Page 35 - Free the Idea Monkey

Stop for a second and think. Do you have a
comedian at work who always has a joke and
is quick to give you a new idea about virtually
any topic? He’s an Idea Monkey. This should
be a good thing. What are you doing to harness
that mind for good?

Professional comedians (who as we have seen are, by definition,

Idea Monkeys) share the same gifts as the Idea Monkeys within your

organization. They understand that

Monkey Improv: an idea is not an idea in reality until
it moves beyond words to something
Listen to yourself. that can be shared by many people.
Idea Monkeys say If all Myers did was say to himself,
“and” instead of “but” “You know, this awful waiter who has
to help move ideas no interest in serving me could be the
forward. You’ll note that basis of a character,” and then did
the same technique is
used by improv comics.

nothing with the thought other than to

tell a few friends about the bad meals,

it would have been a waste of a perfectly bad dining experience.

Idea Monkeys share another common characteristic: they are

incredibly curious. (My mother actually did call me Curious George

as a kid.) This realization about curiosity became the key that led our

company—Maddock Douglas—to make curiosity our primary hiring

criteria. We literally screen for curiosity.

“Tell me about something you discovered

today” is one of our standard interview

questions. We aren’t really looking for

the discovery as much as the enthusi-

asm around it. Show me someone who

can get sincerely excited about a new

way to lace a shoe, and I will show you

an Idea Monkey.

20 M E E T T H E I D E A M O N K E Y