Super Powers -- Ideation

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Permalink Reply by Nicolas Nelson on December 15, 2009 at 1:39pm

Yep, I am strong in Ideation. I truly love ideas and discussing them with others, but it is kind of a lonely theme to have. Most people don't seem to have the stamina to stay focused on one idea for more than maybe three "exchanges" (you say something/I reply). I remember well the last time I felt I was able to fully discuss a profound concept-- it was on a camping trip with my 15yo son, who is strong in Deliberative and Intellection, and was equally intrigued by the idea... and we had all weekend to talk about it without any electronic interference! Those times are rare. Very rare. In fact, a quick and grateful shout-out to the wonderful folks (and the rare circumstances) with whom I remember having a completed discussion, without feeling that we had to cut it off right at an interesting part: my wife, my son Nathaniel, my brother JP, Brian Menard, Hank Voss... for the past 20 years, I think that's about it.

Which is not to say that no one else is willing to talk about ideas, or that I don't know anyone else with Ideation-- it's just that either the persons in the conversation have a Madison-Avenue-trained attention span, or circumstances prohibit truly deep discussion... or the person simply seems able to keep just three or four facets of one concept in mind at a time.

So truly deep discussions, ABOUT IDEAS, are few and very far between.

Does anyone else share my experience?

And could it be that discussion-starved Ideation-folks turn to blogs and internet forums hoping to find a cyber-space in which truly deep discussions might happen more often, and even continue indefinitely (albeit at a slower pace than f2f)?

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Permalink Reply by dale on January 18, 2010 at 9:40am

Nicolas, thank you for the great insight on Ideation. It is interesting that you mention "the stamina to stay focused on an idea..". That is a strong indicator of Ideation and the fascination/wonderment they have with ideas.

While you search for someone to share your attention span on ideas keep in mind that your Ideation may be informed by your other particular talent themes and they may contribute to your willingness to spend extended time focusing while other's talents may not with the same intensity.

Thanks for contributing!

Dale

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Permalink Reply by Nicolas Nelson on January 23, 2010 at 1:27pm

You are right, of course. I also have Input and Connectedness (and Strategic, Positivity, Activator and enough Relator to show up once).

I imagine that having Input as one of my top 3 is one source of my "conversational stamina"-- I'm delighted to keep listening as long as a source of info & insight is willing to keep talking, if it's about an Idea that has gripped me! And Connectedness might work together with Ideation to see relationships within and between concepts-- grasping that kind of complexity, at different depths and with many implications, is one of the things that gets me excited about a Great Idea.

I thought about the impact of Relator on this, and though it certainly contributes to the sense of loneliness I sometimes feel (because I want to connect deeply, not only with Great Idea X or Y, but with a present human friend who also grasps that idea), it has little bearing on the issue of idea-stamina. In that arena, my frustration is with shallow & incomplete discussions concerning ideas that deserve so much more*. It doesn't help to hear someone say "just write a book about it"-- even an entire book is just a contribution to the Great Conversation, and cannot fully encapsulate any one idea, only explore that author's perspective on it. Hence my apparently odd tendency to introduce Adler's concept of syntopical reading to almost every tutoring client who hires me for more than three sessions. ;-)

(*present discussion not included: you and Alex et al. are instigating a broad and deep discussion worthy of the Great Ideas in the world of Strengths, and I am frustrated with the circumstances that prevent ME from participating more fully!)

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