Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week: Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week

You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?' - George Bernard Shaw

Navy SEALs are creative problem-solvers. The reader may be asking what is that. According to John Maxwell in Minute with Maxwell, creative people:

The main characteristic of a creative person is very simple: They believe there is always an answer. And it is that that causes them to create. It’s the hope. It’s the belief that they can do something that makes a difference.

Navy SEALS have gone through various trainings including Hell Week, asked why, learned and built on previous experiences so that when an issue arises, they are prepared to analyze the situation and develop various creative scenarios to solve a problem. Hayes stated in Never Enough A Navy SEAL Commander on Living a Life of Excellence, Agility and Meaning (p. 22-23):

To sum it up, when you're faced with the hardest problems, you go to a SEAL. We're trained to be experts in getting to a desired outcome, and, in fact, figuring out multiple ways to get there. We pick the best risk-adjusted plan of attack, and then we execute. We're dynamic-we process information on the fly and change the plan as needed.

Like SEALs, we should be continually gaining new knowledge, analyzing it and preparing to create various scenarios to solve problems. As was discussed in the post on flexibility, SEALs have to change in an instant based on the circumstances they encounter just like we do in our daily lives. Continually developing the skill of creativity provides the reader with the opportunity to improve thought processes to come up with new, different and often unconventional ideas.

To develop creativity, the reader should find their strengths, which is where he/she will have the biggest impact and focus on solving problems there. As issues are resolved, a thrill will develop inside the reader and he/she will strive toward resolving more problems (Maxwell – Creativity).

Next week, we will discuss how Navy SEALs solve problems.

ACTION: When you work to solve a problem, how many ideas do you come up with? As Maxwell said, there is always one answer and many times more than just one way to solve a problem. What can you do this week to work on solving problems creatively?

Resources

· https://www.skipprichard.com/how-to-lead-like-a-navy-seal/

· This is How You Solve Every Problem, the Navy SEAL Way | Jocko Willink | Goalcast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgD6jzDA0BA

· How to be Creative - https://johnmaxwellteam.com/2021-how-to-be-creative/?c=jmax-em-np-bo&jmtc=mwm-word&jmta=mwm-word-cta

· https://www.inc.com/brent-gleeson/9-ways-to-be-as-productive-as-a-navy-seal.html

· SEAL Reunion with Mike Hayes, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/seal-reunion-with-mike-hayes-bonus-ep-3/id1498149200?i=1000508395297

· Hayes, Mike. (2021). Never Enough A Navy SEAL Commander on Living a Life of Excellence, Agility and Meaning. Celadon Books.

· Wasdin, Howard E. (2011). SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper. [Audiobook] Blackstone Publishing.

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyJ_hhninDw

· https://www.bradford.ac.uk/careers/develop-skills/adapt-flex/

· https://drexel.edu/goodwin/professional-studies-blog/overview/2019/September/4-ways-to-boost-your-adaptability-skills/

· https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Flexible-at-Work#:~:text=%20How%20to%20Be%20Flexible%20at%20Work%20,and%20employees%20to%20be%20more%20creative.%20More%20