Design Thinking or Thinking Outside The Box -Luciano The Key Santini

Hello my friends and I would like to thank all who continue to believe in my abilities to be your service provider whether as an individual or your business. One think that I would like to start talking about is what is called Design Thinking what is design thinking?

Design thinking as a process for problem-solving

Unlike analytical thinking, design thinking is a process which includes the "building up" of ideas, with few, or no, limits on breadth during a "brainstorming" phase.^[13] This helps reduce fear of failure in the participant(s) and encourages input and participation from a wide variety of sources in the ideation phases. The phrase "thinking outside the box" has been coined to describe one goal of the brainstorming phase and is encouraged, since this can aid in the discovery of hidden elements and ambiguities in the situation and discovering potentially faulty assumptions.

One version of the design thinking process has seven stages: define, research, ideate, prototype, choose, implement, and learn.^[2] Within these seven steps, problems can be framed, the right questions can be asked, more ideas can be created, and the best answers can be chosen. The steps aren't linear; can occur simultaneously and be repeated.

 A simpler expression of the process is Robert McKim's phrase "Express–Test–Cycle".^[3] An alternative five-phase description of the process is described by Christoph Meinel and Larry Leifer: (re)defining the problem, need finding and benchmarking, ideating, building, testing.

I have to tell you that when I took this class in business school I took it to fulfill a credit and had no idea how important this would be someday in business and though it has been around for a long time. I never thought the need for it but I realized that I have been doing this for such a long time for businesses I just called thinking outside the box with the belief that for every problem there is a solution. 

The one thing that I have always believed and has embedded in my mind from one of my professors and mentors is that a leader can come up with great ideas and great programs but if that leader has no idea how to get people to buy into the new idea and then if that happens the the BIG ONE the EXECUTION must happen and that is where the problems comes in EXECUTION is where most so called leaders will fail.

This is what I see when I assist businesses: What I see is that leaders in that organization will come up with great ideas and then just push them on to other supervisors and expect them to execute and what happens here is that they will fail. Then the Leader will do what most do and that is blame the supervisor for not executing correctly. The fact is as follows which is that the leader should have been extremely clear in execution process to assist and put their supervisors for success and not failure.

The crazy thing regarding this process is that it is OK if we fail.

Your failure may prove to be an asset, provided you know why you failed.

Napoleon Hill

There are a few occasions during our brief time on earth when most of us experience great flashes of insight, great moments of truth that forever change the course of our lives. Most of those experiences result from spectacular failures, not from outstanding successes. 

It is from the failures that so chagrined and dismayed us that we learn the most lasting lessons. When you are the unwilling recipient of a great moment of truth, extract the useful lessons and then put the entire episode behind you. Learn from your failures, forget about them, and move on to better things. 

Clients-Me- You And Life- We Are Here To serve That Is It-Luciano The Key Santini

Hello and good day to all who follow me on my blog,linked in ,Twitter and Facebook and I am sure there a few more that I cannot remember as of this moment. I was thinking this morning as I was driving around to get my hot cup of fresh coffee and thought about life in general and why do things happen that are unexpected in the journey of life.

I always try to keep in mind the point of view of my readers based on their suggestions to write about things that matter. Sometimes it can be challenging but that is always welcomed by me because we are always up for any challenge that comes our way. and so I do my very best to address them.

We all know we are here but for a while in what I like to call (borrowed time) When you think about it is not up to us how long we will live but how we decide to live our lives. I love to read books and people are always asking me what am I reading? Why do they ask,well because I am always holding a book or a magazine that has something to do with either business strategies or psychology or something to do with people.

A book is something that you can read at any time and the stories will take you where ever you want to go. A good book can take you into the future or into the past. A good book can take you to places you have only dreamed of. In a book you can meet people you have always wanted to meet and learn about how they lived and perhaps serve as a mentors for you.

A book can teach you so much about life if we but read between the lines. I can tell you that sometimes authors do not always write what they mean to write and so you have to come up with your own synopsis of what something means.

 I always find it fascinating to read a book that never makes sense until I start to break it down into paragraphs and the start to put it all together a page at a time and then it becomes fun trying to figure out what it all means kind of like those old mysteries where you could make up your own ending so much fun!!!

One of the best things people can do to listen to a person or a loved one is to have interaction with them on a regular basis because this is what will create great relationships for the future and they will always remember those interactions. 

What does this have to do with business; Well I can tell you that when leaders do not have interactions with their employees the employees will go into a thought process that is negative regarding leadership because in their minds the leadership could care less of their well being or concerns.

What is the difference between information and communication?

I have found that when employees are given information they do not understand the information and thus creates a very negative feeling and makes them feel incompetent. They fear asking for more information because it might make them, look incompetent.

The fact is that when giving information to employees a leader should also give the meaning of the information and yes!! most do not do that. They keep it to themselves and that is so wrong in so many ways and yet some so called leaders think of it as power over the minions!!WOW RIGHT! YEA that is what said wrong wrong wrong!!!!!

The other great thing that I find astonishing to me personally is when a leader is asking you for information and smiling at you but their body language is very threatening. Why does this happen? It happens because the leaders do not know how to control their emotions internally. You (Leader) think that by smiling you are doing well but yet you cross your arms when you are saying it HELLO!!

Expectations is another big one. leaders will give out information and tell people what to do and that is it. WHYYYYYYY do you do that? It is because some leaders will assume that there was a clear understanding of the information and expectations NOOO you actually have to take the time to share and explain expectations and be very clear and specific uHHH let me see I am assuming there are expectation to begin with.

How about reaching out to the disengaged employees OOOOhhh that is a whole new other blog posting for next time.

I am here to serve you  I am your solutions provider

"Life Is Nothing More Than A Storyline; Write One That Will Stand The Storms Of Time" Luciano The Key Santini

Hello everyone and here we are gain on another day to write about the questions and the comments all my follower and supporters send me. Thank you to every single one of you who continue to make me your solutions provider to both your life and your business. It has been a great journey and thousands of people have stated to have benefited from the information or the motivation that I write.

Today we will talk about some of the moves or choices that great leaders will make to create great and strong teams in their organizations. When a great manager begins to understand his staff and their individual skills along with the way they perform their task only then will a great leader know how to move tasks to the right people and know how delegate correctly.

 As great leaders know you have your great employees and you have the not so great employees. The great employees will always want to do a great job and usually do if you treat them with respect. These are the employees you can trust to do completed staff work and a great job at any task given expectations and proper training. These are the employees that some leaders will check their work even though they are the best employees.

 This is a waste of time for both the great staff and their so call great leaders. Why does leadership do this you are asking? Well let me tell you why; So called leaders will do this because it gives them the feeling of importance and they are afraid to face the real problem which are usually the people who are hard to manage. This is also one of those crazy things where sometimes they the leadership may feel that their best employees are respected more than they are and so by micromanaging them it gives them a feeling of power yes yes I know pretty sad but true. 

"Life Is Nothing More Than A Storyline; Write One That Will Stand The Storms Of Time" Luciano The Key Santini

One of the greatest issues most leaders face is when they have to have those hard conversations with the performers who should be performing but do not. Leaders also know that though these non-performers do not get in anyone's face or cause any major issues they know they are not getting the results they should be getting from them, however most of the rest of the team does know this and see this and they hate you for it because as a leader you should be focusing on them and not so much on the ones that actually are getting results thus causing friction between you the (Leader) of the organization and your team!!!

The people who do not do their job correctly are great at one thing and that is staying below the radar and pretend ting to do their job and yet there are no results so a not so,

strong ( Leader) will find it so much easier to ignore the real problems because there is no real problem in their mind thus causing what I call (Under current) You know when you are swimming in the ocean and all looks great and smooth but the undercurrent will eventually take you and pull you under HELP I AM DROWNING HERE!! 

By then hopefully you get someone to here you or you are a great swimmer and survive or the sharks will eat you up and you will be heard from again and my friends in business in the real world this is no different because your non performers and your weak staff will eat you up alive and soon enough you will be terminated for the same thing nonperformance it will only be a matter of time!!!

As a (Leader) you know who your weakest links are and guess what so do the rest of the staff. You as a leader need to step to the plate and begin to address them because if not the rest of the staff will begin to address you and your incompetence to deal with the real issues in the organization and well this will only bring resentment towards you and the your team.

I have to tell you though that sometimes those who suck at their job and the world knows about including you their fearless leader. should be the one looking out for the organization and making use that there is nothing but smooth driving  forward and I know the you the key to success right!! No!! What!! Why Not! Ok Ok here it is: 

Get the right people on the bus and get the slackers the hell of the bus but do it before the bus gets rolling towards the end result because if you drive the bus with them still on it well my friends you begin the viscous circle all over again and most likely you will be gone!!! I know you know who these people are in your organization and do not kid yourself because everyone else does as well.

This guy will always be one of my greatest mentors of all time.

Willing cooperation produces enduring power, while forced cooperation ends in failure.

No civilization based upon the unjust treatment of its people has ever endured. A tyrant may force the cooperation of others for a time, but that power is never sustained. Only when people are accorded the respect they deserve do they willingly create and maintain successful organizations and societies. When you build a company or an organization based on fairness and justice for every member, you have built a power that will long endure. 

 The best way to secure the commitment and unending cooperation of others is through the simple application of the Golden Rule. It is the most successful and long-lasting management theory ever developed. When you treat others as you would like to be treated were you in their situation, you will inspire loyalty and enthusiastic cooperation. Set high standards for yourself and others, treat them well, let them do their jobs, and they will perform miracles for you.

"No Such Thing As Perfection But Nothing Wrong In Striving To Get There"-Luciano Santini

Hello to all my continued followers and thank you for your support and constant willingness to send in your comments and suggestions because that where all my inspiration to continue to write comes from. Thank you Thank you.

As the photo says it above:How to get started on a journey to perfection in whatever you do. Let me tell you something from the get go. There is no such thing as perfection and one must have a clear understanding of this and what it means. It means that anything that has been created by an individual will never ever be perfect because someone will always come around and tell you it needs change.

Guess what and I hate to bust your bubble but they would be correct. You see you need to know what you do not know and know that you do not know and be able to accept it as such. I find that most people in positions of power will exert that power on people either to control them in the now or in their future which by the way is so wrong in so many ways and yet they do it out of their own fears of rejection or loosing that power.

There is a very clear recognition that although control over material things is a source of some forms of power such as money, buildings or business because you hire the staff. Some people believe that because they own the business or sit in a high position they can do the latter,however ownership of the business or having acquired a high position is not a sufficient basis for the right to influence people.

You know the one thing that I have always told my clients during a coaching session is the following; When people do not follow you or they resist any change in any organization you need to ask yourself why?

Why do they resist me every time I try to make a change? That is the real question. Most so called leaders do the opposite they do not ask the questions and thus end in failure because there will be resistance and change will never ever happen. 

What they do next is the worst thing they can possibly do and that is they start to create issues and problems for people in their organizations because this will be the way to influence others and change the environment by frustrating their staff members to the boiling point no return and the people will either quit or do something wrong out of the fear that has been imposed on them and they are let go. 

I have seen this kind of leadership behavior which is again so wrong in so many ways because the lives of people and heir families are affected in so many ways and why because the so called leaders do not know how to lead again know what you do not know and accept it!!

The question every person in a high position of power needs to ask themselves is if they have fulfilled the prerequisite of a leader?

Do my people perceive me as a legitimate leader and worthy to hold this position?

I know the politics and I understand them very clearly though sometimes hard to swallow. In most organization leader positions are filled either by appointment or election and many questions will arise regarding the legitimacy of the appointed one.

 I have to say though that sometimes the appointed one does not fit the bill in the organization and so because that appointed one is a either a friend of someone in the hierarchy of influence thus will be placed in a place where people that have been around for a long time can carry the appointed one until retirement.

I have also seen mostly in highly bureaucratic organizations that knowledge of organizational rules and regulations is another type of expertise that may become a source of power over those that are new to the organization.

 The problem here is that when you hire someone who may not know all the rules and regulations from the get go but is an expert at implementation of regulations and has the practical experience can and will see right through these type of leaders. In these type of organizations I have also found that success form innovation leads to greater credit but if one fails it will lead to greater blame.

Opportunity will not interest itself in the person who isn’t interested in it. Napoleon Hill

In a free and democratic society, the number of opportunities for achievement is virtually limitless. In every business or profession, there are innumerable opportunities to invent new products, to improve manufacturing and administrative processes, and to offer better service than the competitor down the street.

There are always different leaders and there will always be different philosophies

Hello and well yes today is Sunday and I skipped a day on my writing because there was a car show and an airplane stunt show in the area and the kids wanted to go and so who are the bosses the kids!!! hahahahaha

I will start by asking questions on every post and will see how many leaders who read my blog give me their suggestions or answers. The first one is:

How is position power and personal power related to how a  leader provers his/her effectiveness?

"There are always different leaders and there will always be different philosophies regarding their way of thinking it is how the philosophy is executed that will differentiate you as a leader"--Luciano The Key Santini 

On another note let us talk about how so,e people use their power of position to manipulate others who perhaps have more experience then they do. I have done much research and have also done a few interviews where I ask the people sitting in positions of power why they keep down other with more experience then they have?

Some of the answer were really eye opening but the best answer came from a mom and pop establishment and the owner did not speak English and it truly wowed me; He stated that possession of superior expertise is not sufficient condition for a leader to influence subordinates but it is that the subordinates must see or perceive the credibility of the leader.

I believe that what happens so many times when people are in a position of power is that they tend to promote expertise but have none or not enough to actually enable them to implement. The person promoting their expertise must be able to show confidence and not a big ego there is a difference and one needs to have a clear of understanding between the two.

one must have the capacity to show empathy and be able to recognize concerns of other people. the leader also needs to be able to respond to the needs of their staff or changes that may have an affect on both staff and business.

What about coercion? We all know how bad this can turn out and yet it is one of the most common practices in both private and non-profit organizations. I ask people why use it? One of my answers is because I believe that it used because of convenience and ignorance on the part of the leaders to demonstrate effectiveness What I have found out is that when coercion is used it is used with subordinates who\allow themselves to be pushed around.

Coercion can be used effectively to bring compliance or to deter a bad behavior but it has to be implemented correctly or end up in court if not executed correctly and on a timely manner.

1.one way is to administer discipline con a consistent basis and promptly.

2.Try to give enough time warning before resorting to punishment.

3.Make sure one has the facts and hearsay.

4.One must stay calm and avoid appearing hostile towards the subordinate,

One of the most common type of leaders are the Charismatic type which will engage in behavior issues to create the impression that they are competent and successful in their positions which at the end will make them not so credible.

Sometimes these leaders can excite staff to do their work and help their self esteem if implemented corrected. There are so many theories and ways to help staff and leaders reach their goals however it comes down to true and correct execution of the strategy.

"Leaders With Education And Practical Experience Are The Future To A Rapidly Changing World"-Luciano The Key Santini

Having a great day today, I hope you are because today is a day to celebrate the freedom we enjoy and to remember the memories from the past and the outings we have had with our families. Today is a day to think about where you are in life and where you would like to be in the near future before this year is over.

In life there is always something new to learn and so one must take the time to educate oneself. How important\t is education very!! Here is what one of our president's has stated regarding education.

What about Steve Jobs what did he have to say?

Steve Jobs once said, “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

I have a few things to say but the one that has actually affected me personally in the past is the following one and to the point where I had to explain my self to other people because they have no idea how to deal with life.

Self-confident—Don’t let yourself confuse self-confidence with egotistical. True self-confidence is simply someone who is secure in his or her own abilities. Such self-confidence exudes from them and motivates others to achieve the same.

Here's what 35th US President, John F. Kennedy had to say: “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” 

In the world of Time Management and life especially at work there are things said to us that we accept as truth and we act accordingly.The problem is sometimes they are not truths.They are lies and as we believe them, they waste our time.

Does it seem like no matter what you do, there's always something or someone who takes up a lot more of your time than you had planned? I know that sometimes you get people who you want to help and eventually you do not want to talk to them anymore because all they do is waste your time.

There has been so many talk in many books and many seminars and I might as well add gurus on this list because you will have people who tell you that they have the answers to your problems and what do they do? They give you books to read or theories without anything behind what they say to be true sad I know!

one of my mentors always said to me that the keenest minds are the ones that have whetted by practical experience. What does this mean well here it is. 

The keenest minds are the ones that have been whetted by practical experience.

Theoretical knowledge without practical experience might be compared to a large mass of undirected energy. Until it is focused, it is difficult to direct the energy to a useful end. Practical experience is the lens through which the energy of knowledge may be focused and directed toward activities that will provide the greatest benefit. When you learn new concepts or have an idea that has not yet been tested, make it a practice to think through its application carefully before implementation. 

 

When you have considered the possibilities, and it still seems to be a good idea — get into action. The only way to get practical experience is to get to work executing your idea but the one thing all my mentors and successful business friends always seems to be one thing and one thing only-To know what and when and HOW to IMPLEMENT AND EXECUTE!!!!!

WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR A PERSON TO BE CALLED A GOOD LEADER NOT GREAT JUST GOOD?

WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR A PERSON TO BE CALLED A GOOD LEADER NOT GREAT JUST GOOD?

I was asked this question in Los Angeles CA this past week during a leadership seminar which I was asked to be part of which I jumped at the opportunity because of course anytime you get an opportunity to make an impression regarding your skills and perspective it is important to share such things.

I have read many many books and have done many many hours of research on this subject and I have to tell you that it is a continuous search for the best explanation. Here are some I have read in the past;

Inspiration comes form my beautiful kids who inspire me to live every day-Luciano The Key Santini

 One thing that I believe regarding leadership is the following;

 To me definitions by their nature are pragmatic. Like a laundry list of attributes... Rather than what makes a leader worth following. My humble opinion is a leader worth following must have conviction. They must believe in the cause, program, objective... whatever. 

 They must have enough self confidence which is sometimes confused by those who do not know nor understand the difference with arrogance to surround themselves with good people and the humility to consider alternative opinions. No "yes" men. They must be able to articulate, communicate, and be personable. OK,  so add in integrity, honesty, responsibility, tenacity and vision. 

Revett Eldred- said something at a seminar that I really loved and holds so much truth regarding leadership:

  I define a leader as someone who takes people to places they wouldn't have gone on their own. In other words, someone who can somehow convince others to become followers.

I think a book called The art of war will help define a leader for you.
A leader is someone who can be admired, who listens to people, who encourages people but can steer that encouragement in the correct direction.
A leader must have belief in what they are doing and en still this belief into everyone who follows.
A leader must be transparent and let everyone it leads know the aims of the leadership and know where the organization is going.
A leader must lead my example and not by words.
A leader can have many different characteristics and a different mixture depending on what organization they are leading and where they are leading it.

A leader (in no order of importance):

1) sets the standard and accepts nothing less from himself or his subordinates.
2) must have conviction and believe in what he is doing.
3) sets his subordinates up for success.
4) is willing to admit his mistakes.
5) is a person of integrity, character and honor.
6) willing to make the hard decision.
7) can see the broad picture.
8) effectively and efficiently uses his subordinates to get the job done in the best way possible.
9) will never ask his subordinates to do something that he will not do himself.
10) knows his people, like family.

 

I have to say that these are just a few that I have read by different authors who I might have at one time or another sat with them during my research for school. I also believe that a real leader is one that does the right thing and not the thing to please someone above them. I never said nor has it ever been said in the last 2000 years that being a leader is easy ever! Being a leader is a difficult thing to do Many will make mistakes and that is OK as long as you learn from that mistake and correct it the next time..

 

By Bill Murphy Jr.

Executive editor, TheMid.com, and founder, ProGhostwriters.com 

 

 A real leader is thrilled when team members achieve great things. A mere manager is threatened. 

 

In the grand scheme of things, a mere manager doesn't have much. He or she hasn't aspired to enough in life, and has taken on a bureaucratic role. Yet that's all he or she has, and as a result, the fear of losing it can be overwhelming. Thus, when a team member outgrows her role, a manager worries first about being outshone.

A true leader, on the other hand, takes his or her team members' accomplishments as a point of pride, and recognizes that the mark of a great leader isn't creating followers--but instead developing other leaders.

A truly great leader on the other hand, could hardly care about reports , or whatever the equivalent is in his or her workplace (and probably has to work to hide his or her contempt for such bureaucratic goofiness). What matters most to him or her--it is what truly matters most their people.