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Business Rule #21:
Think Big, Think Fast
March 11, 2005
by Marlene Caroselli
John Gafford didn’t think big enough or fast enough. And now he's gone. The man who claimed to have it all showed a less-than-stellar side of himself as he met with the stars. We saw the black holes of his personality: the me-me-me focus, the interruptions, and the sexist statements. Did he really say, "I will sell these women to you." and “It’s time to pimp some girls!”? Is it possible that this professional man saw his role in this week’s task as a street pimp? You heard it. So did I!
It was the one-idea mindset that really led to his downfall, especially in view of Trump's exhortation to "go big or go home." John clearly did not go big.
Magna, by contrast, had magnum ideas such as a whole week with a celebrity band. The chance to spend a week rocking with a star yielded nearly twice as much money as Net Worth was able to raise. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation reaped the benefits. Last week, we saw how big thinking led to big winnings too. The decision to ask for exclusive cross-promotions was pivotal to Magna’s success.
So how do you go about thinking big? Let me count the ways for you.
1) Have some “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals,” in the words of author Jim Collins. Start anywhere and then double, triple, and quadruple your hopes. It's been said, after all, that we should make no small plans because small plans have no power to stir the soul.
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2) List all your assumptions and then try working without them. To illustrate, look at this problem, free yourself from assumptions, and then try to figure out the answer:
Imagine you heard about a man who finally got out of jail. The first thing he did was push a car to a nearby hotel where he left a large amount of money. Then he pushed the car to a house in the area and left money there too, although not as much money as before. What explanation can you give for this scenario
3) Another technique for refusing to be boxed in by assumptions is to have everyone restate the problem or situation as he understands it.
4) Periodically ask yourself "What if...." questions. Get in the habit of thinking fantastically. After all, it's easier to tame a wild idea than to invigorate a lame one.
John might have been able to save himself in the boardroom. But alas, he was unable to think as quickly as Chris Shelton did. For a while there, I figured Chris would be the one to go. The Terrible Trio was pouncing on him. If he was the best negotiator on the team, they asked, why didn't he do the negotiating? They attacked his leadership. They attacked his judgment. They attacked his decision-making.
But Chris gave as hard as he got and saved his neck with some fast thinking. He pointed out that no matter how enticing the celebrity events were, if people were switching channels out of boredom, they wouldn't be placing bids anyway.
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Get in the habit of thinking fantastically. After all, it's easier to tame a wild idea
