Back in 2006, I wrote a book called Goal-Free Living.
Last year I wrote an article for American Express OPEN Forum, How Oprah Nearly Killed my Business.
And recently I wrote a blog entry titled, Do Not Develop Breakthrough Innovation.
For each of these, I stretched the truth.
Goal-Free Living did not advocate a complete abstention from goals; only the avoidance of goalaholism.
How Oprah Nearly Killed my Business had little to do with Oprah and was more about how I didn’t consider my target audience and as a result, alienated my buyers.
And Do Not Develop Breakthrough Innovation did not suggest that companies avoid innovation. However it did suggest that they should consider open innovation as a means of reducing risk and cost.
Someone told me that this “truth stretching” is an “upaya.”
Upaya is a term in Mahayana Buddhism which literally means “expedient,” and reflects a technique designed to help change someone’s perspective. In some circumstances even lies and trickery can be an upaya if they help someone wake up to a realization.
So, even if a stated point of view is not ultimately “true” in the highest sense, it may still be a useful means to change someone’s perspective and help him or her gain enlightenment.
If I said, “Goals aren’t always bad but you have to be careful in how you use them,” people would roll their eyes and not pay attention. Saying, “eliminate all goals” raises eyebrows and then has them be more open to the possibility of something bigger.
In my latest book, Best Practices Are Stupid, (which is also an upaya, because I don’t believe they are always stupid) I talk about making the impossible possible. If while innovating we only strive to go from point “A” to point “B,” we often fall short. But if we shoot for point “C” (the impossible or impractical) we have a better chance of hitting “B.”
This explains why my form of an upaya is useful. By stretching the truth, we suggest “C” which allows people to reach “B.”
Our ingrained mental models will always bring us closer back to our old reality. To break free of the old beliefs, sometimes it is useful to have the truth stretched a bit, knowing that you will adjust that truth back a bit closer to what you already believe.
Are my article titles controversial? Yes. But there is a method to my madness.