What we learned about ideas at the Knowmads
Last week, I was lucky enough to spend two days working with Tribes 12 and 13 at the Knowmads alternative business school in Amsterdam.
Over the two days we talked about money, subconscious beliefs, needs, ideas and work.
This post is a short summary of our Learning Session on Day Two, for the benefit of the Tribes, and in case it’s helpful to others.
We were learning about ideas and the Very Clear Ideas process.
Understanding where ideas come from, how they lead to successful, fulfilling work, and how to be a great coach for other people to uncover and clarify their needs, their motivations and how they’ll realise their ideas.
I always design in learning spaces to any work I do — looking at what we’re learning from different perspectives — usually:
- What are we learning about this topic?
- What are we learning about this process?
- What am I learning about myself?
Here’s what the Tribes shared from the first two questions.
What are we learning about ideas?
They arise from a need: ideas are the outward expression of an inner need. That need isn’t being met, so the idea is the thing that we can bring to life to help satisfy it. Recognising that the need comes from us, can make the process of working with ideas more satisfying and successful.
They can become clearer by talking: it’s easy to think that because they are our ideas, we should be able to articulate them clearly ourselves. But it’s only by talking them through, unearthing them from inside us, and hearing what other people see, that we can see them clearly for ourselves.
From ideas we get to work: If needs lead to ideas, ideas then lead to work. If an idea is very clear, then other people will know how to help — and if they want to help. They’ll know what you need, and what you don’t. They’ll know what you’re doing, and be able to tell other people about it clearly.
Ideas are like icebergs — we focus on the most obvious bits: Most of the time we talk about the What and How of our ideas. What does it look like? How will we make it happen? We talk less about the ‘Why’, even though it’s the foundations on which our ideas are built.
We often miss the ‘Why in me’: when we’re searching for our Why, we can fall into the trap of hunting ‘out there’ in the world. Ultimately, it’s buried inside of us, rooted in who we are. The world around us can give us clues, but it’s still pointing back to something inside of us.
Get to the bottom of the Why or you might be doing things for the wrong reasons: our needs and motivations stem from all sorts of experiences and stories we’ve been carrying about ourselves for years. Unless we take time to uncover them, we won’t really know what’s driving our ideas.
There might be hidden needs: at first, we might think the need we’re trying to meet is obvious. Many people cite ‘Meaning’ or ‘Contribution’ as the need driving their work. But if we dig deep enough, we might be able to spot others like ‘Security’ or ‘To matter and belong’.
There’s usually on primary need: at the heart of any idea or project, there’s always one major need. It might be difficult to pin down but it’s there. If you can find it, you have the best possible chance of succeeding — because it’s your idea, and it has to meet your needs.
The Why/needs are hidden in your behaviours: We all operate from subconscious beliefs, which are sometimes impossible for us to know/spot. But they give away our real needs. Watch what someone does, not what they say, if you want a shortcut to the truth.
What are we learning about being a coach?
Being a coach is satisfying: it’s low risk, high reward. It’s not my shit, but I can offer new perspectives. I can feel like I’m helping and contributing, but I haven’t got anything at stake here.
It can be exhausting: just focusing and not being distracted is a big deal just in itself. We’re so used to constant stimulation and distractions from outside that just concentrating on what someone else is saying takes a conscious effort.
Neutrality reveals new things, pushing just creates more stuckness: when we’re playing the role of coach and the other seems out of ideas, pushing them harder for answers just makes things worse. Leaving space, asking other, open, deepening questions helps them explore and reveal it for themselves.
Connecting to why makes me feel more confident about the what: as a coachee, having the deeper why behind an idea or problem helps you feel much more clear and confident in whatever you go on to produce or create.
It’s nice to just have space to talk about yourself: it’s pretty rare, in our day-to-day lives, that we get time to just talk about ourselves, what’s going on for us, our ideas etc. Even with our best friends, we’re often just waiting for our turn to talk or an opportunity to make a joke. But it meets a fundamental need we all have for self-expression and self-understanding.
AND to have space just to listen: To not be in your own mind and focus on what the other person is saying (or isn’t saying) is also a gift in itself. To drop the constant mental chatter and wondering is a relief for many people, and gives us some space just to tune into something else (and sometimes naturally come to our own realisations).
If you want to find out more about the process, or buy the cards, visit Charles Davies’ Very Clear Ideas website, or check out his writing on How to Be Clear
