Are You Teachable?

Let's waste some time! is a previous post I wrote about why we need to be open to new ideas. When you're doing research, you want to discover something new, which is impossible if you're attached to thinking that you already know the answers. Valuing not-knowing is the basis of all creativity and innovation. It's the state of mind that's open to all kinds of possibilities, of looking for something new, something that might even be surprising. Instead of defending old opinions or interpretations, you're looking with fresh eyes.

I was pleased to come across these two posts on half baked ideas and the courage it takes to post them. Bagging the Post (continued), from A VC,   "I do like to poke the bee hive with a stick. And take it as a conversation starter. I think we'll all benefit more from that approach.

Bloggers clamor for brief and half-baked, Stephen Baker, BusinessWeek -  " Some readers think my cookies post was half-baked".

Indeed, Seth writes about how "Small is the new big because small gives you the flexibility to change the business model when your competition changes theirs. Small means you can tell the truth on your blog. Small means that you can answer email from your customers. Small means that you will outsource the boring, low-impact stuff like manufacturing and shipping and billing and packing to others, while you keep the power because you invent the remarkable and tell stories to people who want to hear them.

These ideas are for everybody, including employees, business development managers, and execs. What are you closing your eyes/mind to? Are you teachable, can you learn something new, or do you approach things with presuppositions, assumptions, that are blinding you to possibilities?

Can you take a half baked idea and let it evolve in your mind, to become something remarkable? Or can you blog-it and share it with your coworkers and find out if it can germinate into something wonderful?