The Optimist with the Killer Ideas

The man from down under has a smile almost as wide as the Sydney Bridge. When you speak, he listens very carefully to your opinion. When he talks, he communicates a constant sense of optimism.

Tim Duggan persists in bringing a touch of bright Australian sunshine to business discussions with a bunch of deceptively unorthodox business ideas, all delivered in a soft Aussie accent.

This includes ways to address the challenges many of us face as we try to convince our colleagues about the importance of improving mental health in the workplace.

For example, on our Wellbeing Hour he cheerfully explains that he “loathes brain storming” as normally when it’s conducted in a business environment, he  argues it usually leads to ‘group think’ with everyone endorsing the ideas of the HIPPO in the room. The HIPPO, in case you are wondering, is the ‘HIghest Paid Person’s Opinion.’  Tim has found a different approach that has resulted in better problem solving in his various business activities.

He believes that no matter what we do or what responsibilities we hold at work – we all have creative ideas to contribute and these are best gathered in this three step process:

1. Ask everyone to turn the problem into questions
2. Develop answers to these questions by yourself
3. Share and consider all the answers together to reach the best outcomes

Tim argues that providing all employees with “Psychological safety,” means  “allowing people at all levels to feel safe in developing their creative side, and this is the key to developing killer ideas.”  It’s also valuable, he says, to allow team members to build on each other’s ideas and that involves genuine active listening.

“Who has come up with the best ideas?”  This was the question Tim asked in the research for his best-selling book* and from this, he has developed a method for us all to come up with our own, “KILLER”  ideas. The ingredients coupled with a great deal of listening, are:

Kind, Impactful, Loved, Lasting, Easy, Repeatable

Tim emphasises the importance of kindness in building a mentally healthy business environment where transparency is common, creativity is encouraged and great ideas blossom.

“Kindness can be viewed as wishy washy and unimportant,” he concedes. “But viewed as a strength rather than a weakness, it becomes something very different.”

If Tim’s ideas and approach to business sound to you like an understanding of the value that a servant leader can bring to business, then you’re probably correct.

It seems clear from the latest mental health news that many companies would benefit from a better working environment.  Last week the UK press reported that a recent government study revealed that 20 per cent of the population have some mental health issues whether it’s stress, anxiety, depression or other serious clinical conditions.

So, if you’re feeling a little bit down about the seemingly intractable problems at work on a wet and windy Monday morning, you could do worse than listen to the Wellbeing Hour featuring a broadly smiling self-confessed optimist and hunter for killer ideas called Tim Duggan.

*Killer Thinking: How to turn Good Ideas into brilliant ones,  is a critically acclaimed book by Tim Duggan.  He is the Winner of Best Entrepreneurship Book at the 2021 Australian Business Book Awards for his first book, Cult Status: How to build a Business People adore. Tim has co-founded several digital media ventures and is Chairman of the Digital Publishers Alliance an organisation with over 200 members.

Posted by: Headtorch
Date: 4th April 2023
Category: Uncategorised