MCNews: What inspired you to look more
deeply at the subject of genius and to write Discover
Your Genius?
Gelb: After writing How to
Think Like Leonardo, I traveled the world talking
to people about the seven principles for thinking like
Leonardo, and helping them apply those principles to their
business and personal development. One of my favorite
things to point out is that Leonardo invented the parachute
long before anybody could fly! That's just a perfect example
of thinking ahead, which is what all my clients want to
be able to do.
And, in talking to people, I sensed how
this message really struck a deep chord. I still get emails
from people all over the world about how the Leonardo
book changed their lives, how they applied it to their
companies, and taught it to their kids. And, it occurred
to me that other geniuses throughout history represent
specific qualities that could round out and expand on
what I'd introduced in Leonardo.
MCNews: I'm sure people ask you this
all the time, but how did you pick the ten geniuses for
Discover Your Genius?
Gelb: I had to come up with specific
criteria: first, they had to have revolutionized the way
we look at the world, they had to have universal influence,
and they had to be timeless in their influence.
Reflecting on the idea of revolutionary
genius, I thought of things like the invention of the
wheel and harnessing fire. But, those can't ever be attributed.
So, another criterion was that the breakthroughs had to
be reasonably attributable to a given individual.
The most important criterion was that the
breakthroughs had to be useful for my readers.
So, with those criteria, I looked at all of human history.
And, that took a while!
I immersed myself in reading intellectual
histories, philosophy and the evolution of ideas and consciousness.
And, I consulted with a lot of very brilliant people.
I also stimulated a lot of conversations at dinner parties.
That's one of the really fun things about this book. Once
you lay out the criteria, it can become a very lively
conversation.
It's amazing how many nominations were based
purely on emotion, or because people liked somebody who
clearly didn't fit the criteria. Or, they wanted more
representatives of one group or another on the list. But,
the criteria reigned supreme, and the ten emerged pretty
clearly, with some close calls.
I've been asked many times if I regret leaving
out other brilliant people, but I stick by my ten. Having
said that, I encourage all my readers to make up their
own lists. One of the points I like to make is that the
title of the book has an intentional double meaning. We
are all gifted with the potential for genius at birth,
so discover your own genius. One way to do that is
to discover the people you think have done the best job
of realizing their potential, and learn from them.
MCNews: What are the key principles a
consultant can glean from the life of just one of your
geniuses, Christopher Columbus?
Gelb:
First of all, Columbus
can teach anybody the importance of absolute persistence,
ingenuity and client focus in getting a project approved.
He spent nine years getting his project approved and funded.
In those years, he learned to speak, not just the languages
of all the courts of Europe, but the dialects of the upper
classes. He himself came from a common background--his
father was a weaver. So, he was self-educated.
But, he learned to speak the upper class
dialects because he had to win over the counselors to
the kings and queens of Europe who would ultimately make
his case for him. So, to bond with them and be heard,
he had to come across as a peer. It's just a phenomenal
story of a winning presentation, of getting comfortable
in the 'client environment.'
Then, there's the metaphor that Columbus
was the first explorer to go perpendicular to the coastline,
to go out into the depths in order to discover a new world.
So, when you're looking at an organization, or an individual,
what is the greatest point of leverage to depart from
the coastline of habit?
This is the real spirit of innovation, of
creativity, that everybody talks about: identify the single
most potentially powerful point of leverage for departing
from your habitual way of doing business. Which means
that you have to be willing to tolerate being out in
the depths, having lost sight of the shore. And, you
also have to be open to the idea that although you have
an objective to discover a new world, the new world you
discover might be different from the one you set out to
find.
People criticize Columbus because he didn't
discover India. But, he shows us the importance of a bias
to action. He didn't just go sailing out into the middle
of nowhere. He did a lot of research: he studied geography
and cartography; he was a master navigator, and captain;
he was highly experienced, had navigated many challenging
waters before, and was a tremendous student of the winds,
which he knew he had to figure out in order to get home.
MCNews: He tackled a high-risk endeavor
against all odds with skill, courage and conviction.
Gelb: Right. So, he demonstrates
the importance of a bias to action. Columbus also teaches
us the power of optimism. All the geniuses are examples
of this, but Columbus is perhaps the strongest optimist
of the ten.
Martin Seligman did some studies that show
that optimists get better results across the board, but
especially in sales. He did one experiment with MetLife
in which he got them to hire the people who had scored
high on his optimism profile, but who had been disqualified
for sales jobs because they didn't meet the regular hiring
criteria. Over a year, this special optimism group outperformed
the people who were hired based on the regular criteria
by 60%.
An important element is what Seligman calls
optimistic explanatory style. How do you talk to yourself
when things go wrong? And, do you orient yourself to learn
from the experience, to do it better next time, to look
at the benefits and positive elements in your life so
that you're encouraged and you keep on trying? This is
not just to feel good, but for a very practical reason.
Your hundred billion brain cells are designed to be the
most profoundly powerful problem-solving mechanism in
the known universe. So, they're ultimately going to come
up with something if you keep your brain engaged!
MCNews: Speaking of engaging your brain,
if you have a seemingly insoluble problem, which of your
ten geniuses would you look to for help in finding an
answer?
Gelb: For problem solving in general,
without reference to specifics, I'd definitely say Einstein.
His approach is just the textbook model for creative problem
solving, which is the principle he represents in Discover
Your Genius.
Now, if I had a political problem, I'd
call on Elizabeth I. Because she was all about the
balanced and effective use of power, she is actually the
most useful ally in my corporate consulting. If I had
a personal problem, I'd look to Shakespeare. For a construction
problem, I would consult Brunelleschi. If the problem
called for courage or exploring it would be Columbus,
of course.
But, for problem solving in general,
I would turn to Einstein's methods: generate lots
of ideas, use your imagination, play with the ideas and
make new combinations with your ideas; and, make things
as simple as possible, not simpler. In fact, that was
my guiding principle in writing this book.
MCNews: In consulting, often the challenge
is to make the complex simple, without making it simplistic.
Gelb: Right--not dumb it down. But,
not fill it with gobbledygook either, which is just obfuscation.
That can be a problem in academia because some academics
think if anybody can understand this, I must not be smart
enough.
MCNews: What are you reading these days?
Gelb: I'm a fanatic of sorts and
get into things in a passionate way. Right now, that's
Shakespeare. I'm re-reading Harold Bloom's Shakespeare:
The Invention of the Human, reading the plays,
and listening to them in my car.
One of the great benefits I got from working
on Discover Your Genius is that I really
fell in love with Shakespeare. You could spend your life
studying Shakespeare and never get close to the full depths
of what he wrote. When I was a kid in school, Shakespeare
was medicine, which is unfortunately the experience of
many people. Now, I've fallen in love with the genius
of his writing and all the lessons there for us.
I'm passionate about all ten of these geniuses.
Actually, my favorite genius in the book is Thomas
Jefferson, because freedom makes everything else possible.
But for reading at the moment, it's Shakespeare, Shakespeare,
and more Shakespeare.
MCNews: It was great talking to you today.
Thanks.
* * * * *
Visit Michael Gelb at www.michaelgelb.com.
Also, note that Gelb's book, Discover Your Genius, has
a companion CD with ten of history's most brilliant musical
geniuses. Check it out at www.springhillmedia.com.
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