and managers require ideas, they automatically tend... Read More
For companies to be competitive, decisions have to be made... Read More
Teams run most businesses and teams work best if each... Read More
Have you seen the tee-shirt with the slogan, "Talk to... Read More
Picture yourself entering a corporate meeting, team meeting, or business... Read More
What's the Secret Ingredient That Turns Groups into Teams? Working... Read More
When was the last time you spent excessive time and... Read More
The feedback I'm talking about here isn't some sort of... Read More
As I work with clients to strengthen their teams and... Read More
executive chauffeured services Barrington Hills ..Everyone knows, works or lives with "innies." Who are they... Read More
It's a great sunny day so it's time to get... Read More
Teams, teams, teams. They're all the rage these days. Whether... Read More
Did you know your work environment can actually make you... Read More
Recently while waiting for our lunch to be served in... Read More
1. Humor reduces stress levels and stress is the number... Read More
"When teamwork kicks in, nobody can beat you." Don Shula,... Read More
A follow-up companion reader to The 17 Indisputable Laws of... Read More
As I work with clients to strengthen their teams and... Read More
Perhaps you're a small business owner wondering how you and... Read More
Why do we human beings complicate things? Is it that... Read More
Teams don't have to be aligned with the goals of... Read More
Are workers telling the truth when they say they are... Read More
The ability to build effective teams is a must for... Read More
Trainers, please picture this... You are presenting in a new... Read More
It's the summer of 1973, and a young film director... Read More
Leaders are faced with unlocking the potential in the people... Read More
Reed Employment made a survey of their clients and compiled... Read More
Most believe that leadership is an innate quality that some... Read More
Recently I decided to stretch my athletic abilities and add... Read More
Eight Principles for Purposeful AlignmentEffective teamwork requires individual members of... Read More
A lot of effort has been carried out in the... Read More
With over 25 years of research and experience, we have... Read More
Winning teams aren't created by accident. Rather, the team or... Read More
People who lead the best teams realise early on that... Read More
Team Building |