January 2023 — Peripheral Thinkers™ Newsletter
January 15, 2023
Aloha Peripheral Thinkers™,
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Peripheral Thinkers™ Newsletter. PTN #001.
This may be a newsletter, a blog, or the ramblings of a guy with too many ideas and not enough time…
Nevertheless, this is for you. To serve you. To inform, challenge, and occasionally entertain you. So, if you like it, share it. If you disagree with something, please tell me. If something’s confusing, ask me.
The goal is to provide alternative perspectives that move you and your business beyond obstacles and empower you to thrive in any environment/market condition.
Glad you are here!
🤙🏽 Paul
Peripheral Thinking™ Background
Other than a term that’s somewhat difficult to say, what the heck is Peripheral Thinking™?
A little over 10% of the population is born with secret super-skills. While a small percentage of the population, these people represent a disproportionate percentage of notable innovators. From corporate pioneers to scientists to world-class athletes—these leaders raised the bar for their professions and, in some cases, created new industries.
Henry Ford, Ann Bancroft (explorer), da Vinci, Edison, Agatha Christie, JFK, Richard Branson, Erin Brockovich, Muhammad Ali, and more.
All innovators.
All Dyslexic.
We’ve cracked the code to the innovative, super-solver, swiss army knife dyslexic brain.
So, I translated the super-skills to support the neurotypical 90%.
In general terms, Peripheral Thinking™ is an unconventional approach to finding and applying seemingly unrelated ideas, principles, and proven solutions and combining them in new ways. It’s a new way of pulling meaning from everyday experiences to expose patterns and hidden paths that move you beyond obstacles. It informs the way you communicate, connect, and empathize with people. It exponentially increases the resources you can tap into at will.
A Peripheral Perspective – The Recession
The recession occupies quite a few news cycles. This recession acts differently than previous recessions. Inflation increases, but consumer spending continues—albeit a bit slower, and employment rates are, well, up, down, sideways, depending on who’s reporting.
57% of people polled said the recession is their 2023 top business issue. Shrink the staff. Cut costs. Hunker down. Hold on. Do what it takes to survive.
So what about Building? Growing? Thriving? Yes, uncertainty can put your growth and innovation on hold. For example, look at recent layoffs by Amazon, Salesforce, Meta, Netflix, and Twitter.
Musk’s first day at Twitter.
Okay, maybe Twitter layoffs had less to do with the recession than the guy carrying the sink.
Still, shame on these companies for dismissing what we’ve known about since early 2022. The changing landscape of governments, financial markets, and businesses, in general, is nothing new. So, where’s the creative problem-solving and innovative culture that built these ginormous companies now?
It doesn’t have to be this way for you and your business.
You can thrive in any market condition when you know where and how to look for opportunities.
For example, here are a few innovations created DURING the Great Depression:
💡 Transparent adhesive tape – 1930
💡 Electric Guitar – 1931
💡 Miracle Whip – 1933
💡 Parking Meter – 1935
💡 Photocopier – 1937
💡 Walkie Talkie – 1937
💡 Chocolate Chip Cookies – 1938
See more – google “innovations created during the great depression.”
What they have in common are uncommon perspectives. The innovators used every available element, regardless of its source or current purpose, to create something to overcome an obstacle. You can too.
The elements for your breakthrough innovation are all around you—waiting to be applied.
Here’s how to thrive in any market condition:
1. Challenge your own conventional wisdom. Ask yourself:
What evidence is there that mine/ours is the best approach?
What processes have been in place for more than 18 months? And when was the last time we questioned their efficacy?
What is our “sacred cow?” That thing, thought, product, or belief you are afraid to challenge. What if the sacred cow was gone?
2. Explore your periphery for ideas, principles, and proven solutions.
You don’t have to go far. Look out the window. Take a walk. What do you see?
Think of one memorable personal experience from the last 14 days. Why is it memorable? What’s the lesson or principle that contributed to its memorableness? (I’m dyslexic. I have permission to make up words.)
Google “Top 10 innovations in [unrelated industry].”
3. Now, apply them to your challenge/goal.
Break down your new insights, lessons, and principles into elements.
Combine complementary elements to create your new approach, method, solution, offering…
What has worked in another industry for decades can be stripped down, polished, and reassembled to change the trajectory of your business and industry.
You’re getting a glimpse into the thought process of some of the world’s most prolific innovators. Look beyond the typical/conventional. Seek out, acknowledge, and appreciate value wherever you find it. Then, apply these valuable principles, regardless of source, to bolster your business and propel you beyond your challenges, competition, and even the recession.
Now you’re starting to see like a Peripheral Thinker™!
Projects in the Periphery
🤙🏽 Creating an online home for the newsletters
🤙🏽 Preparing for the first cohort of business leaders for the Peripheral Thinking™ workshop.
One More Thing
It isn’t lost on me that I—a dyslexic—coined Peripheral Thinking™, even after learning that it can be challenging to pronounce.
Maybe it’s twisted humor or a subconscious poke at Rudolph Berlin for coining the word “Dyslexia.” A word that only a neurotypical scientist can spell and pronounce (/dəsˈleksēə/). A word that implies a physical disease of the brain. Jokes on you, Rudy!
Peripheral Thinking ™
/pəˈrif(ə)rəl/ /ˈTHiNGkiNG/ /paulˈz-$-4-ˈloiər/
Until next time, I’ll be looking for you in the periphery.
Mahalo,
🤙🏽
Paul