Do You Need a Less Planning & A Little More Gut in Your PR Program?
I’ve read a few too many articles about Steve Jobs in the last month. Like many, I was intrigued by his brilliance and what made him tick. He listened to his gut, for better and for worse. He also had an innate sense of what customers wanted – before they even knew they wanted it. How and where did he get his inspiration? This quote from an article in Wired struck me:
Once he [Jobs] recalled for me some of the long summers of his youth. “I’m a big believer in boredom,” he told me. “Boredom allows one to indulge in curiosity,” he explained, and “out of curiosity comes everything.” The man who popularized personal computers and smartphones — machines that would draw our attention like a flame attracts moths — worried about the future of boredom. “All the [technology] stuff is wonderful, but having nothing to do can be wonderful, too.”
Easier said than done, but he makes a good point.
A recent article in The Globe & Mail points to a growing body of research suggesting that going with your gut can be surprisingly effective, but it is heavily dependent on your level of expertise and on your ability to trust your feelings.
What does this mean for how we can improve our PR strategies? I’d say we need to stay curious and find ways to push ourselves to grow professionally. But it also calls for the need to plan some down time. Take the time to regularly refresh yourself. And take some risks listening to your gut. It might not provide the perfect answer every time, but those random little thoughts could also open the door to something exciting. Next time you have that gut feeling, bounce it off of someone else.
In a world where everything is speeding up faster and faster, and more demands keep piling up, our challenge is in finding time to slow down. There is powerful energy in silence. We need that time to allow our minds to wander and for our gut to guide the way.
How do you clear time to listen to your gut?
Photo by Patrick Hoesly
Connect with Kellie:
Email: kellie@blisspr.com
Twitter: @kshe
LinkedIn: Kellie Sheehan