Escape Adulthood

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The Magic Question That Will Make You The Most Innovative Person You Know

The world is changing at an ever-increasing pace. Meanwhile, most of us are being asked to do more with less. The answer to a prosperous and glorious future, it seems, is innovation. That’s all well and good, except for the fact that innovation is often regarded as one step away from sorcery. It is reserved for the super smart, super creative, or super inhabitants of Silicon Valley. Hogwash. You can be more innovative, right now, today. (I don't care if you are reading this in your pajamas or your hair looks like it just took on a tornado.) The dictionary tells us that innovation is merely the introduction of a new and better method, idea or thing. That's it. So yeah, the iPhone was a pretty ginormous innovation. But you know what else was? The person who came up with the idea to put tennis balls on walkers. Apparently they add value somehow, because every walker I've ever seen has one on each leg. Contrary to popular belief, innovation can be easy, but only if you …

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Purple People

If you are reading this, you are in an amazing company of people. Seriously. I hope that you get value out of these weekly messages from me, but there is so much inspiration to be found within this merry band of Adultitis Fighters! Of course we highlight some of them with our Adultitis Fighter of the Month award, but that’s just scratching the surface. A few weeks ago, I wrote about purple goats. Maybe you had to be there, but you can read that post here. The idea was about how we can make a big difference in our families and workplaces by making a conscious decision to stand out. I challenged everyone to be a little more “purple,” and share the results. Here are some of my favorite examples: Melissa Webster has only been working for her company for a few months, but in her role of sending internal communications, she is already gaining a reputation for having emails worth reading for their light-hearted entertainment value alone. She gives out virtual high fives, apology poems …

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The Post-It Noted Desk

Once upon a time, a woman named Janie went to a professional development conference for her job. After being out of the office for several days, she returned to work to find her desk had been vandalized. More specifically, it was aggressively "post-it noted" by two "fun, funny, and amazing co-workers." (Her words.) She reported, "It was so great to see and read what they wrote, I felt this lift like you can't imagine." In a related story, Adultitis was heard nearby weeping silently in a restroom stall. It's no secret that the workplace is one of Adultitis' favorite breeding grounds. But it doesn't have to be. Everyone goes on vacation. Or gets sick once in a while. Why couldn't you have everyone in the office write one thing they admire about that person on a post-it note while they are away? How much time would that require? How much money would you have to allocate in the budget for this? What sort of impact do you think that would make? In case you're …

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Purple Goats

One my favorite books is "Purple Cow" by Seth Godin. Sounds a little like a children's book, but the premise of this marketing classic is that brown cows are not very interesting. Purple cows, on the other hand, are remarkable. They get people talking. Godin suggests that in order to stand out in business, you need to become a "purple cow." I saw this in action during a recent vacation in Door County, Wisconsin. We were at the famous Al Johnson's restaurant, where they have goats hanging out on the grass-covered roof. We happened to be seated near a window where we could watch passersby looking at the goats. Almost everyone was taking pictures, their smiling faces lit with joy. I guarantee you that if the same group of goats were in a fenced-in paddock a half mile down the road, there would be no crowd, no cameras, no joy. But on the bright green roof of a restaurant on a busy street in the middle of town? Different story. Interesting, huh? By the way, the food is also …

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One Way To Keep Your Team Energized During Football Season

"Jump Around" by Jason Kotecki. Acrylic on canvas. Original available here. This painting was inspired by a tradition that Badger fans have at University of Wisconsin football games. Between the third and fourth quarters, the song “Jump Around” is boomed through the loudspeakers and all of the red-clad fans do exactly that. It reminded me of those old electronic football games in which tiny plastic athletes buzzed around on an green metal field. Readers of a certain age will know exactly what I’m talking about, and this painting will bring back all sorts of memories. For the of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, well, I guess you had to be there. With football season now upon us, I am reminded of a cool idea the leader of an insurance agency shared with me at one of my speaking programs. During pigskin season, he allows his employees to wear jeans and the jersey of their favorite college or pro team. (He even buys the jersey as a welcome aboard present!) Then, if …

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A Practical Guide to Mixing Business and Pleasure

"Monkey Business" by Jason Kotecki. Oil on canvas. Original is sold. Prints available here. "He’s all business.” “Let’s get down to business.” “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” Business is usually regarded as serious stuff. Too bad, because it doesn’t have to be. Some people seem to think that when it comes to business, you can’t have fun and be successful at the same time. Which is the dumbest thing ever. Leaders who see the power in bringing fun to the workplace are smart enough to understand that having a little fun in no way diminishes the seriousness in which one takes his or her responsibility. The cool thing is that fun can be a competitive advantage. The old saw is true: People like doing business with people they like. If two real estate agents or financial advisors or home child care providors are equally proficient in what they do, but one is way more fun to work with, which one will make more money? The truth is, there is no reason you can't …

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What To Do When All The Leaders Stink

For the past seven years, I have had the privilege of doing a program on life balance with young leaders in the field of civil engineering. We talk a lot about the different demands that come from balancing an upwardly mobile career path with a family and other relationships. A lot of venting takes place about the "old guard” and how out of touch some of the senior parters are at some firms. It’s always a fascinating discussion that I enjoy facilitating. Leadership is an interesting thing. The leaders of your country, your boss, and those people on the school board might all very well be nincompoops. Not much you can do about that, I suppose. But instead of whining about your superiors and the people in charge, it might be more useful to think about the people looking up to you. I’m talking about your kids, your grandkids, as well as anyone you might be responsible for at work. What do they see in YOU? What kind of decisions do they see you making? What priorities do …

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The Upside of Nonsense

"Invasion" by Jason Kotecki. Oil on canvas. 20x20 inches. Original and prints available here. I love macarons. I only had my first one a few years ago, but it was love at first bite. Not only am I always on the lookout for ways to get them in my belly, but I decided it was time to get them into some paintings. They’re so cute and colorful, after all, and perhaps keeping myself busy painting them would help distract me enough to keep me from eating them. I like the whimsy that comes from playing with scale; making something smaller or bigger than it would be in real life. Perhaps this reflects my early fascination with dollhouses, dioramas, and Micro Machine cars. One day, as I was doodling in my sketchbook, it occurred to me that a macaron looked a little bit like a flying saucer, and that was all she wrote. My imagination concocted a great scene in which an army of macaron UFOs descended upon a field of grazing cows. Naturally one would have to be taken as a specimen for …

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Do You Know the Real Reason They Made Stonehenge?

I remember the painting critiques back in art school. After spending several weeks working on our masterpieces, we’d all sit in a circle and explain what our paintings were about. Someone would inevitably say their piece was a postmodern reaction to the phycological impact of the industrial revolution that caused existential dread. To me it looked like a canvas with some paint sloppily applied. It did seem like the students who were better at making “serious" art got better grades. (Or perhaps they were just better at explaining why their art was serious.) Perhaps this is why, after making this painting of Stonehenge, constructed with ice cream sandwiches, I feel obliged to explain why. There are many theories about what Stonehenge is, who built it, when it was built, and what purpose it served. Many theories, but nobody knows for sure. Of course, someone put them there. Someone had a reason for it. Most theories assume it served some sort of “serious” purpose concerning …

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The Power of Turning Things Upside Down

Whenever I draw a portrait, I always do something that my wife thinks is weird. After I get the major shapes and outlines blocked in, I turn my reference photos and artwork upside down. Then I keep drawing. The reason I do this I because inevitably, during the course of a portrait, I get to a point where something seems "off." Because I think I know what a nose is "supposed" to look like, I get lazy, and draw what I "know," not what I see. Turning my paper upside down tricks my brain into forgetting this is a "nose" so I can see it for what it really is: areas of shape and form. In order to nail the likeness, I need to focus on values and lines, not noses and eyes. I need to rely on reality, not assumptions. This simple trick immediately allows me to see where I went wrong so I can make the necessary adjustments. The cool thing is that you can use this same strategy to make your life, relationships, or business better. Sometimes it's not new ideas we need, but a new …

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