Importance of Asking the RIGHT Questions
“The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of the wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question” ~ Peter Drucker How much time are you spending in exploring your real challenge, problem or opportunity? How often do you jump from an initial problem to a brainstorming session? Or, how often do you jump from the initial challenge to a solution? ...
Read MoreIn All Seriousness, Play to Perform with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
I guest blogged for LearningLens, Inc. The topic…LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®. Yes, play IS good for business. Trade in your stuffy, boring, unproductive meetings for engaging, focused, fun and productive meetings. Engaging teams with the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology during business meetings helps to: Create strategies rooted in shared insights Uncover real wants and needs Align on...
Read MoreVIVA SCRIBAVOX™ – Give Voice to the Writings of Life™
Give voice to the writings of life. You are invited to participate in a 4-session pilot program that Cindy Wold and I are delivering called Viva ScribaVox™. The words are in there. They float around in your mind, in your heart, wanting to come out. Maybe you have put mind to ink already. Or, maybe you hesitate, thinking “I’m not that creative”. You are....
Read MoreThink Innovatively in Design
A colleague on a LinkedIn group recently submitted this question: “What are some techniques for helping leaders in organizations really think innovatively in the design process?” Here are some techniques I suggested to think innovatively in the design process: A key element of innovation is design for mutual benefit to create value. At the beginning of the design process, identify...
Read MoreCreative Leadership for a Complex World
We live in a volatile, ill-defined, ambiguous and complex world where changes seem ever-present. In IBM’s 2010 CEO study, IBM spoke with over 1,500 CEOs from around the world. They identified three themes facing business today: Complexity is here to stay and will likely accelerate in the coming years Their orgainzations do not currently have the skills or capacity to effectively deal with...
Read MoreDieter Rams on Design
Check out this Dieter Rams (world-famous designer, I mean architect) interview on Fast Company’s Co.Design: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663906/our-interview-with-dieter-rams-the-greatest-designer-alive-video?partner=co_newsletter A few insights from Rams: Design should be about making our lives a little bit easier and better. His credo: “Less but better.” He advocates that...
Read MoreMove Beyond the Past to Enhance Creative Thinking
“We can’t live in the past. If we are stuck in the past, I believe we destroy our creativity, we destroy our imagination to do things differently, and we destroy our own inner peace of mind.” – Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, cofounder of Peace People, Nobel Peace Prize winner in Spirituality & Health, March-April 2009, p. 64 How often do you hear in meetings: “We...
Read MoreBeliefs blind us to alternatives – impact on change and ideation
I just read a short article by Marilyn Schlitz, PhD, titled Why We Can Be Dogmatically Against Things We Know Nothing About in the newest issue of Spirituality & Health (March – April 2010). A few things grabbed my attention. First, Ms. Schlitz writes: “new discoveries in neuroscience, social psychology, and anthropology offer provocative insights into the barriers of...
Read MoreCreative Habit: An Oxymoron
Innovate or die… many of us are likely familiar with the idea that organizations must innovate to stay competitive and survive. But, what does it mean for an organization to innovate? Innovation is creativity in action. It is applied creativity. Organizations that develop a habit of applied creativity or a “creative habit” are more likely to be innovative and have long-term...
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