Posts Tagged ‘creativity’

When Hunches Colllide

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Ever wonder where good ideas come from? Here is a great summary by Steven Johnson. In a nutshell…ideas come from a collision of hunches. It’s not so much the light bulb going off in a flash, but more of a slow incubation that happens. What’s important is creating a space where these ideas can collide and therefore lead to creativity and innovation.

The biggest driver for this type of innovation is the historical increase in connectivity. We now have so many ways to reach out and connect with others and allow our ideas to mingle and ultimately collide. Good leaders support an environment where people can connect and find new ways to improve and build on their ideas; and it’s not always sitting behind a desk. Leaders must also have patience, and remember that ideas tend to emerge slowly and not according to a timeline or schedule.

Creativity, Connection and Collaboration at CoCalo

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

cat-CoCaLo-baby-logoReady to launch a number of new products, CoCalo gathered their sales team from across the country for a two day retreat in California and invited Janine McDonald and Linda Krall to facilitate a session on creative thinking. Facing numerous challenges brought on by the weak economy participants stretched their thinking to identify ways to support their customers, promote the brand and increase sales.

Our first introduction to the company was when members of their design team attended our workshop: Imagine…Creativity at Work. The design team members saw the value in what they were learning could be applied across all functions of the organization. A recent Newsweek article points out, there is a creativity crisis in American. All employees need to flex their creativity to solve problems – not just people in creative roles. Creativity is a mental process involving the discovery of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the existing ideas or concepts, fueled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight. Our training helps people feel comfortable with their creative abilities. It’s in all of us, and our goal is to help people build their creative confidence.
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Are you asking the right questions?

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

It’s been said that training isn’t telling.   Well either is coaching.    People often expect that a coach will tell them what to do – fix their problem.   In reality, coaching is about asking questions and probing to get at the unspoken thoughts and feelings that often prevent people  from addressing the toughest challenges.

question-markCoaching has never been more necessary than now and into the future, where change will be the norm and individual resilience and performance will be crucial to team and organizational success.   Coaching leverages individual strengths and abilities for maximum performance,  provides for direct on-the-job learning as well as “just-in-time” learning tailored to the particular situation, enables behavioral shifts, and allows projects and people to move forward immediately and with less effort.
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Flex Your Muscle

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

In a recent keynote speech I asked a room full of over 100 people, how many of you worked out today? How many hands do you think went up? One! Only one person made it to the gym. Similarly, very few people actively exercise the right side of their brain. People get stuck in their left brain analytical world and don’t know how to break out. Just like you need to do curls to build your bicep muscle, there are things that we can do to flex the right side of our brains to be more creative.

When asked, 68% of workers report creativity is the number one skill they need but no training is offered by their company according to the Ill-Prepared U.S. Workforce Research report. And a recent Fast Company article reported that for CEO’s creativity is now the most important leadership quality for success in business.

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