Tomorrow's World

This week, I’m fortunate enough to have another guest, share their thoughts on my blog.

Today – I have the Model and Actor, Arun…

…who reached out to me via Twitter, where we had conversations about Technology and Mental Health… and when I say technology… two things, one the speed of advancement in tech and secondly social media.

We know, from the blog post on Friday, there’s a huge impact on mental health from social media…. but what do you do, when someone’s state of mind is not where it should be…

Arun, shared his thoughts…

It is not easy to recognise someone’s problems, as it is can easily be confused with someone’s personality and mannerisms.

One way to take note is look at the person, notice everything they are doing, almost either completely out of character or they are behaving as if they are confused within their own words and actions. You may find someone is more panicky, angry, or generally over emotional within every reaction. 

Most people who are going through mental health problems tend to feel very lonely within themselves, and their surroundings. It is a slow process, but every small thing matters. Don’t make the person feel as if they are a charity case, and you are simply doing them a favour. Make them feel important, and that you are being genuine, because their inner feelings are something very sacred to them, and they are breaking all barriers to reveal their true self at that moment. 

Each person is different bare in mind, some want some to listen as they rant and cry, some may just want to try different activities to help stimulate their minds and body, some may just not want to talk and want to find different methods of help. Support the person in a way which is suitable to them, do not force anybody to do anything they don’t fully feel entirely comfortable with. 

Speak of your own experiences with them, maybe go to a quiet place or somewhere they feel they can be themselves, away from any potential emotional triggers that could spur their thinking process. Allow them to be them, and listen, don’t badger them with advice over and over. Allow them to breath, and eventually open up. 

In order to get others to speak up, tell your story. It might be hard for you, but it can lead to a domino effect. As more and more people open to speak up, more will find courage and strength to be free. Don’t let anger dominate, don’t let these negative emotions take over, be reassuring and positive. 

It is not easy, but each stepping stone will lead to end of the road you dream of reaching. 

Firstly, really appreciate Arun sharing his thoughts, and secondly, if you’d like to talk more about mental health, feel free to reach out to Arun via Twitter on @ArunKapur47

I’m going to admit. I love a bargain or two. If there’s something I can do or purchase, at a discounted price, then why not?

Hence why I signed up to some of these discounted sites, such as Groupon, Wowcher, etc… You know the ones… you get a regular email, letting you know you could save 50% on a day out driving Lamborghini’s and Ferrari’s.. or you could save 80% on getting your hair styled by a professional, well known stylist in the heart of London.

The latter i’ll probably give a miss, the Lamborghini however… now that is tempting. But then, this caught my eye…

Really? – you could become a Six Sigma Black Belt for £39?! – even better, it’s all on-line training.

Now – just to start off, I think on-line, e-learning is great – depending on what you’re learning.

It’s low cost, very effective and easily scaled up. I even learnt some of my coding via an Udemy course… which was all on-line.

My issue with this is  – the type of course it is. Indeed, Lean and Six Sigma can be taught in a classroom (hey… I was taught in a classroom)… and with the powers of technology, it seems that we are moving away from the classroom to on-line. Which is fine for some courses but not for this.

I’ll explain why…

Firstly, we play a lot of games in the classroom. There are a number of simulations. There is a Black Belt stood in front of you to whom you can ask numerous questions. The Black Belt has experience of doing, what you’re learning, in the real world… and could share some examples, what went wrong, hints and tips, and some reasons why you should do something in a particular way and not another.

Secondly, to be a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt… you need experience. To do a course, sit the exam and call yourself a Black Belt, in my opinion… doesn’t work – that’s just one part. You need to face real-life challenges, show that you can use the tools in real-life situations… that bring real change and real results.

Finally, the tools are one part of being a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. There’s the whole part of Change Management, Project Management, and various other areas that are not part of the tool set. But part of being a Black Belt.

Here’s the highlights in the original email…

And then the details…

In fact… 6 is not the number!  The number is what your process needs it to be. There’s a reason why it’s called Six Sigma… but many processes don’t reach that, can’t reach it… or in fact…. go beyond that number!

Yes, yes… I know, it’s marketing talk… it’s to entice people and it’s a play on words. I get it… I do.

But it comes down to experience. If you really want to learn about Six Sigma and Lean, i’d suggest you find someone in that field and learn from them.

If that’s not a viable option, then indeed, you can attend some training and on-line courses but start from the basics… learn the very basics of lean… why did lean start?… how did lean start?… who started the thinking behind Six Sigma?… What industry were they in?….

Similar to Karate…. you start off on White Belt, progress onto Yellow belt… a few belts later you’ll be on Green Belt… then a few more years (in fact, quite a few years)… when your Sensei thinks you are ready, you progress to Black Belt.

I see Lean Six Sigma the same way. It’s not about how quickly you can get to Black Belt. It’s about the experience, the knowledge and most importantly, the understanding of what to use… and when, that will help you, when you’re a Black Belt.

Following on from Inkquisitive Inspires Part 1 – this is Part 2! – That’s right, I asked the artist who’s turned his hobby into a career, and now travelling worldwide, attending sell-out tours…. a total of six questions.

In Part 1, Ink… kindly answered 3 of them… and here’s another 3, turning the conversation more towards his hobby, entrepreneurship and most importantly… innovation in art – do we need to innovate?

Some really important things to take away… mainly, you should have your own style, your own brand, your own way of doing things. Stand out from the crowd, don’t blend in…

Then there’s the entrepreneurial spirit that exists… and how many birthdays have you missed, trying to follow your dreams?

Hope you enjoy it…

Last week, I was asked to come along to the Chief Innovation Officers Summit in London, and share my thoughts… on Disruption and Interruption.

I was more than happy to share my thoughts… and shared a few slides on why we should stop interrupting (and if we know, when we are interrupting) and start to disrupt. How can we disrupt? – by using technology and using data…. and most importantly, using Lean!

As followers of my blog… I thought, it’s only fair, I share a little more with you… so below, I created a little video (with my voice! – so it’s actually like, i’m talking to you!!) about my talk.

Hope you enjoy it!… and please feel free to share via social media, and with other folk, who may also enjoy it.