Adjusting viewpoint, changing focus, and building creativity Kevin P. O’Connor Professional Creative Services

What is a Paradigm? A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality.

Problem A tractor-trailer truck became stuck beneath a highway overpass. Traffic was backing up, and emergency vehicles could not get through to assist. A passing motorist made a suggestion that allowed the truck driver to quickly move the truck without damaging the overpass or the truck. What did the motorist suggest?

Solution Let some of the air out of the tires. Yay!

Yesterday Henry Ford was the father of the modern automotive assembly system, making reliable, inexpensive automobiles available to the masses. In 1942, Ford designed and patented an automobile made largely from synthetic plastics, derived from soybeans. –Ran on grain alcohol instead of gasoline. –30% lighter in weight than the average automobile. –Could withstand impact 10x greater than traditional automobiles of its day. The product never caught on, because the public was “not ready for a car that ran on grain alcohol and was made out of soybeans.”

Today Economically sound “smart cars” and “hybrids” are manufactured largely from recycled materials. Reduced weight, improved gas mileage. Lower overall costs for consumers. Commercially available engine components allow certain types of cars to run on vegetable oil. Significantly reduced greenhouse gases. “Going Green” is an accepted catch-phrase which encompasses any plan or idea that results in improvements to the ecology.

Adjust Your Thinking Tell yourself “It can be done.” Imagine your success, and believe in it. Look around. Change your point of view. There are no barriers. Think outside of the box. Teamwork: Get an outside perspective, or better yet, a variety of perspectives.

Yesterday 1930: Chester Carlson and Otto Kornei discovered black powder that adheres to paper when subjected to light and photo-static charge. Every company they demonstrated this for dismissed Carlson and Kornei’s idea as having no potential for business. Every company except one…

Today The “Xerox Process” technology exists in every modern business, office environment and home. Xerox is a Fortune™ 500 company. The word “Xerox” is interchangeable with “photocopy.”

Shifting Your Paradigm Don’t look at the world as it is and ask, “Why?” Look at the world as it could be and ask, “Why not?” - JFK Don’t be satisfied with the status quo. Your past is not your future. You are your thoughts. Your thoughts are your behavior. Change your thoughts, change your behavior.

Yesterday “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home…” –Ken Olsen, founder of DEC Corporation, 1977

Today Computer systems are a key component in everyone’s life in Faster, more portable, and more user-friendly. An internet connection is now as indispensible as a refrigerator in most homes. addresses and Facebook connections are now given out more often than one’s phone number.

Final Thoughts… You are the only person on earth who can use your ability. The man who has no imagination is like the bird that has no wings. Do not follow where the path may lead… Instead, go where no one has walked, and leave a trail. If there is no wind, row. If opportunity does not knock, build a door. A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. Make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks. It’s easier to go down a hill than to go up, but nobody descends a hill for the view.

Kevin P. O’Connor The 25 Most Notable Quotes in Tech History – Technologizer.com Source: The Power of Paradigms, Larry Agresto