Leadership is the courage to be open to new ideas ~John Maxwell

1. Wong Yew Yip
yewyip@gmail.com

2. What is Open to Ideas?
Being Open to Ideas means:
 You have a willingness to listen
to other ideas and opinions
 You admit the possibility that
you are wrong or may change
your own perspective
 You have a willingness to learn
and try new things
 You consider alternative
approaches to problem-solving
 You more adaptable to any
work environment and job

3. What is Open to Ideas?
Being Open to
Ideas means:
 To challenge
 To explore
 To reinvent
 To discover
 To create
 To grow

4. The mind that
opens to a new
idea never returns
to its original size
~Albert Einstein

5. “In AirAsia we consider ourselves
basically a dream factory…We
deliberately decided that we wanted a
company where people can pursue
their passion and we wanted to make
use of all the talent that we have in-
house. The culture that we have
stems from the fact that we want
openness and we want people to
be creative and passionate about
what they do. In order to do that,
we’ve got to inspire them.”
Tony Fernandes
CEO and Founder
AirAsia

6.  We live in a world of
possibilities
 A world where
innovation,
exploration and
discovery are never-
ending
 We are driven by the
belief that there is
always a better way
World of Possibilities

7. You must feed your
mind with reading
material, thoughts
and ideas that open
you to new
possibilities
~Oprah Winfrey

8.  In order to retain existing
customers and attract
new customers an
organization needs to
think of new and
different ideas to keep it
at the top
Why Organizations need to be Open to Ideas
 The moment an organization stops keeping up
with the latest trends and start moving backward
rather than forward, then the organization is in
deep trouble and may eventually shut down

9. “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we
exchange these apples, then you and I will still have one
apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and
we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have
TWO IDEAS”
~ George Bernard Shaw

10. 5 Tips to generate Ideas
 Often ideas are unexpected
moments of inspiration
 The big challenge is freeing
yourself from the conventional,
mundane thoughts that occupy
most of your brain time
 You need to give your brain the
time and space to work for you
Try each of the following
5 Tips to come up with a great idea or two

11. 5 Tips to generate Ideas
• Great ideas won't come in a vacuum
• You need some way to get your brain to think in new and
creative ways
• Get out somewhere to stimulate your brain into thinking
differently
• A simple walk on a crowded street or in a shopping mall can
lead you to an exciting activity that makes me think anew
Get Out and Observe1

12. 5 Tips to generate Ideas
Socialize Outside Normal Circles2
 Hanging around with the same
friends and colleagues can get
you in a thinking rut
 Take advantage of all those e-
connections and start some
exciting conversations
 New people don't know your
thought patterns and old
stories
 The refreshing perspectives
will help to surface new
thinking and ideas

13.  Books and magazines are
wonderful for creating new
thoughts and stimulating great
ideas
 These can help you learn more
and expand your way of thinking
 Even reading fiction and history
can help you to get out of your
daily thought routine and activate
your idea generator
5 Tips to generate Ideas
Read More3

14. 5 Tips to generate Ideas
Surf the Web4
 Google Search is great when you
know what you are looking for but
the best way to generate new
ideas is with unexpected learning
 Take some time each day on a
web journey
 Start with anything you can think
off and just take it from there
 Try to pick the unusual and more
unfamiliar topics as you surf and
stretch your brain a bit

15. 5 Tips to generate Ideas
Meditate5
 It's hard to come up with great ideas
when your mind is crowded with
everyday thoughts and concerns
 You need a quiet space and peace of
mind
 Meditation will help you clear your
mind of daily business and stress
 Commit to one or two meditation
sessions every week and soon you'll
find new ideas flowing

16. 12 Traits of Open-Minded People
Meditate
1
You are curious
Meditate
3
You enjoy learning
new things
Meditate
4
You listen
Meditate
5
You are open to
other’s opinion
Meditate
2
You try new things
Meditate
6
You respect other’s
beliefs

17. 12 Traits of Open-Minded People
Meditate
12
You are willing to
embrace change
Meditate
9
You don’t mind
being different
Meditate
8
You don’t label
people
Meditate
7
You don’t judge a
book by its cover
Meditate
10
You live in the
present
Meditate
11
You are believe age
is just a number

18. What do you see?
If you see an
intimate couple,
open up your mind
and see carefully

19. Creative Management Challenge
1. How do you put a giraffe into a fridge?
2. How do you put an elephant into a fridge?
3. The King of the Jungle is holding a meeting
for all of the animals. One of them is not
there. Which one?
4. You are standing on the bank of an alligator
infested river and have to get to the other
side. How?

20.  There was a father who left 17 houses of equal value for his 3
sons
 When the father passed away, his sons opened up the Will
 The father’s Will stated that the eldest son should get 1/2 (half)
of total houses, the middle son should be given 1/3rd (one-third)
and the youngest son should be given 1/9th (one-ninth) of the
total houses
 As it was not possible to divide 17 into half, or 17 by 3, or 17 by
9, the three sons started to fight with each other
How do you solve the problem so that
the father’s will can be fulfilled?

21. Ways to Open Your World to New Possibilities
1. Challenge your beliefs about what you can and can’t do
2. Challenge your ideas about how things should work
3. Have a vision session
4. Look for opportunities in a tough situation
5. Remove something from your life that doesn’t serve you
6. Commit to something you always say you’ll do but always fail
to start
7. Turn your focus from something don’t want to something you
do want
8. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones
Get Out of Your Head1

22. Ways to Open Your World to New Possibilities
1. Walk to work and open your eyes
2. Talk to someone while waiting in line and ask what they do
3. Make an effort to connect with people you pass - smile and
make eye contact for a little longer than usual
4. Learn a new skill
5. Say yes to something you always talk yourself out
6. Take a walking lunch
7. Start something you always assumed it was too late to do
8. Join an adventure club to try new activities
Get Out in the Open2

23. Ways to Open Your World to New Possibilities
1. Offer to help someone else
2. Carpool to work
3. Compliment a stranger on something you notice
4. Take pictures of things you find interesting that other
people might not notice
5. Do something you enjoy alone
6. Wear an interesting T-shirt, something funny or nostalgic
7. Bring enough lunch to share with other people at work
8. Help someone else get out of their comfort zone
Get in with People3

24. Ways to Open Your World to New Possibilities
1. Show up a half-hour early or leave thirty minutes late
2. Speak up in a meeting, even if you don’t feel confident or
you’re afraid you’ll be embarrassed
3. Hold your meeting outside
4. Hold a meeting standing up
5. Start learning a new language
6. If you don’t work in your dream industry, volunteer within it
7. Find a mentor
8. Attend a networking event or conference that is big in your
industry
Get into your Work4

25. Appreciate the Ideas of Others
 Appreciate the ideas of others
 Your ability to envision and implement new ideas
will flourish
 You will build stronger relationships in the
process
Be
Willing
Be
Patient
Be
Receptive
Be
Respectful
Be
Reflective

26. Benefits of being Open to Ideas
You can experience new ideas and thoughts and you challenge the
beliefs you currently have
Letting go of
control
You have the opportunity and option to change what you think and how
you view the world
Experience
changes
You admit you don't know everything and there are possibilities you have
not considered; this vulnerability can be both terrifying and exhilarating
Making yourself
vulnerable
You allow yourself to recognize mistakes you've made and potential to
make new mistakes. It's a great thing to fall and get back up again
Making
mistakes
You learn new things and you use the new ideas to build on the old ideas,
experiences add up, strengthening who you are and what you believe in
Strengthening
yourself
You have a strong sense of self, not confined by your own beliefs or
confined by the beliefs of others, thus strengthening your belief in yourself
Gaining
confidence
You admit that you are not all-knowing and there is always more to it than
you realize and this creates an underlying sense of honesty
Being honest

27. Importance of “Open to Ideas” to Leaders
Leaders who are open to ideas will have profound
impact on their team and the organization by:
1
Fostering
Creativity
2
Developing a sense
of empowerment
and accountability
within the team
3
Building
confidence in
the team’s
ability
4
Allowing the team to
build strong working
relationships and
trust across the
organization

28. Leadership is the
courage to be
open to new ideas
~John Maxwell

29. Thinking Outside the Box
Thinking outside
the box means
that you step out of
the box, leave all
your experiences,
mindsets and
attitudes behind
You start to view things
from a completely different
perspective – outside the
box; unfiltered, unbiased,
open to suggestions,
willing to empathize with
others’ opinions
Also ready to swim against
the tide and to think what
no one else has ever
thought of

30. How to Think Outside the Box
Keep up
with
changing
times
Learn to take it
easy and let the
idea come to you
rather than trying
to squeeze it out
of your mind
Read some
good books
to help you
Mix with people
who are smarter
than you
Don’t just
mug up
theoretical
knowledge.
Think how
to apply
Watch some
inspirational
videos
Seek
inspiration from
people at the
top of the field
Do not bite off
more than you
can chew

31. Think Outside the Box

32. Idea Generation - Rules
1. Defer your judgment
2. Encourage wild ideas
3. Build on ideas of others
4. Stay focused on the topic
5. One conversation at a time
6. Be visual
7. Go for quantity

33. Individual Action Learning Project
1. Demonstrate that you
are Open to Ideas by
coming up with an idea
2. The idea could be a
process improvement,
new product, etc
3. Detail what the idea is
about, benefits and how
it can be implemented at
your department or
organization

34. Thank You
yewyip@gmail.com