#LinkyBrains — Somebody Stop Me!
Having read a lot of output over the past few days on #LinkyBrains, I decided that it may be a great idea to throw my ‘hat in the ring’ to confess a few points and my own experiences too.
This included being inspired by Emily De Groot and her scribblings; as well as Chris Tottman’s post on Quora; about the traits and thought processes of other #LinkyBrain people in this world, those people that have never ‘quite fitted in’
(You can view Chris’s original post here:
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-indicators-of-a-linky-brain)
I can definitely identify with #6 On Chris’s list ‘The Ability to Offend’ (read on)…
Basically I am just a little bit too direct for some people; racing at 100 miles an hour towards a goal (and heaven forbid if anyone or anything is in the way) as Jim Carrey’s character said in that epic cinematic masterpiece ‘The Mask’:
“Somebody Stop Me”
Definitely a #LinkyBrain!
My primary experience of being a female #LinkyBrain in business is being ‘taken seriously’.
When you operate in a late adoption market, often filled with ‘laggards’ who don’t want the status quo disrupted, it can be problematic. But I believe that being a #LinkyBrain is also linked to being an early adopter.
An early adopter by definition; is around 14% of the population; those types of people fascinated by the new. The innovators and creators that are always in a state of wonder in the world they are optimists and open to ideas and creating innovative ways to solve existing and future problems.
Basically people like me and the #LinkyBrain tribe.
Returning to Chris’s original article on Quora, this fulfils point 3 — High Creative Output.
High levels of creativity coupled with a belief that anything is possible and that individuals can make it happen are classic traits.
#LinkyBrains are highly active and are always on the move, they ask lots of questions to validate ideas and then will seek out ways to prove them.
So what’s it like being a #LinkyBrain?
It’s like a psychic ability to see into the future (in a bigger picture way); with a strong link to intuition that often leads to commercial and highly scalable business success — often involving globalisation.
It’s awesome.
Modern #LinkyBrains would be Gary Vaynerchuck and Mark Zuckerberg (as primary examples in the tech space) and also in the UK (in our emerging tech space) women like Sarah Wood, Founder of Unruly.
But it’s not always about tech, although commonly this is where new ideas emerge and #LinkyBrains are often drawn to tech as it’s their spiritual home. The creative industries are full of #LinkyBrains.
So who am I?
As a female #LinkyBrain I have been pilloried as being ‘different’; ‘out there’ and at school, I remember being bullied for my ability to work hard (to the point of distraction) and creating results that others could only dream of.
That said some #LinkyBrains aren’t high academic achievers; but they are brilliant entrepreneurs and supporters in key roles in large scale organisations too and have an innate ability to create new things and build empires quickly.
My #LinkyBrain Experience:
In my adult life, my brain has lead me to be driven and have a tenacity, that simply drives others to distraction.
But there doesn’t seem to be an acceptance generally of embracing people’s differences, more of an ‘avoidance’ by those people that perhaps see #LinkyBrains as disruptive change-makers.
High emotional Intelligence (I believe) is one of my best #LinkyBrain traits, the ability to read people as a Sales and Marketing Director (and now a Founder), has for over 25 years served me well; leading to always being a top performer in each and every job role.
Note of caution:
Don’t try and fool a #LinkyBrain!
Their ability to read people is ‘off the charts’ and they have a sound moral compass and they know your motivations just by looking at you!
Some people have often described me as living in ‘Becky World’ and I am not sure if this is meant to be a compliment or a ‘dig’.
What I would say is that #LinkyBrains generally don’t judge people negatively, as they believe in diversity and equality of opportunity; born through their own brilliance and the brilliance of others in their own tribe.
They are so busy getting on ‘doing and creating’ they don’t have time to judge and they simply just don’t.
As #LinkyBrains see this as being very low on the list of priorities and it wastes energy too.
In my experience #LinkyBrains are naturally open and altruistic, there are those that seek to exploit what others in the world may perceive as their naivete and perhaps an adolescent outlook; but there’s a simplicity in their thinking; that leads to hyper-focus and the ability to get things done.
What people have to remember though, is that #LinkyBrains are the people that create and engender great things.
From bringing people together to creating new and improved tech, we don’t stand still and will keep evolving the world through collaboration, trust, big picture thinking and change-making.
Overachieving is in the #LinkyBrain DNA.
Our brains won’t switch off. It’s not even a choice.
An Example:
My family despair that I think that vacations are a waste of time and I never feel MORE uncomfortable when I am NOT working on something 24/7/365.
My friends and colleagues have to turn off their phones as I message them all the time with random ideas and ramblings…
My #LinkyBrain Message:
To those that think that we cannot execute, it’s simply not true. We just process and formulate information in entirely different ways, often able to build (and here I borrow from Sherlock Holmes) ‘mind palaces’ that are as clear as day.
#LinkyBrains are also impatient; as they are often ‘light years’ ahead of the general population and we are simply waiting for everyone else to catch up.
Time is precious we cannot waste a single second of the day. You need to articulate now or the #LinkyBrain just disengages and gets bored.
With regard to how we share ideas with others:
Eventually, there’s a light bulb moment where people say ‘oh NOW I understand what you are doing/getting at’; as in our brains, we expect that you are already riding along on the idea bus with us (and we cannot possibly understand why nobody would want to — it’s such a great idea — right?!).
So, what have I learned over the last 46 years of being a ginger (and now slightly greying) #LinkyBrain on this planet?
1. I am not going to change and perhaps am not even capable of it (and actually); I don’t want to change as I am blessed.
2. I have accepted that not everyone will embrace or understand my style and I am finally OK with that. There is massive pressure on women to conform still in the UK and I don’t fit into the pre-designated boxes #sorrynotsorry
3. Being successful should be measured by what you want to achieve, not what everyone uses as the benchmark average.
4. Stay true to yourself and your #LinkyBrain and the rest will come.
5. If you’re out there reading this and feeling isolated or ‘oh, that’s so me’ then get in touch today. We are here!
6. Collaboration, learning and accelerating are concepts that will continue to change the world. Patriarchal models in business are dead and the millennial generations are stampeding into business and most people aren’t ready to embrace the changes and challenges that this will represent for business globally.
7. Emotional intelligence, kindness and vulnerability are KEY to being a successful #LinkyBrain they’re gifts.
My take on the changing face of business as a Future Thinker?
For so long in business, we have worshipped at the temple of brutalising one another in business and this is counterproductive to change and business growth.
This is why, I started an early stage business support group in 2016; with my female co-founder Laura Kenward. This is to help nurture the next generation of start-up talent.
StartUp Disruptors provides support to those with early stage business ideas, that are looking to transition from the kitchen table, to build a successful and robust business and this can only have a positive impact on economic growth and jobs for future generations if we can support them correctly.
#LinkyBrain tendencies here when we started StartUp Disruptors were:
· Not giving a cr*p that nobody was interested and everyone told us not to do it
· The ‘establishment’ in the local market did everything not to help us achieve something that basically would be great economically; but they still don’t ‘get it’ (we are giving them about another 5 years to warm up to the idea and have their ‘light bulb’ moment about us)
· Accelerating from 9 people meeting in a pub to 500 online members in just one year
· Getting Uber to sponsor our first business awards in 2018. Yes, Uber.
· We are aiming to build an online start-up global business exchange in the next 5 years so who’s in?
· If you’re a #LinkyBrain you’re already thinking about how you can help us!
Without this being too much of an advert, you can find out more here and contact us/join us — #LinkyBrains on the south coast, you are more than welcome to come and join us:
www.facebook.com/startupdisruptors
www.meetup.com/startupdisruptors
www.twitter.com/solentdisruptor
#LinkyBrain Women:
I was also lucky enough this year to be selected as one of Sky News 100 Women, whittled down from thousands of applicants across the UK, I was selected to be part of a panel on International Women’s Day and I have now set up a Linked In group of the same name.
This is for women to debate issues around equal pay, parity and feminism (yes, I used the ‘f’ word), there are lots of female #LinkyBrains in the group already so you are more than welcome to join us:
Search ‘Sky News 100 Women’ on Linked In and request to join.
Tweet Me:
If you want to tweet me to discuss being a #LinkyBrain then please do so, I would love to connect with others who are local to Hampshire and the UK and anyone else across the globe that finds value or can relate to the points raised in this article — or request to join me on Linked In — search Becky Lodge.
Happy to help!
www.twitter.com/yourlittlekanga
#LinkyBrain Conference:
I am also going to hold a #LinkyBrains conference in Portsmouth this year; and if you are interested in being involved then please pop your name in the comments with a brief #LinkyBrain message as to why you should attend.
This is an open and global invitation, we have a venue that are nuts enough to let us in, although it may be a little bit like herding cats, I have a great deal of experience in managing B2B events, so it should be an awesome day.
You can DM me on Twitter too: #LinkyBrainsSignMeUp and we can add you to the list.
More about the author:
Becky Lodge is a degree and CIM qualified sales and marketing consultant and considered an expert in B2B STEM markets in the UK. She is one of Sky News 100 Women and also the Founder of StartUp Disruptors an online support group for early stage businesses in the UK and worldwide.
