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Creativity

Embrace Discomfort, Create Change

If something is comfortable, it won’t lead to progress.

Growth was seen as an endless series of daily choices and decisions in each of which one can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.Abraham H. Maslow1

If you’re comfortable, you’re not growing. It’s the uncomfortable things that make us grow.

The same is true of business: companies that embrace discomfort as a regular part of business life are more likely to achieve their goals and move closer and closer to fulfilling their company vision than those that don’t.

Companies that stay comfortable—which feels great in the moment—end up losing in the long run, which doesn’t feel so great.

Discomfort is a prerequisite for change.

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August 31, 2018 by

Creativity In The Workplace

Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.George Lois, Damn Good Advice

When Leon Battista Alberti declared, “A man can do all things if he will,” he condensed the ideals of the Renaissance into the figure of the Renaissance Man—a person with knowledge of a wide range of subjects. Since then, knowledge has become very specialized and having the breadth of knowledge in the wide range of subjects embraced by Renaissance Men is impossible.

The Renaissance man still walks among us, but we now call him groups. A group can have a collective knowledge that far exceeds the knowledge of any individual.

Brainstorming, invented by advertising executive Alex Osborn, was designed to maximize effective and creative group problem-solving. Research on brainstorming initially failed to show an increase in the number and quality of ideas when compared to individuals working alone; but in the last two decades, research has revealed that brainstorming can be productive if the procedures guard against impediments that naturally occur like conversation being controlled by a limited number of individuals and shared data being disproportionately represented. When small groups of individuals attempt to collectively arrive at a solution through discussion, great solutions can be uncovered.
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May 18, 2018 by

Ten Tips to Make You and Your Team More Creative

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Being creative is essential to business: it provides the edge to beat the competition. In an increasingly competitive market, creative thinking is no longer solely the function of departments like advertising and product development; it is now necessary for everyone in the organization.

By following these ten tips derived from our creativity workshop, you will increase your creativity and help your company get ahead.
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May 11, 2018 by

How To Be MORE Creative

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THE BIG IDEA: Creativity doesn’t happen in a flash of insight; it’s the result of a lifetime of learning.

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Most businesses isolate creativity to specific parts of the organization; they treat it as if only a chosen few can tap into the mystical force of creativity.

Part of this stems from a belief that only some departments can benefit from creative thinking. But, great businesses know that creative solutions can come from anywhere within the organization.

The other part is the result of the way we believe creativity happens: in a flash of insight that only happens to a chosen few.
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May 4, 2018 by

Live the Questions

Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.
Ranier Maria Rilke, Letters To A Young Poet

Too often people jump to the answer before fully understanding the question.

I see this happen with companies often, especially in “brainstorming” meetings and customer interviews.

Most “brainstorming” meetings I attend look something like this: somebody presents a loosely defined goal, a few solutions are presented, the majority of the group jumps at one of the solutions early on, and then explores that solution. Not only isn’t this true brainstorming—brainstorming involves clearly defined problems and getting as many ideas out as possible without evaluation—it can never hope to produce a great solution: ill-defined problems lead to weak solutions.
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April 13, 2018 by

The Hidden Truth About Creativity

“Choose a job that you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” I think we’ve all heard that before. But, I think it’s bullshit. I love cooking, owning restaurants, and working with people every day. But, it’s very difficult at times. It’s long hours standing on your feet, doing repetitive tasks. It’s late nights and early mornings. It’s being behind the scenes. And, it’s a thankless job sometimes. But, it’s something that I truly love. It’s something that brings me happiness every day and it’s a happiness that I can share.

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August 4, 2017 by

The Power of Play

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THE BIG IDEA: Play is essential for creativity, collaboration, and positive mental health. This article explores how a more playful attitude can elevate your business.

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Somehow, many of us have come to associate business with seriousness.

The mindset is: Playfulness is childish. Adults are serious; business professionals even more so.

When you were a child, your parents might have told you: “Stop playing around!”

And you just might have listened too well.

Play and playfulness, however, are incredibly important for both your work and your organization.
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February 26, 2016 by

Unleash the Power of the Imagination

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THE BIG IDEA: The imagination is perhaps your most underutilized resource that, if tapped, can transform your organization through innovation and forever alter the course of your business.

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In a 1929 interview, Albert Einstein said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”

Do you think he was correct?
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November 6, 2015 by

Use the Six Thinking Hats for Better Meetings

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THE BIG IDEA: Conducting more effective meetings is a constant challenge. How do you manage conflict and internal tensions while enhancing ideation and collaboration? Use the Six Thinking Hats.

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Do your meetings often become a political dance of excuse making? Do you consider most meetings you attend to be highly productive and results-oriented or are they mediocre and unnecessary?
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May 22, 2015 by

The Social Side of Social Media: Can You Crowdsource Creativity?

We’ve got to hand it to Mountain Dew.  They’re trying so hard to do social media right—especially when it comes to listening to their customer base and soliciting creative insights from the people who actually love their products. If there was a direct relationship between efforts and results, someone in the Mountain Dew PR team would be getting top honors right about now.

But something’s not working quite right.  Mountain Dew was searching for a name for their new green-apple flavored soda. They turned to the masses, and the masses responded—not always a guaranteed thing in this world! Unfortunately, the masses didn’t respond with really brilliant, insightful, sales-generating names for the soon-t0-be-debuted beverage.
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August 15, 2012 by