Review Central: blog details: Creative Solutions for Business & Education

Innovation and creativity are not entities and they do not happen spontaneously.

They are the fruits of people, people interacting and working together, complete with all of the friction and personality clashes. Innovation is analogous to a musical writing partnership or team sports. If all roles are performing well, we get a positive force for innovation. And just with sports teams, it is not essential to have total excellence in every area. Some of the most effective and innovative teams have true excellence in one or two areas combined with strength in many others. There may be stars in our team, but the team is the powerhouse.

Perspiration, dedication and hard work are also at the centre of creativity and innovation, honing skills practiced and developed over long periods of time, until they really work. Here are Some basic principles for success:

Stretch for Strength: Flexibility is more important than strength, size or power. Many 'giants' of the business world have disappeared as smaller, more nimble companies stole the market through exercising their flexibility and operating according to new business models.

Go for distance: Innovation is less about a programme and more about a way of life; a culture. It is a culture that should be at the centre of every part of an organisation and one which continues to evolve and develop with time, and over time. It is about longevity rather than fad.

Never give in: Wherever there is innovation there are obstacles and these must be overcome. Personalities within our teams will be able to see ways around whatever obstacle is in the way or objection raised. At these times close collaboration and problem sharing are essental for going the distance.

Fight the mental battles: One of the biggest obstacles or hurdle to our progress looms in the battle of the mind; our psyche. To quote Tom Kelley, 'Innovators have the uncommon sense to pursue ideas long after others give up.'

Celebrate the coach: Behind every great sports team there is a geat coach. Behind every great project team there is a great coach. They may not be in the limelight, but they labour tirelessly in the background making sure everything and everyone stays together. The right coach brings out the best and we notice the difference

The most successful teams comprise a rich mix of different types of people with different personalities or personas, different talents and abilities, different temperaments. The correct mix will produce sufficient innovative friction to push forward the team and push forward the innovative process.

When innovation is experienced, it is a mighty force to inspire further innovation. Perhaps the most important step is to make a start, no matter how small, get the innovation engine turning over, see the benefits and build on them. And these benefits will be pretty obvious when they occur, hopefully enough to overcome politics and convert even the most cynical as they see a turn-around in their group, department, business unit or company.

And innovation doesn't just turn companies around, it becomes a way of life.

5 Simple Steps to Creative Thinking and Idea Generation

Every so often I read a really practical book. Today’s feast was written back in the 1940’s by James Webb Young, an advertising guru. The great thing about a great book is that it is timeless. Much has changed in the world since Mr Young first wrote this short work, but the human mind still works in the same way and the need for creative ideas is ever more important.

Thankfully, this time-proven formula still works with great effect … as long as we don’t do our favourite ‘cutting the corners’!

The following process has a track record of success for creating new ideas across a wide sphere of disciplines, from poetry to painting, engineering to science, from advertising to legal.
The aim is to make new connections between existing events or subjects, completing a new picture, analogous to making a jigsaw for the first time.

It is essential to understand that this is a sequence and not just a list of tasks. Therefore, each step should be completed in the sequence listed. Each individual step is the foundation for success at the next stage.

1. Collect Raw MaterialsThis step is often skipped or only partly completed but is a key to the overall success of the process. The quality of ideas generated depends on the quality of the preparation and assimilation of the raw materials. Raw materials can include paper and magazine cuttings, photographs, advertisements, original observations.

Two types of raw materials should be collected:

Specific – Those relating directly to the area of interest, customer group, proposed product etc.
General – Those relating to the broad subject of life events and current affairs. The more widely we spread our net for general materials, the greater our chance of generating creative ideas. This is an ongoing process on which we can build each day.

It is a good idea to assemble these into some kind of order or pattern. Scrapbooks are a great way to collect general materials. Specific materials can be catalogued in some way to make retrieval easier.

Do not short-cut step 1.

2. Digest the MaterialsThis step involves taking each piece of information and studying it from as many angles and in as many different ways as you can. Really try to ‘get inside’ what it is about, what it is saying, how it looks etc. Continue this process with each piece of specific and general information, looking at the facts and trying to bring them together to see how they fit. A ‘fit’ may be found for some pieces of information without too looking too deeply. As bits of ideas come to mind, write these down, no matter how wild or part-formed they are. This process will help cement them in the mind and is a precursor to generation of complete ideas.

It is hard work and at some stage the mind will become tired, but keep going at this stage as you will develop a second burst of mental energy. Only when everything becomes a complete jumble with no clear solution anywhere should you stop this process.

3. Drop the SubjectA common trait in the creative process and idea generation is that these ideas come to us when we are least expecting them to, and often when we are doing something that is totally unrelated to the area in which we have been seeking to generate ideas.

So, this third step is quite simple; get as far away as possible from the thinking process on our chosen area. Do something different, preferably something where you can relax and something that you really enjoy. Typically, this will be a topic or activity in which you feel most creative, such as, listening to music, reading poetry, playing a sport.

This allows our subconscious to mull over the information we have input in steps one and two.

4. The Idea from NowhereAt some stage an idea will ‘appear as from nowhere’ and usually during a pretty mundane activity such as eating breakfast, having a bath or shave, going for a walk. This is the point at which you must write it down to capture it (having a pencil and notebook in the pocket at all times is a very useful exercise) and then …

5. Test the IdeaOnce ideas have been generated it may be apparent that they are not the complete picture or not as great as first thought. However, the best way to test these is to expose them to a trusted judicious few. This may seem a bit of a threat. After all, we may not feel like sharing ideas with others (hence the word ‘trusted’) and we may be afraid of them being shot down in flames (hence the word ‘trusted’).

What is most interesting is that a good seed of an idea will generate more flesh from those who encounter it. So, our idea will benefit from the wisdom and experience of others and grow as they add their ideas to it. The idea expands into opportunities and possibilities that we may have overlooked.

What we end up with is a creative solution, shaped and developed from an idea into a practical solution.

You can download your own free copy of these 5 steps, in PDF format, using the following link … 5 Steps to Creating Ideas, either by clicking on the link which will open the document in Adobe Acrobat Reader (or whatever PDF software you have on your computer) and then saving the file to your computer, or by right clicking on the link and using the ‘Save Target As‘ (Internet Explorer) or equivalent for other browsers (such as Firefox).

Until next time …

Innovation: Courage to Create Success

Sometimes the first ingredient we need for innovation is courage; courage to go with our convictions, even in the face of opposition.

3M is a global company with a reputation for creativity and innovation, but anyone who has worked in almost any ‘creative and innovative organisation’ will tell you that reputation and actual practice are often poles apart. Sure, they like to take the credit for their public successes but what they don’t publicise so freely is just how much perseverance, tenacity and sheer dogged single-mindedness the individual champions of the case have to be in order to make their individual success a company success.

I was reminded recently of the account of Richard Drew, an iconic figure within 3M culture and the person responsible for not one, but two truly innovative products that put 3M well and truly on the map, both as an organisation and later as an innovative company.

Drew joined 3M with a less than glowing background of being a college dropout who played banjo in dance bands at night whilst studying engineering through a correspondence course. He had an entry level job as a lab technician. One of Drew’s tasks was to take batches of 3M’s Wetodry sandpaper to a nearby St Paul automotive body shop. At the time (1921) two tone colours were all the rage for cars, and on one of Drew’s visits a painter was cursing and swearing because he had just ruined a paint job. There was at that time no way of ensuring a good line between the colours except through the use of glues and paper etc.

Drew saw the problem and decided to come up with a solution.

Now it would be great to say that he was supported by the company for his efforts, but he wasn’t. 3M was a sandpaper manufacturer not a tape manufacturer so Drew had to ‘go underground’ to do his work, experimenting with all sorts of oils and resins to produce a superior adhesive. He was told to stop on at least one occasion and agreed until the attraction of his own little project became too great and he started again. When he had come up with a good prototype, he needed to manufacture the finished article for which he needed a specific piece of machinery. He was refused. So he used his initiative and used a series of $99 sign-offs (he was allowed to authorise payments up to $100) which slipped ‘under the company radar’ to buy the machine.

In 1925, Richard Drew successfully produced the world’s first masking tape with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing … and the rest, as they say, is history. Well it would be if Drew hadn’t come up a few years later with another invention of the first see through adhesive packaging tape, Scotch Tape, again after persevering against the odds.

Of course today, the name of Richard Drew is synonymous with the innovative spirit of the company, but at the time he was making it big for the company through his determination and conviction to succeed, it was a battle; a battle which involved stepping around the rules, lying low, persevering against the odds.

Innovation is often a rough path which is only seen and appreciated by the end-results of products or processes, not during the actual process of arriving (except by those who are driving it).

So the next time we are looking for innovation in our business, we need to remember that it is often a long and winding road, and a road that will require a lot of sweat and toil along the way, not only with the project at hand but with all the devil’s advocates and ‘jobworths’ who tell us that it won’t work. This is why we need to lok at adopting a creative and innovative culture which understands the processes, pitfalls and obstacles and which helps, not hinders the process which is the lifeblood of company survival and expansion.

What Are We Worth?

Perhaps a bit of a rhetorical question, but I assure you there is no catch.

Our sense of value and our value system are both complex entities, arising from our life history. Most of us have had knocks of one kind or another: bereavement, redundancy, failure in achieving something we were aiming for, family breakdown, work pressure … the list is very long.

Thankfully, many of us can recover from these blows, some more quickly than others. However, for some people a combination of blows arrives at the wrong time (childhood, especially adolescence) or too close together. In those cases the impact can be catastrophic. Someone full of hope and confidence one day can turn into a shy recluse with no sense of direction the next, whilst others kick out at anything and anyone who gets in the way or tries to help. Their world has literally been shattered. I remember a good friend at school who for no apparent reason started picking on anyone and everyone, eventually causing total classroom disruption resulting in suspension. We thought he was an idiot. It was only years later that we discovered he’d come downstairs to breakfast one morning to find his mother packing the car to leave. Bang! Just like that: out of the blue without warning. The emotional cost took years to repair and included many broken and dysfunctional relationships along the way. We were also forced to think about our lack of response.

Sadly, my friend’s situation is mirrored with alarmingly increasing frequency today.

But I also remember another couple of other friends who always seemed so confident, almost cocky, about their life and where they were going. And they did go! Both became very successful in their respective fields; one as a scientist, the other as craftsman. Why were these two so different? I think much of it came from what was being fed into their lives. Their parents were always encouraging them to try something new, go for something they couldn’t achieve. And if they failed? They could always have another go.

Now I know it is naive at best to simplify all situations to a single formula, but it is generally well accepted that a person’s self-identity is forged through their life experiences and relationships. Repeated criticism or comparison with other people results in loss of confidence and unwillingness, often through fear, to try something in case we fail. It also leads to the perception that ‘I am worth nothing.’ The opposite is true, with those receiving encouragement (including correction) achieving a more balanced and fulfilled lifestyle. And success is often thrown in there too.

It is also accepted that what we practise at school becomes a lifetime habit. Our businesses are plagued with people who continue to play out their school scenario, as bullies and manipulators, or as doormats. They have a misguided sense of self-importance or self-value; either too high or too low. Self-confidence is a good attribute when held in balance with other life skills. But too much or too little can be disruptive and at its extreme, devastating.

And the problem extends further into society, where we see the impact of people who are unable to respond to their circumstances or surroundings.

The great news is that we all have intrinsically equal value and worth.

The bad news is that others, or we ourselves project a value which then puts us on a sliding scale, based on what we can do, or our cash value in terms of income or cost to society. These false measures need to be clearly delineated from intrinsic worth and value. Of course, when we enter into a job or role, there is a basic need to be able to perform that role competently, and hopefully bring something extra as well. But that has to do with our value to the employer: it does not affect our value as an individual.

So where am I going with all this?

Our childhood influences adulthood, in terms of how we think and how we act towards ourself and others. That childhood will have been influenced by positive and negative inputs which will also have influenced our perceptions. Those perceptions, in turn, influence how we operate at work, at home or with our friends. However, these perceptions and responses are habits formed through the practice of life and like any other habit, they can largely be reshaped and changed into new habits. We don’t really have an excuse for, ‘Well, that’s me and that’s the way I am [forever and always shall be].’

We each have a responsibility to look at ourselves and see how, where and if we need to change these habits: thought patterns, attitude to others, attitude to ourself, emotional response.
And therein lies another issue; we are generally very poor at emotions!

Most of us have gone through life with the good old British stiff upper lip, being afraid to engage, let alone express our emotions for fear of what we may discover. And our education system does nothing to help, effectively switching off emotional engagement by the age of 11, leaving many ill-equipped to handle life. I know I’ve used the analogy before, but it’s like an athlete who only trains one half of their body for a 100m sprint final. It’s absurd to even consider, yet we do that everyday with children from as young as 3 or 4 years old, up until they are 18 or older and then we are surprised that they can’t handle life.

So it is little wonder that poor self-worth and low self-esteem are cancers in today’s world.

Thankfully, creativity allows re-engagement with our emotions and therefore, provides a safety valve for when pressures and trials arise. It is something we all possess and something we can all discover and apply. I believe that passionately and it is one of my key motivators and driving forces.

And by applying that creativity across our businesses, in practice, planning and development, implication, sales and marketing, management structures, team structures … through the people we have, the future, as one mobile company proclaims, is bright. Our who business benefits:

On a scale of 0 - 100, we all score 100 for worth, but sadly, many score less than 20 when it comes to self-worth or valuing others. And that must stop.

Creativity: The Other Global Crisis

Perhaps one of the most eloquent and engaging speakers I have heard is Sir Ken Robinson. he has this style which instantly puts one at ease whilst totally drawing us in to what he has to say. If you want an example, pour yourself a coffee and Watch Ken Robinson Talk to see him in action (opens in a new window ... use the 'Close Window' button after viewing).

In one of his more recent appearances he continued to present some uncomfortable facts which will impact us all unless things change. Here is a sample of out-takes from his talk. Full article here (opens in a new window).

What I think is obvious is that we have a long way to go. BUT we need to make a start, no matter how small to change the inertia of creative decline. and just perhaps some of our organisations and social structures will be rebuilt into healthy living cultures.

Success in Failure; Humility in Leadership

Whilst hopping around the Internet recently I came across a great article on The London Business Forum website from an interview with Sir Richard Branson. As I read it, I was struck by an individual who is totally passionate about what he does whilst also being ready to learn, change and improve.

I remember Richard Branson being set-up for a fall on more than one occasion by our beloved British Press. When he was trying something new or attempting a new record, the snipers of the true British spirit shot … and if he failed, the “I told you so” or “You read it first in the ***” kinds of headlines prevailed. It was more important that he’d failed than what he’d attempted. And yet, if we talk to any successful businessman, failure is always on their list and it’s seen as part of their road to success (and perhaps that is why so many of our current journalists will never be successful … but that’s another story!).

Anyway, please enjoy the following except from Sir Richard’s interview:

‘Many of the audience wanted Branson to dispense some entrepreneurial advice, and he didn’t disappoint, mixing the common-sense with some fascinating and salutary anecdotes. “The importance of protecting the downside,” was a key lesson to learn, he said. This is why, when he cut a deal with Boeing to buy his first second-hand 747, it included an option to sell the plane back after one year. Boeing’s only concern, he said, was that Virgin “wouldn’t live up to its name but would actually go all the way.”

Similarly, he had a valuable tip on how to retain entrepreneurial dynamism while you’re growing: as soon as the number of staff hits 100, split the firm in two. In this way, he said, Virgin Records ended up being 20 different companies that “didn’t even share switchboards”. It’s a philosophy that Virgin still tries to observe in spite of its gigantic size. Of the group’s 200 branded companies, “none of them are massive in any particular field,” Branson said, and each has to stand on its own two feet”. The people who lead each business are managing directors, and are incentivised accordingly. “Virgin has created about 200 millionaires over the years,” he revealed.

The moment you go from one company to two companies, you’ve got to start learning the art of delegation, he added. “So what I try to do when we set up new businesses [is this]: I’ll go in, I’ll immerse myself for a month or two, I’ll learn all about that industry, so that if a managing director does come to me and wants to talk to me about mobile phones or trains, I’ll know something.”

True delegation means giving people the freedom to make mistakes, he said. “[My parents] would always look for the best in what [I] did. They were great believers in lots and lots of praise… And I think if you’re the leader of a company, this is even more important. You shouldn’t be looking for people slipping up, you should be looking for all the good things people do and praising those. People know when they’ve slipped up, they don’t need to be told.”

Another defining characteristic of Branson’s personal management style was his willingness to be humble, and to listen to criticism, where staff and customers are concerned. “I do try to make an effort,” he said. “If I’m on a Virgin plane, I’ll try to meet all the passengers. I’ll have a little notebook in my back pocket. I’ll meet all the staff.” He stressed the importance of tiny details, saying that only by getting these right will you end up with “an exceptional company rather than an average company.”

Ultimately, business is not about “balance sheets, money, profits and loss,” he argued. It is about “creating something you’re really proud of, something the people who work for you can be really proud of… the actual business aspect is simply there to be mopped up at the end.”

The fact that he never got a tight grasp of financial matters was probably a benefit, he suggested, in that it persuaded him never to bring in accountants too early in the development of a venture. “You’ll get one firm of accountants that will tell you, based on their own preconceptions, why starting an airline is a ghastly idea and every other airline fails and you’re going to lose a lot of money. You’ll get another set of accountants who’ll tell you why they think you’re going to make money. But they have no idea one way or the other.”

Far more important is to create something that you, yourself, really want and value, he concluded. “If it’s exceptionally good then people will always turn up and use it.”
Perhaps it’s time to regain and re-embrace some of the old ‘British Spirit’ without being ashamed (and without extreme nationalism). And it’s time to put to death the insipid political correctness that will undoubtedly ruin so many ventures. We are not all the same. Celebrate the fact and be prepared to try to succeed, even if we must embrace failure.

Above all, be prepared to be humble; to learn, to change, to improve … and to acknowledge that we may not have all the answers on our own, but they are often in our colleagues, friends and family if we are prepared to look.

Until next time …

How Creative is Creative?

I often get into discussions about creativity and I'm amazed how few understand what the word means. Most seem to apply the term creative to a strange breed of artistic misfits, 'the creatives' who don't really fit in but are a necessary evil for success of the business.

But many people are really surprised when I begin enthusing about each of us being creative. I see furrowed brows as they wrestle with the idea that they may possess something that is so 'out of the ordinary.'

But is it?

I guess that for many of us the idea of creativity is alien because we haven't engaged it since primary school. Thankfully, there are those who have managed to retain their creative skills, through hard work, battling against the odds, a good teacher/tutor or just out of passion for what they do. From them we can all learn a lesson. To them, creativity is nothing special; it is a part of who they are and what they do.

And I think therein lies the secret. As we engage with our creativity more and more often, our practice becomes a habit, and our habit begins to influence whatever we do, wherever we do it. It is no longer something out of the ordinary; it becomes part of our ordinary.

So how creative is creative?

The answer is different for every person. I think that the question is not one of quantity but quality and of how we apply what we have.

What we need to do is discover and identify just what our creativity is ...

Bridge Builder, Pace Setter or Record Breaker?

How often do we come up against an issue or problem and immediately think,
"I can't do that"?

How often do we look to others to solve our problems because we feel inadequate?

Why do we think others find things easier than we do?

In reality, our insecurities and failure to identify our own strengths can be a real barrier to our success ... as can our fear of criticism of others if we fail.

But take heart! Just about all of the most successful people in every walk of life have made serious mistakes. In fact some of them even declare that they expect to make mistakes in order to succeed. Many of today's multi-millionaires have failed badly, to the point of bankruptcy. But their main strength is a failure to accept defeat when they are down. They learn from their mistakes, apply that knowledge and continue to strive for success.

Look at the competitors in the Beijing 2008 Olympic games. We see the victors, who have trained hours each day for many years to achieve their peak which enables them to take on the rest of the world and win.

But think also about those athletes who don't come in the top 3 positions ...

The Invisible Creatives Amongst Us

"We need more creatives."

"Where are our creative people?"

"Where will we find the next generation of creative people for our business?"

"What is creativity?"

"We've always done it this way; how can we change?"

These are all issues I've discussed with friends over the past month or so. Creativity is seen almost as the Holy Grail, yet like the Holy Grail, it is elusive, can't be found, remains a mystery. It is something restricted to certain 'gifted' artistic individuals, or to a group of social misfits who sit isolated in their own thoughts dreaming up ideas.

The truth is that creativity is not restricted neither are creatives 'misfits'. In order to be truly creative, interpersonal skills are prerequisite; interaction is important and the good news is that it is present in normal people! We all have the potential to apply creativity, whether we work in a scientific, mathematical, engineering, human science or artistic environment.

The question isn't so much,"Where are the creatives?"

but more

"How can I discover and apply my own creative abilities?"

We tend to think that the grass is greener on the other side; someone else always has better resources than us; someone else always has better ideas than us.

But is that true?

These 'other people' potentially start with the same resources as we do but develop them in a different way, or perhaps they are able to see the potential in who and what they have! The trend over recent years has been to hire the bright young graduates emerging from our centres of academic excellence, replacing existing experience with a new vibrant culture.

But how new and how vibrant is it? Sure there's lots of energy, so I guess in that sense it is vibrant. But how can people emerging from an educational system, still naïve in so many areas of life, experience and reality possibly hope to contribute significantly to our creative culture, if it's not been there in their education? And how can people who are uncreative (the majority emerging from this 'acreative' educational culture) then teach others to be creative? I would suggest that the answer is 'With difficulty.'

However, if we take time to look closer at our people we will surely see a wealth of potential. Perhaps the silver foxes with their experience do have something to offer after all! Perhaps their years of effort, challenges, mistakes and triumphs count a lot more than we realise towards a creative culture we seek after so earnestly. Creativity involves risk, experiment, a combination of experience with naïvity; bringing together different personalities, who perhaps don't naturally sit comfortably together, rubbing the corners off each other to produce a creative spark.

The companies that know the importance of creativity and the creative culture thrive and grow, identifying and releasing it within their existing staff, harnessing the benefits of experience and tempered persistence along with the enthusiasm of newcomers.

Companies that don't, including some of our big corporate players are likely to become historical names in the not too distant future unless they fail to embrace the concept and change accordingly.

Blindicles for the Arts or Articles for the Blind?

'Articles for the Blind' frequently fall through the letterbox of my blind friend.

I use the term blind rather than the PC 'visually impaired' because many of us sighted people hear the term 'visually impaired' ('VI' to those in the know!!) and think instinctively of someone who 'can't see very well'. I use the term blind because this friend does not have any perception of light or dark, let alone image discernment; her vision is 100% impaired … plus some!!

I have learnt a huge amount from this friend, including that two of the most frequent misconceptions are:

Taking Personal Responsibility for Etiquette

As a follow-up to a recent post ... I was very interested to read an article just now on corporate e-mail etiquette and was left asking myself the question,

"Do we really think about what we're doing?"

I suspect the answer is probably 'No' in many cases as we try our hardest to either empty our inbox, or look for someone else to solve the problem. Neither of these intentions is bad unless we are the one who should be solving the problem. But is the e-mail inbox the only problem? I think not. Myopia (short-sightedness) is common in so many areas of our daily existence. We have often become pre-conditioned to respond in such a way through repeatedly acting that same way; sometimes acting before thinking. The result is that we often, inadvertently (or intentionally?) overload others.

Perhaps you, like me, are looking to make 2008 a year where those knee-jerk and pre-conditioned responses are identified, addressed and resolved. This is not an easy or pain-free course of action and will undoubtedly need to continue to be re-addressed. However, I am confident that the benefit of my actions will be much wider than just myself: the change in me and my attitudes will impact those around me.

So, instead of looking for some kind of 'policing' in situations like excessive e-mail, might it not be a good idea to address the problem at the root: the people who are sending them and bring about a change in attitude and awareness. Rather than being reactive to something that has already happened, wouldn't it be better to stop it from happening in the first place?

Honest Debate - A Creative Tool?

Hi! I've not written anything down for a while because I have had my nose in books researching for my business. My entry for today is short and basic.

I never cease to be amazed how many of the triggers that release creativity are so simple. Nothing deep and complicated; nothing highly theoretical; nothing special really ... just a gateway to looking at the same problem in a different way. For example, take a problem, look at the key elements in that problem and then start thinking about the effects of opposites: What would be the situation if that wasn't to happen?

And as I looked at these tools, it struck me that some of the greatest stimulators of creativity are when opposites meet; when we are placed in situations, or with people who take a different, possibly contrary view to our own.

And I wondered whether we lose creative opportunities because we are afraid to engage in open, honest, frank debate and in some cases take an opposing view. I'm not suggesting that we look for every opportunity to put people together who go for each other's jugular, but I am suggesting that by encouraging honest debate between people or departments which don't naturally fit together, we may be able to stimulate some new, otherwise unidentified solutions to our problems.

I also think that some our meetings would also be more fun and productive!

'Oh! I've known you for ages. I don't think it's my job to tell you when you've done something well ... just when you need to improve'

So ended a conversation with someone I'd known for years ... and it hurt ... and it set me thinking!

I see many people, especially young people/young adults with a desperate need to be affirmed, noticed, respected (in the true sense) and encouraged. They have many 'friends' and colleagues whom they have known for a long time, but somehow the familiarity has also put scales on the eyes of friends, so that they no longer encourage or feed positives into their life ... only a destructive neutrality.

And yet I am often just as guilty as my friend for either prejudging (appearance, comments from other people etc) or just looking for things I can improve in others, whilst missing the core values and reasons why they are my friend in the first place. What should be a relationship becomes a monologue: I forget their needs and aim to fulfil my wants.

I remember friends at school who were devastated when they had tried their hardest and yet weren't quite good enough because the standard of their work didn't compare to the standard of work submitted by other members of the class. Rather than being helped and encouraged, they were targetted by teachers and fellow pupils; they were the butt end of jokes; they were labelled 'thick', 'stupid', 'dunces' (and worse) ... and I was right there with the crowd taunting them!!

What effect did this have on the individuals concerned?

They responded in a number of ways. They became:

Discouraged ... they perceived themselves as not good enough.
Demotivated ... their enthusiasm and interest declined and not surprisingly, their marks got worse
Disillusioned ... long-term, some of my friends gave up in that subject
Some became Disenfranchised from the education system ... they continually got into trouble with teachers, pupils and in some cases the law, and very sadly, some lost hope.

But thankfully, some became very successful people, running their own business and enjoying life.

So what happened to buck the trend?

In most cases there was either an individual who took interest in them, coached and encouraged them, hung in there and made a difference. In other cases the inner drive of these people to prove to themselves that they had value and could succeed was so strong that they drove themselves to achieve what they had been told could never happen.

I hear sad stories about people like Robbie Williams and Mick Hucknall, two high profile, talented personalities in the music world who were told by teachers at school, 'You will never amount to anything.' Ouch! Wouldn't it have been so much better if their talents had been spotted, encouraged and nurtured so that they could reach and enjoy their success without so many hangups and low self image.

As we look to cultivate our relationships with others we should start by 'earning the right' to their friendship by building trust and demonstrating that we are worth having as a friend. And once we have built these friendships and relationships, it is the responsibility of each of us to accentuate the positive rather than highlight the negative or, equally as destructive, make no comment at all.

I believe that by applying these principles to our relationships, in all areas of life, we will benefit, our friends will benefit, those around us will benefit and ultimately our businesses and ventures will benefit.

Success = Creativity + Integrity

I was reading an article in the headlines today which stated that fewer and fewer people trust what they read in adverts, and suspicion is at an all time high online as surfers are afraid to follow advertising links in case their e-mail address is somehow 'captured' and they are bombarded with unwanted communications from the company and third party associates.

Combine this with an all-time low level of trust in business marketing campaigns as a whole and we face a bit of a crisis ... We need to communicate with people about our products and services, but how do we achieve that without being thwarted at the first step?

Can I suggest that one word sums up the answer ... integrity.

Over the past few years there has been a significant change in both the offline and online business arenas, from being company driven to being consumer driven: What do our customers want? rather than What do we want to give our customers? Creative (or not so creative) techniques have been used to 'breech customer defences' and get them to buy. Unfortunately, a lot of these techniques, though very creative, were also one-sided, excluding the customer.

However, the wind of change now means that customers have what, to some, may seem like too much power in dictating markets.

As I looked a little closer at this problem something very basic struck me: this new modus operandi is sales and marketing (offline and online) driven by relationships. Sure, we can dress this up in all sorts of jargon, but the basis is now,

"If you want me to buy from you I want to know you, I want to know what you stand for, I want to know what you are trying to sell me, I want to know how I benefit from having it and then I can make a decision on whether I want to buy it"

Unique Selling Points (USPs), selling the benefits of products and customer focused selling have always been good techniques and known to bring improved customer response. However, now the customers have caught up! They are tired of being given half truths or part information about products; and rightly so.

Unfortunately, presenting only the advantages and successes of a product, whilst omitting to declare some of the disadvantages has been the accepted norm in many companies, particularly if those disadvantages have no associated health risk. However, the more scary fact is that this practice also occurs in the health and pharmaceutical industries where the consequences are nothing short of dangerous or life-threatening. Newspaper headlines with significant impact on the company, publicised when it is discovered that certain unwanted side effects or adverse effects were conveniently 'omitted' from the dossier submitted for approval.

If we take time to consider this, the effects seen in the relatively small, selected population used in clinical trials are certainly going to be seen when the drug is released to the wider community and used by millions of patients, often worldwide. Integrity is compromised in an effort to gain (often short-term) return on investment to please the shareholders. Creativity without the integrity leads to compromise at the least; disaster at worst.

But the impact on the wider business community in these situations. There is a massive loss of trust by the customers; not only against in the 'offending' company but against all companies in the same business sector. We all suffer from the lack of integrity of others.

So, I welcome much of the shift that has taken place because I see it as a return to the basics of human interaction and relationships. As businesses we are now accountable to our customers and we are required to be open and honest if we want their custom, business and loyalty.

Historically and in the future, the most successful businesses are/will be those that display integrity and use their creativity wisely. No longer can we simply sell to our customers ... we need to gain their trust and loyalty first, and we can only really do that by establishing a relationship with them, by including them in our decisions and listening to what they have to say, even if we can't act on every request we receive. However, once we have their trust, it is easier to be open about our mistakes and we are seen to be human and not just some corporate threat. We may also be creative in asking our customers their ideas for solutions to our problems?

2008 is a new start for me as I venture out in my own business. After 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry I have witnessed much that is good and bad. My priority is to take the best that I have learnt, be transparent in what I do and keep an open ear to those I deal with.

I want to ensure that my creativity is tempered, no, driven by integrity.

Another Year of Potential

As Big Ben struck 12 o'clock, another new year dawned: a year full of potential to do good or bad, to help or hinder, to get stuck in or give up.

And yet with all this potential in front of us, we are probably still reeling and recovering from the previous year and its activity, demands, successes and failures.

If we are to adapt to the ever-increasing rate of change in our world it will be our ability to recognise the changes, be open to them and respond to them. It will be an ability to work together with our colleagues and friends. It will be our ability to be open to new ideas, to work with new people (perhaps even those we don't like) and be prepared to engage and increase our creativity for problem solving, product identification, relationship building, selling ... or whatever aspect of life impacts us most.

There is great potential in our schools, colleges and universities to inject passion into our students, to find new ways which enable them to discover their own talents and abilities, and not least, find new ways to resurrect and increase our own passion for what we do.

I'm excited by all that 2008 holds ... challenges and triumphs ... hope you are too.

I wish you all a very happy new year.

Stuart

Information overload - Is this the real problem?

Information Overload Predicted Problem of the Year for 2008 ... So reads one of yesterday's headlines.

Apparently, for 2008 the US-based advisor to knowledge economy decision makers, Basex Inc. have deviated from their normal practice of announcing a Product of the Year or Person of the Year to forecasting a Problem of the Year.

This problem is not new, but Basex's chief analyst Jonathan Spira says that it has grown as the technology we use increases our expectations for an instantaneous response to our request.

I believe that same expectation exists for instantaneous solutions to our problems.

Two causes of this overload are:

These have resulted in more information and requests, more interruptions, more time wasted looking for the right information or answers, and perhaps most significantly, today's workers being much less productive. Spira indicates that workers get disorientated every time they stop what they are doing to reply to an e-mail or answer a follow-up phone call because they didn't reply within minutes, and estimating that they then spend 10 to 20 times the length of the original interruption trying to get back on track.

To put all this in context, it is estimated that such disruptions cost the U.S. economy alone, $650 billion in 2006.

Spira comments, "It's always too much of a good thing." None of these technologies we use are in themselves a bad thing ... it's just when they are used to excess. I worked in an office which was perhaps 20 yards long, contained only 25 staff and yet people in that office (who could see each other) often sent e-mails in preference to getting-up and talking to someone. Perhaps our lawyers have had too much influence with their 'Get it in writing' slogan or perhaps people are too afraid to make mistakes to cover their back.

So, is the issue really just one of too much information? Perhaps the problem is also a reflection of our corporate cultures and structures. In our thrust to please the shareholders we want instant response, instant results ... and instant show for our labours.

I remember being taught in the early 90s that it is impossible to take anything less than a 3 or 6 month cycle in order to make a reasonable prediction of performance e.g., sales. Long-term planning (3, 5, 10 years) was the foundation of any successful business. Yet, only 10 years later we are predicting performance on a monthly basis or even less. The underlying noise and fluctuation is seemingly ignored ... sales increase in January and we're doing well; they decrease in February and it's someone's fault.

The development of ideas, development of products, development of our work cultures, the development of most things takes time and thought.

I would challenge us that the very thing we need for success, creativity, has been squeezed out of our businesses in return for short-term gain. We all want creativity, but rarely know what we're looking for, or how to implement or cultivate it within our business. Creativity needs space for experimentation, play, mistakes and improvements. It requires interaction between departments and people of different skill sets. Many of our company cultures pay lip service to 'allowing mistakes' but we all know the reality ... a blame culture.

Whilst this mentality persists, whilst we continue to stifle creativity, our businesses will continue to struggle, continue to lose sense of identity, continue to lose sense of direction, and most significantly, continue to lose our lifeblood, our best staff.

So, in order to counter the impact of this information overload, we need structures in place that provide effective support for staff, allowing them to develop and to do their job efficiently whilst reducing unnecessary interruption. We need to give them space to experiment and encouragement to take risks and then support them if these don't work out. And we need to allow them the time to do this.

Too much information and no structure to manage the problem has potentially catastrophic consequences for our businesses if we don't take steps to combat this cancer of the 21st century. We may resist the urge to immediately follow up an e-mail with an instant message or phone call, we may make sure the subject line clearly reflects the topic and urgency of an e-mail and we may avoid copying in more than necessary or using the reply to all button, but the problem is larger than just the amount of information out there ... The amount of information available will only continue to increase.

How we handle that increase within our businesses is a key to success or failure.

Whatever happened to the dreamers?

So echoes the chorus of one of the most haunting songs of 2006. Jack Savoretti sings of dreams lost, the decline of true visionaries ... and the hole that leaves in our world.

For many of us, our dreaming was snuffed-out at school or in education...

'Stop dreaming boy!'

'If you don't stop dreaming and get on with your work you'll be no-one; get nowhere!'

'Get real!'

'What good is it if I can't touch it?'

'In your dreams!'

And yet, more recent discoveries show the important of dreaming in our creativity ... and it also shows the paucity and severe crisis in business because the creatives just aren't there any longer. Intelligence isn't just about answering questions that are posed ... sometimes it's about looking beyond those questions to the root of the problem, making connections that weren't otherwise there, being creative, dreaming a little, from which the true life-changing solutions arise.

A good friend with whom I worked for a number of years had come into the Pharmaceutical Industry from being a professional dancer and lighting engineer: one of the rare people who worked both sides of the stage. Her ideas flowed like water and it wasn't long before she'd established links with doctors that had previously been unreachable. Sales started to increase BUT this wasn't the way our company worked! She was told to stick to our tried and tested methods. Eventually she left and started working for another company who allowed her to use her dreaming and creativity ... and surprise, surprise ... she's been the top sales representative consistently throughout 2007.

Suppressing dreams is not only fatal to our own development and fulfilment, it is also death to our business and industry.

Innocent drinks works with an underlying ethos that encourages creativity and dreaming in all departments ... and celebrates when those dreams result in success. In just 8 years the company has grown from a 3 man outfit selling drinks from a stall at a small music festival into a business with an annual turnover of more than £76 million pounds. Try telling them that dreaming doesn't work or isn't reality.

Thankfully, there is a re-converging of the arts and the sciences ... a broadening of the definition of intelligence, a broadening of co-operative projects where both fields benefit.

And what is the source of this Renaissance?

A resurrection of the dreamers!

I often wonder what would have happened if I'd followed my inclinations to dream. What would have been the impact on me, my family, my friends, my business, my self-perception, my insecurity .. my life.

Never give-up dreaming. Dream against the odds. Bring about change. Challenge the boundaries and see the changes!

Happy Christmas - Take a break & recharge!

Today is Christmas Eve ...

I love this time of year because I try to take time to rest, relax and recharge. It's very easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, the adverts and marketing which tell us that in order to be happy we must have this or that product ... until we feel that we're on a carousel and we can't jump off.

So, why not find somewhere quiet and amongst the joy, partying and celebrating take some well-earned rest and recovery!

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas & Peaceful New Year.

... and if you like poetry, here's something I wrote about the first Christmas ...

THORNS AND STRAW

A back street stable in a crowded town.
Anguished screams; an occasional moan
Go unheard in the noise of a night
Of hustle and bustle, and rooms packed tight
With people, so busy and unaware
That a virgin's sweat means God is here.

No warm, cosy glow; only candle-lit straw.
A manger and oxen and filth on the floor.
No sweet smelling incense or soft comfy chair,
But cold stone walls; acrid smells in the air;
And the breath of animals to supply the heat,
In this hole in the rock on an unnamed street.

But God's not ignored the place that He's chosen
To visit as a baby, when the night air's frozen.
He treats some shepherds, the lowest of the low,
To front seat tickets at the greatest light show;
And singing and music like they've never heard before,
Which leaves them face down, shaking on the floor.

"Get up! Rejoice! For your king is here!
Run to the town and worship Him there.
Not in the palace so lofty and tall,
But lying in a stable, accessible to all.
So go! Take gifts and sing and feast,
For the mightiest God, has come down for the least."

And in palaces and castles hundreds of miles away,
A country's elite, at the end of the day
Study changes in the stars and heavens which bring
News, that on earth is born a king.
A king so great that creation bows down,
And brings its own offering, unseen in the town.

Their journey is long and filled with pain,
Across scorching deserts and rugged terrain.
As days turn to months and months to years;
Following the bright star whenever it appears.
Then rejoicing and thanks when at last they find
A small boy, just walking; the Lord of mankind.

With regal bows and language unknown,
They offer their gifts to Mary's son.
Gold, incense and myrrh; "What can I believe?"
His mother wonders as the visitors leave
To journey back east, their hearts on fire.
They've seen and worshipped the true Messiah.

And as years roll on by and the crowd's anger grows,
In reaction to this radical who constantly shows
That God has no favourites; our rules don't apply
To the values of heaven. "Crucify!" they now cry,
So He's crowned and beaten and then nailed to a tree;
This King, Priest and Sacrifice; thorns and straw set us free.

The Ken Robinson talk that made a difference

Today, I have a video for you. It lasts 19 minutes so get a coffee ... sit down .. relax ... watch ... and enjoy.

Probably one of the most encouraging and challenging talks I have seen in recent years.

How relevant are our emotions in our outlook & learning?

I was reading a book today and came across a quote from psychologist Daniel Goleman, which seems to sum up pretty well where we currently find ourselves in education, business and society.

Here are some of his thoughts:

'These are times when the fabric of society seems to unravel at ever greater speed, where selfishness, violence and a meanness of spirit seem to be rotting the goodness of our communal lives ... Those who are at the mercy of impulse - who lack self-control - suffer a moral deficiency. The ability to control impulse is the basis of will and character. By the same token, the root of altruism lies in empathy, the ability to read emotions in others; lacking a sense of another's need or despair, there is no caring. And if there are any two moral stances that our times call for, they are precisely these, self-restraint and compassion ... When it comes to shaping our decisions and our actions, feeling counts every bit as much, and often more, than thought; we have gone too far in emphasising the value of the purely rational, of what IQ measures, in human life.'

Goleman points at the changes needed to bring about a revision and resurgence of individual and community values and creativity. Stimulation and development of only one area of our personality quashes the full potential of us as people (individuals and in our communities).

Only when each of us we are able to redress the balance and open up ourselves to facets of our lives that have lain dormant or remained underdeveloped/undeveloped can we begin to release our true potential and creativity. Then, our crisis in the business and indeed world arena may begin to be challenged and effectively reversed. Until next time ...

The creative paradox

For decades we have been educating and training people to be academics. Those who succeed take the highest places of honour, those who don't ... well, we'd rather not talk about them.

But who are the REAL losers in these systems. I think the short answer is ... everyone!

We focus on training people to become thinkers, but at the same time deprive them of a key aspect of their intellectual capacity ... creativity.

Creativity isn't just something done by a small subset of people, locked away in a special 'creative room' that most of us never see. True creativity is something in which everyone of us can engage and comes when we apply all of our intellectual faculties ... reasoning, emotions, feelings ... when we allow our whole brain in on the party.

Think about an athlete preparing for a key race. We wouldn't expect them to exercise only one leg and one arm. We may laugh at the idea, but our traditional education systems do exactly that with our brain ... one part thrives and the other part atrophies.

And worse still, what if our brain doesn't connect with these logical, deductive learning processes? In two words: we struggle. Worse still, we become convinced of our own failure because we don't hit the academic standards (which after all are only set against one dimension of criteria).

There are many amazingly creative people who fall by the wayside because they are never allowed to achieve their full potential. Even the so-called 'academic successes' fail, as critical areas of personal development involving the emotions, interactive skills and basic team player skills have been squeezed through the academic mangle and been left behind.

Business cries out for creative people but is rarely in a position to get any: it doesn't really know how to recognise and test for creative people within its own walls and the end-products of university or college education rarely have the necessary skills or abilities.

It's a sobering thought ... one I will be looking at further. But what do you think?

Blog Title: Creative Solutions for Business & Education

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