Meet Sir Lancelot, aka Lance the Intern.

Lance is pretty new to the Innotivity Institute (he's new to the world in general).

He is, as you might imagine, super enthusiastic. He can hardly sit still. He is the victim, in fact, of what we could call "puppy mind." This is a lot like the more well-known monkey mind except, well, it infects puppies. We don't call it "dog mind" because eventually we train the puppy and he calms down and is able to relax much more and learn new habits and tricks. So BonBon, for instance, who you'll meet later, she's ten years old and does not have puppy mind at all. She is far more able to focus and do one thing at a time.

It's important to notice that most humans also suffer from puppy mind. Your client probably does, and even you may too. Strangely, with humans, unlike with dogs, growing older doesn't automatically get rid of this. One of the most important things we can do as a coach is eradicate our own puppy mind, and then be able to teach our clients to move beyond it. Puppy mind is one of the greatest enemies of reaching goals and achieving. It can, when properly harnessed, also be positive, and contribute to creativity, but only when implemented at the right part of the creative process. Elsewhere, it is a distraction that does not give us value.

You'll get to know Lance pretty well over the course of the Innovation Explosion. Not so much here in the coaching section, as he is still learning. Yes, he can give lots of love, and he is very committed. You'll learn more from him as a coachee, though, than you will from his knowledge of coaching.