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Tom Bolt

There Are No Stupid Questions – Shallow Motivational Tip 5

The essence of brainstorming is to facilitate free flowing ideas with no barriers to innovative thinking. Behind closed doors, everybody has a voice, nobody is allowed to criticize anyone else, and there is no evaluation of the conversation while the session is alive. There are no stupid questions or dumb ideas because inside that room there is supposed to be an air of freedom to say anything at anytime. Adjourn the meeting, open the door,… Read More »There Are No Stupid Questions – Shallow Motivational Tip 5

Thinking Outside the Box – Shallow Motivational Tip 4

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Apparently the shelf life of a mind puzzle is some number approaching infinity. Over 40 years ago a brain teaser composed of nine dots in a 3 x 3 matrix on a page was first published by that famous author Anonymous. The trick was to connect all nine dots with four continuous straight lines without lifting the pen from the page or tracing over another line. The rules of the game never mentioned that those… Read More »Thinking Outside the Box – Shallow Motivational Tip 4

Failure Is Not an Option – Shallow Motivational Tip 3

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The thrilling movie “Apollo 13” gave us a vivid depiction of the real life drama of rescuing a team of astronauts when everything was against them. Fortunately, the people on the ground tasked with problem solving did not accept failure as an option… but realistically it was in fact the most likely option and that fact loomed large in their minds. It was the value of human life and passion for their mission that motivated… Read More »Failure Is Not an Option – Shallow Motivational Tip 3

No “I” in Team – Shallow Motivational Tip 2

Most motivational sayings do have some foundation in fact and an element of truth if taken at face value. Accepting pithy platitudes as gospel is shallow at best and dangerous if taken to be an all encompassing truism. We have all seen various posters proclaiming that “There’s no ‘I’ in Team” that has an obvious reference to someone bringing an overinflated ego into a group situation and destroying the cohesiveness of the effort. This one… Read More »No “I” in Team – Shallow Motivational Tip 2

The Comfort Zone – Shallow Motivational Tip 1

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We live in a sound bite world where popular culture and trends sometimes defy common sense. Catchy phrases are framed and hung on our walls to give us motivation to excel above the normal, to give courage when we have fear, to overcome insurmountable obstacles, and to make tons of money for the slogan companies that print and frame them. If there is a personalized meaning to any of these shiny placards, it can provide… Read More »The Comfort Zone – Shallow Motivational Tip 1