Be like George Costanza
Sometimes "doing the opposite" is the best strategy. Give it a try.
*Today’s free tool: CT16 - DO THE OPPOSITE
Dating myself, there's a classic episode from the TV show Seinfeld where George, the lovable loser in the show, sits down at a diner with his friend Jerry. He says something to the extent of, "Every instinct I've ever had in my life is wrong, so from now on I'm going to do the opposite." Soon after, he decides to test this new strategy and approaches an attractive woman at the nearby counter and says, "My name's George. I'm unemployed and I live with my parents." She responds with a smile, "I'm Victoria. Hi."
Doing the opposite doesn’t just work in sitcoms. Often, when confronted with a wicked problem, the smartest thing to do is to flip the traditional approach on its head and do the exact opposite. The old way isn’t working, so why not try the opposite?! One advantage is that the opposite can be easy to figure out. Trying to make a decision that lies somewhere in the murky middle can be difficult and invites complexity. An added advantage is that doing the opposite is unexpected. It makes people sit up and take notice. So, the next time something isn’t working, channel your inner George and try doing the opposite.
I’ve included CHANGEMAKING TRIMTAB 16 - DO THE OPPOSITE below to help you and your team/community/students ideate about how you might do the opposite for a specific challenge you’re facing.
Here’s the description page -
Here’s V36 referenced above to help you see a fun “DO THE OPPOSITE” approach in action. Use the QR code or hyperlink to go to the video. How might you apply this kind of approach yourself?
Here’s the team conversation worksheet -
I hope you found this helpful. Please do reach out to me at gregvankirk@gmail.com or on LinkedIn if I can be of help. And if you haven’t purchased IT’S WHAT YOU SET IN MOTION: A TOOLBOX FOR COLLABORATIVE CHANGEMAKING, go to collaborativechangemaking.com.
*Note: Contact me if you’d like to explore consulting, facilitation support, setting up a professional development workshop/ series, etc.
And please share this with anyone who you think might benefit. Much appreciated!
Greg