‘Eccentric listening is like listening to a creative child tell a story. The storyline is curved and rambling, rarely straight; the insight is hidden, rarely in plain view.’

You listen to hear what people are not saying. You are not there to teach them. You are there to just listen, to know, to connect, and to exchange ideas.

‘We sometimes can’t see for looking, can’t hear for eavesdropping, and can’t appreciate for thinking. Be with customer as they are, not as you want them to be.’

When you are with people, be there. See the world through their eyes, not through yours. Listen to learn, not to talk. Listen to understand, not to teach. Listen to know, not to judge.

‘Focus requires seeing the collective target in sharp color, with all around it in blurred black and white.’

Focus is seeing what other people are not seeing. It is seeing what people are not saying, but they are doing it.

‘Accountability has two sides: ‘you can count on me’ and ‘there will be an accounting.’ Both require promises to be kept.’

If you want people to respect you, do what you say you will do.

‘Discovery is not like hunting for Easter eggs with a colorful basket of fake straw; discvery is like Indiana Jones’s Ark of the Covenant hunting … with snakes! There are risks.

Discovery is embracing the unknown. It is risky, but it brings out the best in people.

‘Truth-telling takes enough compassion to send the very best; truth-hearing takes enough humility to receive the very worst.’

Great people tell the truth. It is hard to do. That is why weak people don’t do it.

‘Agreements are statement of promise, the blueprints of cooperation. They promote a meeting of the minds, the deterrent to disappointment.’

When you agree to something, you are honoring yourself. You are honoring your values.

‘Co-creation partnerships are free-ideas zones because they are neighborhoods of acceptance and goodness.’

Co-creation brings great minds together. When you co-create, you exchange great ideas.

‘Growth, like imagination, requires discovery and a daredevil-like confidence to let go of a fear of mistakes and embrace something new and different.’

Growth doesn’t happen by accident. Growth is life. Growth is doing the right things, with what you have, and with the right people. Growth is letting go of what you don’t want anymore, what is no longer serving you, your organization, your people, and your customers.

‘Innovation is the process of awakening, nurturing, and growing- just like the wheat seeds.’

Innovation is a mindset. Innovation means recreation. If you can innovate, you can grow.

Source:

Chip R. Bell (2020). Inside Customer’s Imagination: 5 Secrets for Creating Breakthrough Products, Services, and Solutions