Starting with a clean board

In our professional and personal pursuits, we often come with a lot of baggage, some useful and some rusty, from the past. Our past experiences and knowledge are useful but they can also limit our potential. We are not open to new ideas and resort to activities and routines that we are comfortable and familiar with. We try to work with people who agree with us. We try to tweak here and there a little bit and come up with a solution. It clearly impedes our creativity and our ability to achieve more.

Sometimes I find it more effective to start with a clean board. This allows me be open and think differently. This often leads me to a better solution.

I provide a few examples -

A personal experience : During one of the workshops, I was working with a group comprising of individuals from three different countries. On the first day the four of us didn't work well. All of us were suggesting solutions that had worked in our workplaces - but which were not agreeable to all of us. The 2nd day - we agreed to start afresh and without any assumptions. The result - we turned in several good suggestions.

A budgeting experience : When preparing budgets, we often base this year's budget on the last year. The result is not very accurate. Try this approach - Identify the activities that needs to be done and then do the budget. The resulting budget will be more accurate.

An organisational experience : I can't remember the company (when I do I will update it). A few years ago, the US government came out with more stringent emissions regulation for vehicles. The company, instead of improving upon the past models, designed the whole vehicle again. The company was not only able to meet the regulations but also able to come up with a more cheaper and efficient design.

When stuck with a problem or unhappy with a solution, try starting with a clean board or a blank paper.