I found this picture while cleaning off my iPad. The notepad with the message, “Leave a Trail of Genius,” was from a meeting at a Marriott in Jackson, MS.
When it comes to creating strategic impact, what CAN you do to leave a trail of genius?
That doesn't have to mean you have to be a genius, however. It simply means you have been creating strategic impact by bringing out the genius in others.
26 Ways to Leave a Trail of Genius
So what are you doing to leave a trail of genius wherever you interact?
- Encouraging people to use their distinctive talents to express their ideas.
- Teaching people things that took you a long time to learn.
- Asking questions of others that lead them to discover new ideas.
- Being able to listen to others with as much skill as you display when doling out advice to them.
- Encouraging others by reminding them of past successes.
- Seeing potential in others they don't even realize.
- Knowing exactly when to push and when to let up.
- Introducing big possibilities without specifying all the answers for how to accomplish them.
- Bringing excitement to unexciting situations.
- Seeing new possibilities where others only see the status quo.
- Assembling the right team for the moment.
- Challenging what's expected and expecting the challenges you'll receive in return.
- Not worrying about being understood.
- Painting a compelling vision that stretches everyone.
- Creating things people haven't even imagined before.
- Getting everyone focused on what matters.
- Experimenting all the time.
- Cultivating enough mystery to keep everyone intrigued and guessing.
- Borrowing ideas from other places that are new to what you do.
- Knowing how long to repeat what is working before you suddenly change it.
- Giving others the time and preparation to come along and be ready to perform when they need to perform.
- Laughing at authority figures that believe they matter much more than they really do.
- Trying for something bigger every time.
- Never learning anything from your mistakes that would make you fearful of making future mistakes.
- Always letting other people shine by giving them the opportunities and stages on which to perform.
- Cultivating just enough of the myth behind all the genius moments you leave on the trail.
That's a start at a list for creating strategic impact. What do you do to leave a trail of genius behind you? – Mike Brown
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