How To Put On Your Cape-abilities
In this blog post, you’ll continue to find strategies that you can use to shake up your thinking and unleash your innovation super powers. Each blog post defines a tool you need, gives you a summary of what that tool can do for you, some questions that stir your thinking, and an exercise to get you started using the tool. You can either use the tools from start to finish to understand all the tools in your toolkit or you can pick up any tool — play around, use it, and discover how it works for you.
The next ability in our Cape-ability series is … Adaptability
Vocabulary.com defines adaptability as the ability to change (or be changed) to fit changed circumstances.
My definition is the ability to adapt the creative problem process, tools, and behaviors to apply to challenges you are facing.
The ability to adapt, or adaptability, is a great quality to have if you are an animal in nature, having to weather different seasons, or climate changes. You could say that some chameleons, which change color to blend into their surroundings, have a high level of adaptability. It’s also a good quality for an employee of a company that is going through a lot of change.
With this Toolkit you are learning a new skill set of abilities that allow you to be able to adapt to change and evolve quickly and effectively. To be effective you must practice this skill set. It’s like my gym membership — I can say I have those skills and I have a place to go, but if I don’t go work out those muscles, nothing will happen. It’s the same with your “CAPE-abilities” skill set. You must work that muscle in your head in order to be able to adapt to new thinking and solutions. We often tell the story of Edward DiBono who coined the phrase “Rivers of Thinking”. He said that our brains are like a mountain and every piece of stimulus we experience – every meal we’ve eaten, every kiss we’ve experienced, every license plate we’ve seen – these are like little rain drops that fall onto the mountain and go into our subconscious. After a while that’s a lot of information so we have to start organizing our thoughts into some themes or streams of recognition. As time goes on some of those streams turn into raging rivers of thinking. Now, staying in your river is okay, but you will only ever get incremental innovations. So, you have to river jump in order to get really fresh thinking. That’s where adaptability comes into play. When you can adjust yourself to different conditions, environment and structures, you open yourself to the ability to make changes quickly. Trusting the creative problem solving process, gaining tools and behaviors that help you river jump while adapting to new solutions will take you through the ideation journey.
“Individuals, too, who cultivate a variety of skills seem brighter, more energetic and more adaptable than those who know how to do one thing only.” – Robert Shea
Provocative Q’s to ask myself:
Exercises to help you think and adapt new ways to think:
As an example of adaptability, I want to repeat a quick story about an amazing young man. His name is Shaquem Griffin and let me tell you -- an amputated hand did not hinder his potential — it strengthened it. At age 4, his left hand was removed due to extreme pain triggered by amniotic band syndrome, which he had suffered in the womb. The day after surgery, Griffin was already playing two-on-two street football. Freed of the unusable extremity, he instantaneously discovered what would become a lifelong passion for football — one that would one day inspire a legion of others, young and old, to understand that a physical limitation didn’t have be one.
Griffin was a star linebacker at UCF, was a member of the Seattle Seahawks alongside his identical twin brother, Shaquill, and now is playing for the Miami Dolphins. Shaquem is the first one-handed player in NFL history. “(I) never let doubters shape who I am,” he said. “You can’t allow that negativity to shape what you’re going to do.”
Shaquem Griffin accepted the 2019 Inspiration Award at the NCAA Honors Celebration. It is reserved for people who used perseverance, dedication and determination to overcome a life-altering situation, and most importantly, are role models giving hope and inspiration to others. And I might add – being able to adapt!
Practice using adaptability to bring a different perspective to your thinking! In my next blog post, I will be talking more about Predictability.
--gert--
McHALE DESIGN CASE STUDY: MONSTERVERSE- THE LEGEND CONTINUES…
Build-A-Bear Celebrates National Teddy Bear Day with Donation to The Toy Foundation™
Toy Foundation Auction is Now Open for Your Bids
Bracelets, Stickers, and Viral Fame: The Story Behind Sky Castle Toys’ Sticki Rolls
Chrissy Fagerholt: Luck is when Preparation Meets Opportunity!
Book Review: Storm: Dawn of a Goddess by Tiffany D. Jackson
Book Review: Erno Rubik and his Magic Cube by Kerry Aradhya
Game Review: Trip Chaser
Learning Express Toys Hosts 25th Annual Convention & Toy Expo at JW Marriott Tucson
Submit Your LA Showroom Details for 2025 Toy Previews
Randy Klimpert Shares his Ukulele Collection
Steve Casino Peanut Art
Everyone's Talking about POP!
Princess Etch - a Multi-Talented Etch A Sketch Artist
Joseph Herscher of Joseph' s Machines.
Connie Vogelmann designed Apiary & Wyrmspan!
Bob Fuhrer... Is THE Crocodile Dentist!
Tom Dusenberry... Bought Atari, Wizards of the Coast, and Avalon Hill!
Matt Leacock created Pandemic... the game!
Scott Brown and Tim Swindle... are Launching a New Sport!
POPDuo: Richard Dickson, Mattel’s President & COO, and Kedar Narayan, Young Inventor Challenge AMB
POPDuo: Will Shortz and Josh Wardle
POP Duo: Elan Lee, Co-Founder, Exploding Kittens.and Jeff Probst, Host and Exec Producer, Survivor
POP Duo: David Fuhrer, MNG Director, Blue Sq Innovations & Shawn Green, past Dodgers & Mets MLB Star
POP Duo: Bob Fuhrer, Founder, Nextoy and Tom Fazio, Golf Course Designer