iPad Wrapup and Thinking Hats
A lot of my techie friends and co-workers are disappointed with the iPad. They were hoping for a MacBook with the keyboard trimmed off; not a giant sized iPhone.
In case you haven’t seen it, here is a more passionate response: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQnT0zp8Ya4
Mark Cuban has a very different point of view of the device than anyone I’ve seen. Rather than whining about the shortcomings, he is able to see all kinds of possibilities. Okay question – for those of you who have young children, are you giving your kid your iPhone to play with while you are busy pushing the grocery cart at Safeway? I have seen this before not just at the store but also in restaurants – as something to keep the kid occupied. Parents are willing to spend spend spend when it comes to improving the lives of their kids. Perhaps there is something here.
Let us step back for a second: the techies see this as a disappointment, yet Mister Cuban is able to look at the possibilities. Is this the difference between the average person versus someone who is a successful businessman?
As a nerdy geeky techie, we (and I specifically) are more naturally comfortable with factual things. We are most comfortable with one point of view of the world – our view. In order to go beyond, we need to be able to see things from more than one point of view. Specifically, it is precisely when you are feeling negative about something, that is when it is the best time to try on the “Yellow Hat“.
I was in the UBC BizzComm Club back when I was doing my masters and there was a seminar offered where the Thinking Hats system was introduced to us. We actually tried out the different “Hats” and tried to see something from the different point of views. It was interesting how some people’s opinions were so strong and entrenched that they were not giving all the hats a fair chance – in particular the “Yellow Hat” of positive points, when they have already decided on the opposite point of view.
Being objective is easy – because you are dealing with facts. But being able to force yourself to try out different points of view just for the sake of seeing things differently – it is truly a challenging exercise. If you weren’t thrilled about the iPad, can you think of something positive about the product in ways that it can make your life better? What ideas do you have about the iPad when you have the Yellow Hat on?
