July 2023 - Peripheral Thinkers™ Newsletter
July 15, 2023
Aloha Peripheral Thinkers™,
Thank you for being part of the growing Peripheral Thinkers™ community.
Welcome to the July 2023 edition of the Peripheral Thinkers™ Newsletter.
This edition may ruffle some feathers, but only if you don’t read all of the A Peripheral Perspective section.
If you are new or want a refresher, here’s an overview of Peripheral Thinking™ 👉🏽 https://www.pauldanielsjr.com. Click the link and scroll down to “What is Peripheral Thinking™?”
Be sure to come back or check it out after reading the newsletter. Just a suggestion for those of us easily distrac… Oooo! A squirrel just jumped from that branch…
This newsletter is for you. To serve you. To inform, challenge, and occasionally entertain you. To help you overcome obstacles, find new paths to growth and innovation, and thrive in any situation.
So…
If you like it, please tell others to subscribe 👉🏽 https://bit.ly/4bIdzNK
If you disagree with something, tell me 👉🏽 paul@pauldanielsjr.com
If something’s confusing, ask me 👉🏽 hello@pauldanielsjr.com
Okay! Let’s get to it!
🏄🏽♂️😎
A Peripheral Perspective:
Group Dynamics and Growth
When groups spend a lot of time together, they create common views, approaches, and desires. You see this in military units. Sports teams. Executives that move from company to company. Film production units. Mastermind groups. Members trust each individual’s skills and ability to contribute to the goal. They move as one.
In Darren Hardy’s The Compound Effect, “According to research by social psychologist Dr. David McClelland of Harvard, the people you habitually associate with determine as much as 95 percent of your success or failure in life.”
I suspect you have chosen your people/group wisely.
The flip side of a group is solitude. Good for self-reflection, but extended periods can cause mental and physical ailments. According to the CDC, “Social isolation is associated with about a 50% increased risk of dementia. Poor social relationships (characterized by social isolation or loneliness) are associated with a 29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.”
We can agree that good people are good for you. We are better together than alone.
Right?
You need to say goodbye to your group.
Wait. What???
Change groups!
You need to change to grow as a business leader. Do it before the change is made for you.
You know the change is being made for you when:
You are growing but not improving.
What’s worked doesn’t produce the results you expect.
Your innovation v10.0 (product/service/model/…) is an iteration v8.2.
You get the same advice—or variations of the same perspective—from your inner circle. You may even have your own language and phrases. “3-legged stool.” “Northbound train.” “Cash is king.”
The “change” is a slow, almost imperceptible homologation of thought.
These are just a few indications that the change is being made for you. You are succumbing to self-imposed, group-created conventional wisdom.
How to create the change:
Meet 3+ new people per month, specifically those different from your group. In a different neighborhood. Different city/state/country. Different profession. Different culture.
Spend 90+ minutes with each new person over the month.
You may feel like an outsider at first. That is a VERY GOOD thing.
Learn how they live, think, work, handle challenges, and achieve goals.
These are a few things to start your change.
The point is to disrupt your patterns and make room for new perspectives.
A 2020 study by The University of South Florida, published in the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, found that those who increased activity diversity [aka variety] exhibited higher levels of cognitive functioning than those who maintained lower or decreased activity diversity.
If variety is the spice of life, then fill your cupboard with different spices. The more perspectives you have from different people, the more resources you have to create anything you can imagine.
To grow AND improve your business, be a creator of change and a collector of perspectives.
Now get out there and meet new people!
Until next time, I’ll be looking for you in the periphery.
🤙🏽
P.S. If you absolutely cannot let go of your current group, share this newsletter with them. Make a pact to meet new people and share what you are learning with each other. Better still, invite different people to join your group.
Three Quick Things
Invite your friends and colleagues to subscribe to the Peripheral Thinkers™ Newsletter👉🏽 https://bit.ly/4bIdzNK
Send me a topic, question, or situation to address in a future newsletter.
Do you or someone you know need a handsome, thought-provoking, inspiring keynote speaker for their event? I know a guy 😎 👉🏽 https://www.pauldanielsjr.com/speaker
Thank you for making this group a special, perspective-rich place!
Cheers,
Paul