The Opportunity Game » Technology

The Opportunity of Too Many Opportunities

Judith Cohen, MCC, CPCC — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:35:17 +0000

Yesterday, a friend sent me a link to a blog post entitled “Don’t Keep Up With Social Technology” by Alexandra Samuel who blogs for the Harvard Business Review. Her comment accompanying the link was “has ‘opportunity’ written all over it.” You might be wondering how NOT keeping up with social technology can provide a powerful opportunity but both my friend and Alexandra Samuel are absolutely right.

Samuel’s point is that given that there are so many new social technology applications online right now and that so many new ones will continue to proliferate in the future, the only successful strategy for successfully using this technology is to stop trying to keep up with each new application that is produced. If Alexandra Samuel whose field is social technology can’t keep up, what hope do regular people not involved in the field have? So give your self a break and surrender. Keeping up is no longer a plausible response.

“So where is the opportunity here?” you might still be wondering. With a different frame of mind, you can use this glut of programs to focus on what is important to you. Rather than solely looking at the big picture of social technology such as twitter, facebook, youtube and the other software applications too numerous to mention here, focus on the smaller picture. What topics are you specifically interested in? See what software your own communities are using. For example, I spend a certain amount of time each day on facebook checking out what my community of professional coaches is doing. I respond where appropriate and I offer information that I think will be helpful to my friends and colleagues on facebook. I also focus on specific videos from youtube and vimeo.com that relate to whatever topic I am blogging about. While it might be fun to hang out on youtube and watch a number of fun videos, I don’t have the time nor is it ultimately productive for me. I am focused in my visit to the site and thus make the site beneficial to my needs.

Barry Schwartz, Ph.D. author of “The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less” was quoted in the June, 2004 APA Monitor as saying, “The presumption is, self-determination is a good thing and choice is essential to self-determination. But there’s a point where all of this choice starts to be not only unproductive, but counterproductive–a source of pain, regret, worry about missed opportunities and unrealistically high expectations.” So rather than suffering with a glut of technological applications that neither suit my or my communities’ needs, I take the opportunity to narrow my choices based upon my priorities and my values.

How do you respond to a glut of opportunities?

What works for you in the face of overwhelm and too much?

When have you stopped an entrenched behavior regarding getting more of something and what was the impact of stopping on you and those around you?

Too many opportunities may be just the trigger we need to apply some self-care and additional focus on our own true needs. Take the opportunity to stop and to focus. Less can actually be more.

The Future Presents Many Opportunities…

Judith Cohen, MCC, CPCC — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:10:10 +0000

Which ones will you choose? Check out this short video with predictions from the 1950′s as they are actually lived by some people in the present.

Watching this video made me wonder about the question, “Out of all the opportunities that we could have chosen for our current day experience what guided our choices so that we ended up here?” If we could have foreseen where we would end up would we make those same choices again? What can our present teach us about rectifying things in the future? There are many opportunities. Our present is only one of an infinite number of choices.

What choices did you make that took you to your present?
What choices can make now that will lead you to a better future?
What is the opportunity that each choice presents?

Genius or “A Ludicrous Idea”?

Judith Cohen, MCC, CPCC — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:21:58 +0000

I just came across a wonderful blog post by Allison Arieff who writes the By Design blog for the NY Times. In her latest entry she highlights the work of Steven M. Johnson whom she describes as an “inventor/author/cartoonist/former urban planner”. Johnson excels at using everyday items as catapults for thinking “outside the box”. Looking at his drawings, I’m amused and at the same time fascinated that his mind connects disparate things in the useful way that he does. I, for one, never associated driving with baking prior to seeing Johnson’s creative illustration.

Steven M. Johnson

Upon first seeing this illustration, I laughed out loud. Then on second look I thought, “Yes, that’s an interesting idea!” With even further reflection, I realized that Johnson had inspired me. What other ideas and activities could I put together that would enhance the quality of my life and others’ lives as well? I don’t have an immediate answer to this question. However, I will definitely take time to think about it.

I love the way that Johnson’s work is at once utilitarian and playful. Who wouldn’t use a toaster oven to heat up a quick bite on the way to work? On a more serious note, those people who have been forced out of their homes and are living in their cars would surely benefit from the hot meal that this toaster oven could provide. What initially seemed goofy, now feels practical. In fact, now that I’ve taken this idea seriously, I’m wondering whether a microwave oven could be even more useful.

What ideas have you dismissed as too goofy to be taken seriously?

When you remove your negative judgment about the idea, what is left?

What’s the opportunity that is waiting to be discovered?