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Firefly Idea Seller

By Peter Lloyd

Who doesn't love animals? Furry, purring kittens. Loyal, loving dogs. But when you're reminded that insects are animals, too, are we still talking love?

I wonder, because all the animal phyla are populated with critters just waiting to teach us lessons in creativity and innovation. They are living inventions—all the way down to the class insecta.

Buckminster Fuller in front of geodesic domeSome of Nature's greatest genius have taken lessons from bugs. Buckminster Fuller’s patterned his geodesic dome after the eye of a fly.

My dad once mused at the interdependence of all Nature's creatures. We were cleaning the garage. I was about to smash a spider, when he stopped me and explained its place in the greater scheme of things. Already a natural-born skeptic, I asked about the housefly, which I knew he loathed. He chuckled, and for one of the few times in our lives together, admitted that I might have a point.

Now, ironically, I find myself learning lessons from a bug—the lightning bug—the insect some call the glowworm or firefly.

Not to take anything away from Tom Edison, but the light bulb he invented is not nearly as efficient at converting energy into light as the belly of the lightning bug. It uses bioluminescence, a chemical reaction in which 90% of the total energy employed becomes visible light. Of all the energy that goes into a light bulb, only 10% becomes light, the rest is principally heat.

But there's more to learn from Nature's flying flashlight.

To locate each other, male fireflies flash in unison, while females flash out of sync. This strategy holds a lesson in idea presentation.

firefly in flightWhen you present a new idea, some people will react emotionally, others, more rationally. If, like the firefly, you can make yourself more sensitive to signals your audience is flashing, you can instantly fine-tune your presentation to get in sync with what they will accept.

For example, when you see elbows on the table and chins resting on fists, or when you hear, "That idea doesn't do anything for me," you should sense that you're dealing with a bored, emotional thinker.

When you see head scratching and hear questions like, "How will this work?" that should tell you someone wants practical answers.

Your reaction to these signals can improve or even save your presentation. Successful sales people are good at reading signals, whether they realize it or not. The best adjust, on the spot, to the signals they receive.

Add body language to your reading vocabulary, pay more attention to it, and you'll have better luck selling your ideas.

But then, if you're a firefly at heart, you already knew that.

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest problems.
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