Microsteps to Creative Teambuilding

Last November I conducted a workshop for one of the ASTD Atlanta Special Interest Groups on ideas for creative ways to build teams.

View the Prezi presentation here.

Asking Good Questions

A child questions everything, yet as adults, we often accept what is front of us, even if it doesn’t work so well, never asking for more information, clarification or simply, why? Our acceptance of what is rather than what could be can mean the loss of potential for an organization. By encouraging and asking questions,--good questions -- the kind of questions to challenge processes and simply ask why are we doing what we do in the workplace, organizations can move past the status quo and get more creative.

Why? So, why don’t we ask questions? Those of us who have been in the school system too long (high school, college, grad school) often regret asking too many questions; we get singled out, and not in a good way, for asking rather than accepting what we are told.

Maybe we have a question yet don’t ask when given the opportunity because we believe our question isn’t good enough to ask. In the workplace environment, we hesitate to question someone with authority or power over us, whether it’s our boss, a subject-matter expert, or even a colleague.

Many of us are intimidated by silence, the time when someone says “does anyone have any questions”; we may not want to reveal our ignorance. Instead of putting ourselves into a potentially embarrassing situation, we keep silent. Our question goes unasked and unanswered.

Good questioning skills are a talent we should help our employees to embrace.

Communicate and encourage. First and foremost, let employees know there are no stupid questions. Smart, successful people don’t accept what is front of them at face value and they certainly aren’t satisfied until they find an explanation they understand—to do this they ask questions.

Engage. Help people ask better questions. Give them effective examples such as:

·         "Can you explain the details of this situation?"

·         “Why did you choose this particular approach?”

·         “What are the possible consequences of going this route?"

·         “Why do you think this project turned out as it did?”

·         "Can this be accomplished in any other way?"

·         “Why did this work?”

·         "Why didn’t this work?"

·         "Based on your experience, what do you suggest we do here?"

Self-help guru Tony Robbins puts it like this, “Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers. “ By encouraging and showing employees how to ask good questions, you can develop their abilities—abilities for solving problems, being resourceful, and becoming more creative in the workplace.

Karen Sieczka is an Instructional Designer with a performance consulting company, Creativity@Work expert, and founder of Growing Great Ideas.com, a training resources website. Karen has designed, facilitated, and managed a variety of training programs including technology, soft skills, customer service, leadership, and business communications. She also trains organizations of all sizes to be more creative and innovative in the workplace using micro-steps from her Kindle eBook Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work.

Harvesting Creativity through Social Media

Social media can be a creative and collaborative portal for organizations that makes it easier to gather ideas and generate innovations. Proper implementation is necessary to fully develop these tools so the business can reap the rewards. This article illustrates how to successfully integrate social media into the workforce for a creative idea harvest.

Read the rest of the article in Training Industry Quarterly...

Want to get more creative and innovative in the workplace? Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, THE creativity training book, is now available for Kindle. 

The Paradox of Creativity

Creativity is often born in a paradox. Why? Many creative thinkers are divergent thinkers.  This means they are able to generate large quantities of ideas, whether brilliant or mundane, maintain a playful attitude about the process, and have the flexibility to switch perspectives to unusual and new associations.  The paradox comes from the need to temper creativity with a dogged determination and perseverance necessary to bring ideas from the conception stage to actual, practical use.  

One without the other results in a net gain of nothing: either there are no ideas generated or the ideas languish and die unused.

It’s here! Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, with over 80 pages of ideas, exercises, and resources at the E-book website.

Follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative using microsteps at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work: Memorable Biz Cards

Creativity might be defined as seeing the world through sufficiently new eyes so that new solutions appear. –William M. Boast

It’s a snack, it’s a business card

Anyone with a computer, printer, and some cardstock can create a business card so business cards have become a dime a dozen. How do you make one more memorable? Turn the business card into a novelty, that’s how.

Meatcards.com provides a slab of beef jerky with your contact information laser- etched onto the surface. Talk about making a first impression and standing out from the rest of the business card givers! Now, why didn’t I think of that?

Consider: What can you do with common, everyday objects to turn them into something memorable?

It’s here and it’s free! Extended through April 15, 2011-- download the complete training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, with over 80 pages of ideas, exercises, and resources at the E-book website.

Follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work: Articles

Gather creativity and innovation information to add to your organizational Idea Library from some of these interesting resources. How can you and your organization apply these ideas and resources to problems and projects or use to seek new opportunities, niches, and combinations?

• Duke University: Creative Thinking Value Rubric
• How to Overcome Creative Blocks and Distractions on BNET
• What is Creativity by Linda Naiman
• Do You Recognize These 10 Mental Blocks to Creative Thinking? On Copyblogger
• WorkMadeEasier.com: Will Creative Thinking Make You More Successful?

What creative and idea resources will you add to your Idea Library? 

It’s here and it’s free! Until March 31, 2011-- download the complete training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, with over 80 pages of ideas, exercises, and resources at the E-book website.

Follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work Idea Master Seth Godin

What would our world look like if more people started projects, made a ruckus, and took risks? The job isn't to catch up to the status quo; the job is to invent the status quo–Seth Godin, from his book Poke the Box

Seth Godin embodies embracing new technologies to market ideas and products and has always managed to be on the cutting edge as a provocateur/marketer. American Way Magazine dubbed him, "America's Greatest Marketer," and Godin’s blog is one of the most popular in the world written by a single individual. His latest book, Poke the Box
is a call to action to take the initiative both in career and in life. Seth broke from the traditional publishing model by the book releasing it through a partnership with Amazon.com called The Domino Project. Some of his previous books include Unleashing the Idea Virus and the Big Moo.

As an entrepreneur, he has founded dozens of companies, most of which failed. Yoyodyne, his first internet company, was funded by Flatiron and Softbank and acquired by Yahoo! in 1998. It pioneered the use of ethical direct mail online, something Seth called Permission Marketing. Not one to let failure derail his career, his latest company, Squidoo.com, is ranked among the top 125 websites.

Consider how your organization could think more like Godin, push aside fear and tradition to embrace new strategies and projects. Think: What would Seth do?

It’s almost here! The complete, expanded second edition e-book is coming! Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work Exercise Soup Bowl

Soup Bowl

Making out-of-the-box associations and connections gives staff practice that can be applied to internal projects, products, or services.The exercise encourages thinking outside the box when facing problems needing solutions that are out of the ordinary.

Objective: To come up with creative ways to use common, everyday items.

Instructions: As a team, spend five minutes finding an interesting use for five items randomly pulled from a large soup bowl such as small toys, sticky notes, paper clips, etc. Anything that fits in the bowl is fair game. Teams will then be invited to share and illustrate alternate uses for the item with the group. The group can then vote for the funniest or most interesting uses by a team and a prize could be given.

It’s almost here! The complete, expanded second edition e-book comes out on March 1st! Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work: Idea Master Richard Branson

My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them...from the perspective of wanting to live life to the full, I felt that I had to attempt it. –Sir Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson is a British entrepreneur and risk-taker extraordinaire, best known for his Virgin Group of over 400 companies. Branson’s first successful business venture was a magazine called Student at age 16. He is the 212th richest person in the world according to Forbes' 2010 list of billionaires.

What makes him an Idea Master is his philosophy to embrace life, take risks, learn from failure, think creatively, and continually adapt.

Consider how your organization could “think” more like Richard Branson to become more creative and innovative by borrowing some of his traits:

• Step out of the comfort zone- Branson is constantly stepping outside his comfort zone into new industries and challenges.

• Face toward problems-When problems arise, Branson tackles them immediately and aggressively, making sure that small problems don’t become big issues.

• Be open to change- Branson is constantly open to changing his perspectives, viewpoints and approach to any situation if he feels that it will help him attain his goals and objectives in a much more effective and efficient manner.

• Seek new opportunities- Branson is always on the lookout for new opportunities and ideas that will enable him to gain an advantage over his competitors.

• Ask questions- Branson is constantly asking questions to clarify his thinking and help him overcome the challenges that confront him on a daily basis.

• Be playful- Branson turns everything into a game where having fun is on top of his agenda.

• Take notes- Branson carries a notepad in his pocket to capture ideas for new projects, gather feedback from customers and employees, and to write his goals, thoughts and experiences on paper.

• Learn from failures- Branson fully understands that lessons are usually learned through mistakes and experience.

To learn more about Richard Branson, visit Virgin’s website.

It’s almost here! The complete, expanded second edition e-book comes out on March 1st! Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work: Idea Library Resources

Here are some places on the web to gather creativity and innovation information to add to the Idea Library. Consider how your organization can apply these ideas and resources to problems and projects or use them to seek new opportunities and combinations.

• 2011 may go down in history as "The Year of Opportunity." Venture capitalist Saku Tuominen, founder of the Idealist Group, says in the Monocle Small Business Guide2010/11. Read the complete article on Amex’s Open Forum website.

• 5 Ways to Spot a $100 Million Idea. Read the blog post on BNET.

• 6 Steps to Achieving Creativity in Business, Personal Life: It turns out that the creative process involves both art and science. Read the article in US NEWS

• Become a More Creative Leader — Think Small by Stew Friedman in HBR.

What creative resources can you add to your Idea Library?

It’s almost here! The complete e-book comes out on March 1st! Need more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work:Grow Ideas Like Mold

The end of sandwich stalkers

If you take your lunch to work and store it in a communal refrigerator, you may have had it stolen. Or maybe you had roommates who helped themselves to your food. The Anti-Theft lunch bags are the brainchild of Mihoko Ouchi and Sherwood Forlee, a pair of eclectic designers and founders of the company they simply call “the”.

The plastic bag has green, mold-like splotches printed on both sides, disguising your food as putrid, inedible fodder.

When searching for new ideas, consider a look at niches that would solve a common, everyday problem. If you find yourself saying, Now why didn't I think of that?, you are onto something!

Need more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work Idea Master: Leonardo da Vinci

Most of us are familiar with the genius of Leonardo da Vinci (1452 –1519). Not only did he paint several famous works including the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, da Vinci was an observer, scientist, and inventor. His studies in science and engineering are as impressive and innovative as his artistic work, much of which is recorded in notebooks comprising over 13,000 pages of notes and drawings. Da Vinci is also credited with inventing a tank and helicopter centuries before they were produced in their now familiar form. He was a man of ideas well before their time.

Michael Gelb’s book, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, has a roadmap to use what Gelb calls the da Vinci principles, with one in particular, sfumato, managing ambiguity and change, is extremely relevant to facing the prospect of change and innovative processes in the workplace. While many of us have fears of the unknown, using da Vinci’s sfumato, which refers to a style of painting where the edges are hazy but implied, we need to become at ease with the unknown. Only by embracing the inherent uncertainty of creativity and innovation, can we move to da Vinci’s level of thinking and creativity.

For more information on Gelb’s book and the other da Vinci principles, visit his website.

In an earlier post, I included an exercise called Write it Down, which uses some of da Vinci’s technique of observation to gather ideas and information for unleashing the creativity process.

Need more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Culture vs. Creativity: Is Your Organizational Culture Killing Ideas?

In July 2010, IBM released the results of an interesting survey, after asking a worldwide group of 1,500 CEOs what they thought were essential skills for success in today’s world. About 60% identified creativity as the most important leadership quality over the next five years. While the IBM survey marks a step toward acknowledgment of the significance of creativity in the workplace, does the corporate culture really support a more creative and innovative workplace environment or is it just wishful thinking?

Read the rest of the article on TrainingIndustry.com

Creativity@Work: Books

What better way to build a foundation and reference point for creative pursuits in the workplace than to read about innovation from a variety of viewpoints? Build an Idea Library with some books that may help your organization think more creatively:

• 101 Creative Problem Solving Techniques: The Handbook of New Ideas for Business by James M. Higgins

• A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative by Roger von Oech

• Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out by Douglas Rushkoff

• The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization by Thomas Kelley and Jonathan Littman

• How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day

Need more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work Exercise: Three Wishes

When we face a difficult project or situation, we often wonder what would happen if we could just make a wish? Wouldn't everything work out just fine? Try this exercise under the assumption we could make a wish (or three) to make this project work or to go with a totally different possibility. To work within shorter time frame, you may want to limit the exercise to one wish.

Objective: To find a unique perspective to problem solving given unlimited possibilities and no restrictions.

Instructions: Each team has discovered a magic genie lamp. When you rub it , the genie pops out and grants your team three wishes on things you would like to see happen or change at work. The team must decide what the three things are. It can be to a person, the boss, the job, the people you work with or project specific. Remember each wish can have consequences if not thought out.

Spend 15-30 discussing the possibilities and the ramifications of each and choose the three best alternatives. Each team will then explain to the group why they chose their particular wishes and why some were not chosen.

Need more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work: Idea Master Buckminster Fuller

I just invent, then wait until man comes around to needing what I've invented.

--R. Buckminster Fuller

Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller (1895 –1983) was an American philosopher, thinker, visionary, inventor, architect, engineer, mathematician, poet, cosmologist, and is credited with being one of the first futurists and global thinkers.

Fuller is best known for his lattice shell structures or geodesic domes, which have been used as parts of military radar stations, civic buildings, environmental protest camps and exhibition attractions. Although Fuller popularized use of the dome, the original design came from Dr. Walther Bauersfeld. For the next half-century, he developed many ideas, designs and inventions, particularly regarding practical, inexpensive shelter and transportation because of his overriding concern for sustainability and human survival under the existing socio-economic system. Fuller, however, remained optimistic about humanity's future. He documented his life, philosophy and ideas scrupulously by a diary called the Dymaxion Chronofile.

Fuller also developed the Dymaxion Map of the world as the first world projection to show the continents on a flat surface without visible distortion. This view shows the earth as being essentially one island in one ocean.

His ideals are still carried on through the work of the Buckminster Fuller Institute. Visit the website for more information.

Need more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work Tool: Skype

Technology has brought so many great tools right to our desktop including the ability to make phone calls using Skype. Since 2003, Skype has been giving millions of internet users the opportunity to make voice and video calls for free. It is estimated that just in 2010, Skype users made 95 billion minutes of calls.

All you need is a computer that has a webcam available (for microphone and sound, which is pretty much every computer on the market today) and is connected to the internet. You download the Skype program, install it, register a Skype user, and you are up and running. Even the free version of Skype is quite useful and allows for free Skype to Skype calls, instant messaging, file transfers, and the ability to share your computer screen with the caller. Subscription and pay-as-you-go plans allow even more features including voicemail, call forwarding, and group video conferencing, all at rates the traditional phone company and even some cellular providers can’t beat.

I often use the free version of Skype frequently to augment my pay-as-you-go cell phone. I am able to make calls to 800 and 888 numbers at no charge right from my computer. The person or persons on the other end of the “line” have no idea I am talking through my computer since Skype uses standard telephone sounds and the audio quality is so high. I was also amazed when a colleague sent me a file download through Skype in the middle of our conference call. Although you can make calls to other Skype users for free, if you call a regular number, you will need to buy airtime (extremely cheap if used within US) to speak with the other party.

I purchased $10 worth of Skype credit and still haven’t used it up since it only charged me two cents per minute. (US call). Even with rates slightly higher for international calls, it is still cheap.

In the near future, I am going to use the screen sharing option for training activities. If you have tried and used this feature for training purposes, please share your experience by posting in the comments section.

One minor caveat: Skype can't be used for emergency calling but neither can a cell phone.

Want to give Skype a try? Check out the Skype website for more information and rates.

Need more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work: Why didn't I think of that?

Bring Tim

This meeting is costing what? Think about all the time, not to mention money, wasted in business meetings. After sitting through a four hour meeting, Brad Johnson thought wouldn't it be great to have a gadget to quickly calculate the exact amount it costs for an employee to be at the meeting? His frustration become the idea for the Bring TIM® (Time is Money) device that inexpensively and easily shows just how much money is being wasted by plugging in the amount of time spent in the meeting and the average hourly wage of those attending.

Need more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work Idea Master: Johannes Gutenberg

From wine press to printing press...

Who doesn't enjoy a good book? Even with alternative ways to obtain reading materials, printed books still remain popular. Did you know the technology for earliest books was inspired by a machine designed for a totally different use?

The printing press, invented by Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1398 –1468), in 1440, developed from the technology of the screw-type wine presses of the Rhine Valley. Gutenberg created a hand press, in which ink was rolled over the raised surfaces of movable hand-set block letters held within a wooden form and the form was then pressed against a sheet of paper. Although the Chinese are credited with creating block printing well before the 15th century, the printing press built by Gutenberg, with its wooden and later metal movable type, made printed materials available for the masses and remained the standard until the 20th century. Gutenberg is credited with printing the world's first book, the Gutenberg Bible.

Over the centuries, many newer printing technologies were developed based on Gutenberg's printing machine including offset printing.

Gutenberg’s press is a great example of taking the technology from one industry and adapting it to another.. Now consider how can we “borrow” ideas from different places to solve a problem or create a new product?

The Project Gutenberg website has downloads of over 33,000 free e-books to read on PC, i Pad, Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone, Android or other portable devices.

Want more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? For more information on how to get your copy of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, visit the E-book website. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work Tool: Bubbl.us

Bubbl.us is a free, online mind mapping tool that allows you to create mind mapping and brainstorming diagrams without even a log-in required to get started. Have a great idea for a product or service. What now? How do you get it done? What steps do you need to bring this idea into reality? What’s related to this central idea? Get those ideas out of your head and into mind map.

It only took me a few moments to draw my sample mind map without ever using this tool previously as Bubbl.us is pretty intuitive to use and has familiar controls. I did create a free account so I could save this map to use again and also to be able to share with other, who can also add new bubbles of thought to the map.

Want to try it out and see what great ideas you can brainstorm? Check out the Bubbl.us website and click the start brainstorming button. On the getting help tab, there are easy to understand instructions for using this neat, interactive tool. If you try this out, send me an email and let me know how you like it and what ideas came from it.

For more, simple tutorials on using the tools within Bubbl.us click here and here.

Want more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? For more information on how to get your copy of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, visit the E-book website. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.