Page 26 - Free the Idea Monkey

The Apple ad Albert Einstein Thomas Edison Alfred Hitchcock
featured brief Bob Dylan Muhammad Ali Martha Graham
clips of these Martin Luther King, Jr. Ted Turner Jim Hensen with
wonderful Idea Richard Branson Maria Callas
John Lennon Mahatma Gandhi Kermit the Frog
Monkeys: R. Buckminster Fuller Amelia Earhart Frank Lloyd Wright
Pablo Picasso

Conversely, I believe most nuns can’t innovate because they
don’t allow themselves to question authority. Most organizations
can’t innovate because they do not recognize the value of an Idea
Monkey and understand how to manage their special kind of magic.
As a rule, they are not led by people like Sister Nancy. Unfortunately,
the Sister Helens of the world are typically in charge.

WHERE WE ARE HEADING: BE THE MONKEY,
FREE THE MONKEY, HELP THE MONKEY
This section is for (Ring)leaders—the people who manage
the Idea Monkeys

If you are the least bit skeptical, by now you figure I am just
going to find any smart, creative person, label him or her an Idea
Monkey and be done with it. Well, this book is really about you and
the people you need to manage.

The thesis of this book is that you were once an Idea Monkey
and that you will have a better life, a more successful career and a
more profitable business if you learn how to become one again. For
now, just trust me that there is a Monkey inside you begging to get
out in a way that does not resemble that graphically gory scene from
Alien. This book will start by helping you unshackle the Monkey
within. Then we’ll make it easy to identify the Monkeys all around
you. Finally, we’ll get to work teaching you how to manage an Idea
Monkey-based business, because when you master the Monkey, you
will spend your time focusing on the ideas that matter. You will
actually see ideas through to their completion and will have a posi-
tive impact on your company, friends and, yes, even nuns.

11C H A P T E R 1