Think Possibility to Unlock Braincramp!

Interestingly, Ellen Weber turned the idea of braincramp upside down. Here's her take...

False predictions over at Essays and Effluvia, remind us that innovation is rarely rewarded when brain cramp strikes. It’s pretty much the same at any organization, and Robyn McMaster’s recent articles on brain cramp show why. Here are 25 famous leaders with brain cramp – after they looked innovation in the face and predicted failure rather than see talent. Does your firm suffer from it? There’s likely one top quote in the list that could jumpstart brains back on track … the next time you present a great idea and support seems small….

1. "Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances." -- Dr. Lee DeForest, "Father of Radio & Grandfather of Television."

2. "The bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives." - - Admiral William Leahy, US Atomic Bomb Project

3. "There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom." -- Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923

4. "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." -- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

5. "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers ." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

6. "I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." -- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

7. "But what .. is it good for?" -- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

8. "640K ought to be enough for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981

9. This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us," -- Western Union internal memo, 1876.

10. "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

11. "The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible," -- A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

12. "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper," -- Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."

13. "A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make," -- Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs. Fields' Cookies.

14. "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out," -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

15. "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible," -- Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

16. "If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this," - - Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M "Post-It" notepads.

17. "Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy,"-- Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859.

18. "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." - - Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

19. "Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value," -- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre, France.

20. "Everything that can be invented has been invented," -- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.

21. "The supercomputer is technologically impossible. It would take all of the water that flows over Niagara Falls to cool the heat generated by the number of vacuum tubes required." -- Professor of Electrical Engineering, New York University

22. "I don't know what use any one could find for a machine that would make copies of documents. It certainly couldn't be a feasible business by itself." -- the head of IBM, refusing to back the idea, forcing the inventor to found Xerox.

23. "Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction." -- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

24. "The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon," -- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.

25. "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

Ready to take your best idea to the next stage – in spite of critics where you work? If so – what would that cutting edge idea likely become?

One thing's sure... Ellen focuses on possibilities. Throughout the time I've worked as Sr VP of the MITA Center, I've learned not to doubt. You'll chuckle when I share that Ellen pushed me through a Department Chair's door when I was to have an interview to enter university... At midnight hour I doubled I had the stuff to do it. Ellen helped turn that around with one fell swoop!

Turn braincramp upside down and see what happens... Hmm... do you have yet different ways you unfreeze your brain when it's stuck?

Marc Rapp's Philosophical Approach on Braincramp

Marc Rapp, author of Uniquely the Epitome, has a very different take on braincramp and quite frankly, unconventional approaches bring change. So let's consider Marc's ideas and see what you think. Marc says, "As endearing a term as 'braincramp' is, I can't help but feel it's actually a result of a braincramp." Here's Mark's thinking on braincramp...

Here we have a concept (combining two or more ideas that where previously considered unrelated) derived from the exact process it's working to resolve.

The act of identifying, acknowledging, and personifying and then later, perpetuating is in-fact, the result of a braincramp.

The concept of braincramps, is a direct result of creative thinking. Which, in my mind ( basal ganglia ) is the brain naturally resolving a proposed problem. The problem being, not being able to think creatively.

So, one get's creative to solve it.

Is it me, or is this redundant and really only disproves itself?

Marc, you've asked a philosophical question and questions lead us to gather wisdom to fill in the puzzle pieces. Your unique thoughts are yet another piece to visualize the whole.

You tapped your intrapersonal intelligence, Marc, to share your personal perspective. Intrapersonal intelligence is that part of our brain in which we develop responses to our life questions. Marc, I sense you have thought deeply and developed a personal philosophy on the creative process since you're an artist. I'm glad you stopped by and shared just a few of your thoughts...

Intrapersonal intelligence allows us to take conundrums and sort them out as we reflect, grow, and change. Ellen Weber recently remarked, "Neglect ongoing intrapersonal visions for growth and we perish in the wake of fast moving ideas that pass us by." My ideas are not always enough. I need to consider what you and others say. Here's what I mean...

The reason I brought this question to others is rooted in Interpersonal intelligence. That is, I wanted to engage others' ideas, entertain different perspectives and discuss the methods and strategies that are brought to the table by folks in community. This keeps me from having tunnel vision.

I've seen so much intelligence brought to the table already, and I'm hoping to hear from others in the community about how you overcome braincramp.

Mark's portrait from Flickr

Beat the Braincramp Syndrome!

Chris Brown took the challenge to share strategies to unlock your brain when it freezes. She divulges unexpected, yet fun ways to beat the BrainCramp syndrome. "You know this happens when your brain freezes and you can't think. It happens to me when I get mad or too tired or I'm trying too hard," Chris explains. So here's her antidote...

Ways that I beat it:

MOVE. I take a walk. I weed the garden. I get on the exercise ellipse machine. Do the stairs. Walk down to the coffee shop and back. Put on some fun rock and roll and dance.

WATER. Sitting by the ocean is the best, but since I'm in Ohio, it's more like walking around the pond in my town. Or taking a shower. Or watching the rain. Wading thru a stream. There is something about the running water, moving water that helps to unlock my frozen thoughts.

DRIVE. It's not the same as moving, but similar. Expressway is best... stop and go traffic doesn't help. We used to live in Rhode Island and had a 12 hour drive home to Ohio & back. That helped. A quick 2 minute drive doesn't do the trick. You've got to get into the rhythm of a longer drive. Maybe it's the white lines going by that's semi hypnotic.

Dumb VIDEO GAMES. You know the kind where the little color things drop. Like Tetris or Cubis or Pop the Balloons? I think it's the repetitive motion, but it opens and unlocks some part of my brain and I can think again.

GOOGLE. Type a few key phrases into google or google blog search or google image search. It takes my mind into new places and helps to make me think about the project differently.

Worst ways that I've found to try to unlock brain freeze: 1) stare into the white nothingness of a blank page of a word document on my computer monitor. 2) stare at a totally white piece of paper. 3) look at a clean whiteboard. 4) Forcing myself to think about something that I can't figure out.

The more if try to force it, the less likely creativity will happen. It's got to be a flow, not a force.

You take a very active approach to jumpstart your brain, Chris. And, that's a great tactic. Interestingly, three parts of your brain, the cerebrum, brain stem and cerebellum need regular exercise, too. Dr. Ellen Weber shares tips to energize our brains to dance ... Now that'll rewire your dendrites!

Chris, your rocking and rolling strategies pump more oxygen to your brain. And, your brain uses 21% of your body's oxygen supply. So it shouldn't surprise you that sitting at a desk too long can stagnate your brain. Why not get out of your seat and move as Chris does to keep plenty of oxygen flowing to the old noodle!

Any more great ideas you use to overcome braincramp? I'd love to hear your thoughts, too!

Try Flow, Bank Serotonin and Meditate to Tap into Creativity and Avoid Braincramp

Danica Radovanovic, a creative information management professional and blogger from Belgrade, tossed three brilliant tactics into the pot to overcome braincramp. She's suggesting that flow, banking serotonin and practicing meditation work to get past times folks encounter blocks that prevent creativity.

Flow In Flow: The Psychologiy of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi defines flow as "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it." He further theorizes that best moments in life occur when the body and mind are stretched to the limit in an effort to accomplish something both difficult and worthwhile. So Danica, your suggestion leads to extraordinary answers. But there's even more...

For optimal experience, Csikszentmihalyi suggests that it's "necessary to work for external goals and to postpone immediate gratification."

Flow experiences have these elements in common: "provides a sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting the person into a new reality. It pushes the person to higher levels of performance." Csikszentmihali sums this up as growth of self.

When people stretch themselves to the limit in flow experiences, the working memory of the brain is positioned to throttle high. Eric Jensen, suggests that the brain leaps to solve puzzles and challenges so it's natural that people achieve more when they work in flow.

Danica, your suggestion to tap into flow or, optimal experience, truly helps folks reach levels of creativity they desire.

Bank Serotonin You mention that Dr. Ellen Weber suggests that people bank more serotonin to maintain a state of well-being. Banking serotonin is an amazing way to establish fertile ground for creativity, Danica since folks would benefit from strategies to avoid cortisol build-up in the brain. Cortisol definitely contributes to braincramp since it inhibits focus and can lead to depression.

And, what is there about meditation that might help?

Meditation Danica says that recent research study findings show that high school kids who practiced meditation 15 minutes each day, regularly, had better grades and their blood pressure was normal or dropped down. And the control group who didn't mediatate for six months, had poor academinc results: no concentration and higher blood pressure...

And, there's more good news from neuroscience research about the benefits of meditation... "Meditation alters resting brain patterns, suggesting long lasting brain changes and increased cortical thickness," according to findings by Harvard, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers. Additionally, "Structural changes were found in areas of the brain that are important for sensory, cognitive and emotional processing," according to this extensive research.

Danica, thanks for your contributions. Flow, finding ways to increase serotonin and meditation definitely help folks increase focus and cognitive processing. Since brain research supports your ideas, they're just what the doctor ordered to overcome braincramps. Thoughts...?

Stay tuned for more ways to overcome braincramps...I've had great contributions from many folks!

When Braincramp Hits, Brad Shorr Avoids Panic

"I have brain cramps all the time," Brad Shorr reveals. "Over the years I've learned not to panic. It only makes them worse."

Brad, you do yourself a favor by avoiding panic. You see when you panic, your brain fills with cortisol, a brain hormone that leaves you with an inability to concentrate. Some folks' minds tend to go around in circles. McGill University researchers "measured the stress hormone, cortisol, in older adults over a period of three to six years. Their findings showed that individuals who had continuous high levels of cortisol, performed poorly on memory tests and had a notably smaller hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory." You see added dangers over time when folks panic, Brad.

Your approach, "Patience makes perfect," is right on! For folks to overcome braincramp you suggest, "Walk away from your project, let your mind wander. Suddenly an idea will hit you. I've experienced that many, many times."

And Brad's strategy, "Sometimes it's enormously helpful to seek out those people with whom I have creative chemistry," is win/win. He finds, "An hour of conversation with the right person makes my brain cramp disappear." This is brilliant, Brad! And it helps to bring more serotonin, a hormone of well being.

And as a finale, you add, "A beer or two during the conversation can accelerate the recovery process even more."

Brad, thanks for taking time to share your wisdom.

How about it, do others have yet another tactic to relieve braincramp?

Scott McArthur's Method to Unstick Your Brain

Scott McArthur says to relieve braincramp challenge your schemas. Scott revs up his brain by using templates Chip and Dan Heath share in their recent book Made to Stick. Challenging the schemas you've embedded in deep recesses of your brain's basal ganglia is a great approach, Scott.

You see, we all have preferred ways of doing things, or the schemas we have programmed because they're comfortable and trusty. Once you grasp ideas or skills, they're stored in your brain's basal ganglia. They require little effort, they're familiar and let's face it - just plain comfortable.

On the other hand, when you operate from your brain's working memory, it takes more effort and it's discomforting to you because you're treading swift running water and you need to stay afloat. You see, ideas and new ways of doing things easily spill out of the working memory because its so small compared to the basal ganglia.

Scott suggests, "if you get braincramps you need to get yourself a new template!" He lists six below based on the Heath Brothers research:

Pictorial Analogy
Extreme Consequence
Extreme Situations
Competition
Interactive Experiments
Dimensionality Alteration

So how about challenging your routines and dive into a new template that unsticks you from comfort zones? By so doing you'll deeply engage your working memory and find those creative surprises that currently elude you.

Mike Wager Comments on Ways to Relieve "Braincramp"

Mike Wagner of White Rabbit Group says he "fishes with a net" to generate solutions and "loosen up cramped brains." Thanks for such brilliant reflection on the questions I posed, Mike, and I know my readers will benefit from your thoughtful wisdom as you explain this metaphor in depth...

Many of my business clients suffer from what could be called a "braincramp".

A physical cramp keeps us from moving at full speed and takes us out of the game.

An organizational braincramp keeps us from advancing as a group toward a successful outcome thus taking us out of marketplace competition.

When a business does not know how to generate lots of ideas around challenges that arise, it is suffering a braincramp.

Most have one or two ideas with which to run and they don't work all that well. They are hobbled and pull up lame.

I tell the clients I serve to "fish with a net" when it comes to generating possible solutions. And then I show them well proven ideation models that help them loosen up their cramped brains.

Better to have lots of fish to choose from when the time comes to fry one up!

Will think on this more but what a provocative metaphor!

Mike your comment brought deep wisdom from your business experience and a metaphor to remind us of a great strategy to uncramp brains in our circles. I appreciate what you shared.

I welcome responses from other readers. Please do check out my question: Ever had a Braincramp?

Ever Had a Braincramp?

A grad student in a class I taught said, "I have a braincramp." What picture comes to your mind? I don't know about you, but at first I had a real belly laugh since the expression was new to me.

Just for fun, how would you define a braincramp?

What would you suggest to overcome a braincramp?

Have some fun and let's see what develops. If you create a post at your site to show your answer and it's not "R" rated, I'll give you a link from my site and announce it here at Brain Based Biz.