Ask the Author: Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg
Answered Questions (5)
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg
I am toying with a project about how to find new insights in your field, e.g. if you are writing articles or giving talks. There are many books that just regurgitate existing knowledge. Nothing wrong with that, to be clear - there is a lot of value in sharing old ideas with new audiences - but personally, I'm energized by finding fresh insights to formulate and share.
I'm also contemplating doing some sort of guide to keynote speaking - kind of the guide I'd like to have read before I started my own speaking career.
I'm also contemplating doing some sort of guide to keynote speaking - kind of the guide I'd like to have read before I started my own speaking career.
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg
Sci-fi warning: Definitely Iain M. Banks and his 'Culture' universe. That's a future I'd love to experience.
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg
Not terribly well :-) I set aside whole days for writing (which helps), but I have come to accept that maybe a third of those days will be totally unproductive.
Oh, and deadlines. Deadlines help. The ones that are externally set, that is.
Oh, and deadlines. Deadlines help. The ones that are externally set, that is.
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg
My ideas come from being involved with the real world, e.g. by doing research interviews and by teaching executive education seminars. By engaging with practitioners, I hear about new cases and start noticing patterns in what I see - which allows me to spot where there are 'missing pieces' in our collective toolbox, such as reframing.
Teaching is helpful for TESTING your ideas too. Not all insights are useful. Having to share an idea in a classroom setting forces you to find the most concise, clear way to explain it - and more importantly, you get instant feedback from people re. whether your insight is helpful or not.
Teaching is helpful for TESTING your ideas too. Not all insights are useful. Having to share an idea in a classroom setting forces you to find the most concise, clear way to explain it - and more importantly, you get instant feedback from people re. whether your insight is helpful or not.
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg
One useful trick for me is to read research papers. On writing days, I will often start my morning by reading a research paper as I'm having breakfast - which often makes me think new thoughts about the topic. I find it energizing to spot a new insight, which makes me want to try to capture it in writing straight away. To me, writing is thinking - or rather, it's a highly precise way of thinking that forces you to be rigorous.
Generally, there's lots of gold nuggets hidden in the primary research, once you go beyond the popular books on a topic. For instance, check out academic-textbook entries on your topic, and then delve into the bibliography in the back to get a sense of who the primary researchers are in a field. Read their papers, and read things in adjacent spaces too that catch your eye.
A second part - especially for my second book, "What's Your Problem?" - was to play with the format, including using hand-drawn graphics. After writing my first book, I started finding it really dreary and deadening to write in Word. So I wrote the manuscript in Adobe InDesign instead, which allowed me to add drawings at once and get a feel for the final layout of the book. That gave me a good deal of energy as well.
Generally, there's lots of gold nuggets hidden in the primary research, once you go beyond the popular books on a topic. For instance, check out academic-textbook entries on your topic, and then delve into the bibliography in the back to get a sense of who the primary researchers are in a field. Read their papers, and read things in adjacent spaces too that catch your eye.
A second part - especially for my second book, "What's Your Problem?" - was to play with the format, including using hand-drawn graphics. After writing my first book, I started finding it really dreary and deadening to write in Word. So I wrote the manuscript in Adobe InDesign instead, which allowed me to add drawings at once and get a feel for the final layout of the book. That gave me a good deal of energy as well.
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