Point of View Shift Is Worth 80 IQ Points

Out-of-the-box thinking is quite familiar. However, the idea that taking a different point of view can literally be worth as much as adding 80 points to your IQ takes this concept to a much higher level.

First, an example of the reverse: Blind, deaf and dumb – with ridiculously low IQ’s – is how the management at Xerox must have seemed to Alan Kay. Management was well educated, but they failed to see the vast market potential for the cutting edge technology that the small group of computer engineers at Xerox Parc had developed.

This group of 20 smart scientists and engineers had created the technology that resulted in computer workstations (that inspired the Macintosh and Windows), Ethernet, network “client-servers,” graphical user interface (GUI), the Smalltalk programming language, desktop publishing, and laser printing.

Yet, management just didn’t “get it.”

The only way Alan Kay could explain how management failed to recognize that each of these ideas represented a multi-million (and often billion) dollar market was with this insight.

Another example: “Crazy” is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says they will charge $15.00 for what you can get for 34¢.

Yet, this is exactly what FedEx did. Fred Smith’s point of view shift was to make sure that mission critical documents could be delivered reliably overnight, and tracked as well. The concept behind FedEx seems obvious today, but at the time, people told Fred Smith he was completely nuts.

You can use “point of view shifts” to help level the playing field when competing with very smart people in your market place.

Here’s how to apply this concept to your business: Open your mind to the shifts that are possible. Think about how each insight in this book could apply to you.

Ask yourself: “How can I shift the point of view from this insight to add to my results?”

Don’t edit, and don’t be afraid of crazy answers. Sometimes the craziest answers lead to the biggest breakthroughs.

Jim Lanford is an award-winning engineer who has been designing complex software and integrating state-of-the-art hardware for more than 25 years, including developing the Spartan 1 Space Shuttle Ground Station. He and his wife, Audri, have created three very different businesses including:

  • One of the fastest growing private companies in the US, an Inc. 500 company (Micro Dynamics),
  • The oldest and largest direct results Internet marketing company (NETrageous Inc.), and now… WZ.com, the #1 online company connecting busy people with what they love to do. Jim is currently President and Chief Technical Officer of WZ.com.