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Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Cre8ng Communities Require PRODUCTIVE LEADERS

Here is a sample list of skills and traits that PRODUCTIVE LEADERS need in order to develop CRE8NG COMMUNITIES where ALL employees are freely creative in their thinking and work.

P - PLAN for creative thinking in meetings and on the job

R - REWARD & RECOGNIZE creative thinking in each individual employee and all teams

O - OBSERVE creative thinking on a daily basis

D - DEVELOP creative thinking on a daily basis

U - UNIFY the creative thinking of all employees

C - COORDINATE the creative thinking of all employees

T - TRAIN for creative thinking, creativeness, creativity and creative problem solving

I - INVEST in creative thinking, creativeness, creativity and creative problem solving

V - VALIDATE creative thinking, creativeness, creativity and creative problem solving

E - ENCOURAGE creative thinking, creativeness, creativity and creative problem solving in all employees at least 10 to 15% of the time.

Productive Leaders geneate and produce highly Cre8ng Communities to increase the morale, heavily reduce absenteeism, lateness, increase the productivity, quality and quantity of all their employees.

It is a high ideal that can become a way of life.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010





We all have to SELL IDEAS sometimes!


Read this great interview with Sam Harrison, author of Zing!, IdeaSpotting, IdeaSelling.

Interview with Sam Harrison

I just finished reading this interview with a colleague of mine that I think is filled with ideas that we all can benefiti and learn from.

Sam Harrison is a highly experienced advertising, marketing and sales expert who also does training in creative thinking in the workplace.

I have attached the interview for you.

Best wishes,

Alan

Robert Alan Black, Ph.D., CSP
2010 ACA Dave Tanner Champion of Creativity Award
NSA/GSF Certified Speaking Professional
Consultant-Speaker-Author-Facilitator-Traveler
POB 5805 Athens, GA 30604 706-353-3387
http://www.cre8ng.com
to read my blogs:
http://www.cre8ng.com/articles-experiment

two NEW PROGRAMS for 2011
Creativity and Leadership Education in Costa Rica
http://www.worldleadershipandinnovation.com/

Creativity Cruise. February 7-12, 2011
info@creativitycruise.com

Tuesday, May 18, 2010




11/26/08 Terrorsits attached 4 hotels and a railway station in Mumbai


Here is what one leader has done since for the people involved.

What Ratan Tata did for the Mumbai victims.... what every Indian should know!Share
Monday, May 10, 2010 at 1:23am
Ratan Tata is the chairman of Indian Hotels who own the Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai, which was the target of the terrorists on 26/11/08.

Hotel President a 5 star property also belongs to Indian Hotels.

The following is really touching.

What Ratan Tata did for the Mumbai victims.... Don't miss!!!!!!

SALUTE TO MR. RATAN TATA

A. The Tata Gesture

1. All category of employees including those who had completed even 1 day as casuals were treated on duty during the time the hotel was closed.

2. Relief and assistance to all those who were injured and killed

3. The relief and assistance was extended to all those who died at the railway station, surroundings including the “Pav- Bha ji” vendor and the pan shop owners.

4. During the time the hotel was closed, the salaries were sent by money order.

5. A psychiatric cell was established in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences to counsel those who needed such help.

6. The thoughts and anxieties going on people’s mind was constantly tracked and where needed psychological help provided.

7. Employee outreach centers were opened where all help, food, water, sanitation, first aid and counseling was provided. 1600 employees were covered by this facility.

8. Every employee was assigned to one mentor and it was that person’s responsibility to act as a “single window” clearance for any help that the person required.

9. Ratan Tata personally visited the families of all the 80 employees who in some manner – either through injury or getting killed – were affected.

10. The dependents of the employees were flown from outside Mumbai to Mumbai and taken care off in terms of ensuring mental assurance and peace. They were all accommodated in Hotel President for 3 weeks.

11. Ratan Tata himself asked the families and dependents – as to what they wanted him to do.

12. In a record time of 20 days, a new trust was created by the Tatas for the purpose of relief of employees.

13. What is unique is that even the other people, the railway employees, the police staff, the pedestrians who had nothing to do with Tatas were covered by compensation. Each one of them was provided subsistence allowance of Rs. 10K per month for all these people for 6 months.

14. A 4 year old granddaughter of a vendor got 4 bullets in her and only one was removed in the Government hospital. She was taken to Bombay hospital and several lacs were spent by the Tatas on her to fully recover her.

15. New hand carts were provided to several vendors who lost their carts.

16. Tata will take responsibility of life education of 46 children of the victims of the terror.

17. This was the most trying period in the life of the organization. Senior managers including Ratan Tata were visiting funeral to funeral over the 3 days that were most horrible.

18. The settlement for every deceased member ranged from Rs. 36 to 85 lacs [One lakh rupees tranlates to approx 2200 US $ ] in addition to the following benefits:

a. Full last salary for life for the family and dependents;

b. Complete responsibility of education of children and dependents – anywhere in the world.

c. Full Medical facility for the whole family and dependents for rest of their life.

d. All loans and advances were waived off – irrespective of the amount.

e. Counselor for life for each person

B. Epilogue

1. How was such passion created among the employees? How and why did they behave the way they did?

2. The organization is clear that it is not something that someone can take credit for. It is not some training and development that created such behaviour. If someone suggests that – everyone laughs

3. It has to do with the DNA of the organization, with the way Tata culture exists and above all with the situation that prevailed that time. The organization has always been telling that customers and guests are #1 priority

4. The hotel business was started by Jamshedji Tata when he was insulted in one of the British hotels and not allowed to stay there.

5. He created several institutions which later became icons of progress, culture and modernity. IISc is one such institute. He was told by the rulers that time that he can acquire land for IISc to the extent he could fence the same. He could afford fencing only 400 acres.

6. When the HR function hesitatingly made a very rich proposal to Ratan – he said – do you think we are doing enough?

7. The whole approach was that the organization would spend several hundred crore in re-building the property – why not spend equally on the employees who gave their life?

This is NOT COVERED BY Any NEWS CHANNELS !

I Salute Mr. Ratan Tata..

Monday, May 17, 2010

Accelerated Learning and how we Really Learn

Here is a short message about Super Learning/Accelerated learning shared with permission from

"Gail Heidenhain"


Every model (Teaching/Learning/Coaching/Counseling), method or philosophy has its presuppositions, a certain filter through which the world is viewed. Accelerated Learning is no exception, and since it is a method that focuses on the influence of a learner’s cognitive belief system on learning, it is important to reflect on those beliefs about learning that underlie the AL model and the way we do things. Some of those beliefs are:

· You have to be present to learn. This means more than physically present, it means that the learner is also mentally and psychologically present as well.

· Learning is not about memorizing lots of information, it is about transforming how we think and act.

· The trainer’s role is not to “spray and pray” or “cover the content”. In other words, the teacher, trainer, facilitator’s job is not to instruct, solely present information, or deliver content; it is to facilitate learning. When learning has happened, our job is done, not before.

· Each person brings their cognitive belief systems, their previous “learnings” and their hopes and aspirations with them. The facilitator designs experiences to help learners tap into what they know, potentially unlearn what is not helpful, engage fully in the process of learning, experience things that provide an opportunity to re-think, unlearn, and transform what is possible. Both during and after the process, learners are encouraged to notice what they are experiencing, reflect on its meaning, and as a result, add to or change how they think.

Creative Leading in the 21st Century

Here is a short speech I did about leading creatively or becoming a creative leader.

Think different

Do you think DIFFERENT?
Do you lively DIFFERENTLY?
Do you choose to be DIFFERENT?

Then you will enjoy this video.

Alan

NEVER GIVE UP, Nick Vujicic in a School

Tuesday, May 11, 2010



Alan Creativity TWEETS



share useful thoughts in less the 140 characters and spaces.

creative thinking involves using many skills it is not a single skill...problem sensitivity, problem recognition, idea generation/selection

RT @ItsKatie98: i used creative thinking to solve an algebraic equasion...that counts as failing. WHY? math uses a lot of creativity

RT @interbiz: Creative thinking helps advertising - everything human beings do and will do

RT @PghPalmFan: There isn't a problem so big that it can't be fixed. war, drugs, teenage pregnancy, abuse, murder, crime, where is resolve

RT @gublers: Creative thinking lecture now. So exciting. Except not really. At 9am. why isn't it exciting? what would make it more exciting

Had Art frei been organized enough to write down his list of hymn numbers he would never have invented Post-It notes

How many products exist that easily could be replace in much simpler ways if people would examine their problems more first?

PO...every culture can SUPPORT, PROMOTE, RECOGNIZE/REWARD, ENCOURAGE/EDUATE, APPLY, DEVELOP creativity in all of its citizens

take one crazy, off-the-wall, out-of-your-tree, out-of-any-box-or-container idea and tame it down today

take one dull, boring, plain idea and make it exciting today

take one idea and make it more creative today

choose to do 6 things creatively this week: at work, in school, at home, with friends, with old friends, with family, with neighbors

if there are no trees where you live....do you hug cactuses? shrubs, telephone poles (the concrete ones)?

EVERYONE CAN DRAW! If you can hold a pencil, pen, crayon, stick, have eyes, a mind and time you can draw...the key is learning to look & see

learning to draw, paint, dance, sing, sculpt, write poetry takes time, practice, guidance and a teacher or friends who already do

if U think U R not creative because U can not draw, sing, paint, dance, etc. ask Urself "Do I solve daily problems with new ideas?"

choose to see things / problems from 8 or more points of view, perspectives before choosing to select one.....combine some to get even more

fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration...four easily developable skills that will improve your creative thinking

to improve your creative output begin generating a minimum of 6 to 12 possible ideas until it becomes a habit. the 12 to 24 then 24 to 36

like with sports you can train creative thinking but still there is the need for FLOW or that MAGIC that happens. It is called inspiration

most people in creative fields can not sit around waiting for a muse, flow or magic..they need to use tools and techniques to produce ideas

with baseball, golf, basketball, bowling...you can improve with practice and training the same is true with creative thinking...

if only the STATE OF FLOW could be turned out mentally, physically, chemically or emotionally at will ... then no more CREATIVE BLOCKS

live by the two philosophies of IMPROV...the answer is always "YES!" or "YES AND!" and you will live more creatively

Friday, April 30, 2010


Companies honored for innovative ideas at 2010 Utah Innovation Awards


Companies honored for innovative ideas at 2010 Utah Innovation Awards
By Jasen Lee
Deseret News
Published: Thursday, April 29, 2010 5:25 p.m. MDT
0 comments | E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + -
Page:12Next >
SALT LAKE CITY — Innovation can come in many forms. Sometimes it's a product that can help doctors diagnose speech impediments. Sometimes it's a product that dispenses windshield washer fluid.

Be it a cool new idea or product or developments in existing technologies, competitors at the 2010 Utah Innovation Awards event Thursday often prompted the question, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Consider the Smile Reminder Patient Communication Software Suite, winner of the Innovation Award in the Enterprise Business to Business Software category.

to read further go to...

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700028470/Companies-honored-for-innovative-ideas-at-2010-Utah-Innovation-Awards.html
Learning to think out of the box

Learning to think out of the box
American educationist lauds Malaysia's creative teaching of soft skills to boost innovation
Friday, April 30th, 2010 12:24:00
DURING a recent visit to Malaysia, I had the opportunity to go to Universiti Malaya (UM) in Kuala Lumpur.

UM is the highest ranking and oldest university in Malaysia. It is the 180th top university in the world, according to the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings 2009.

I met Dr Mahzan Arshad, associate professor of education, and Dr Moses Samuel, professor of education, to discuss innovations taking place in Malaysia.

Dr Samuel explained why the Malaysian education system is focused on innovation: “As societies begin to move from an agricultural base to an industrial base to a knowledge economy, which Malaysia is moving toward, then innovation becomes critical.”

The Higher Education Ministry certainly thinks it is critical. The ministry has specified seven soft or interpersonal skills that all graduates of institutions of higher learning in Malaysia must master.

Two of them are related to innovation, involving critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and entrepreneurial skills.

To read the entire article go to

http://www.mmail.com.my/content/35108-learning-think-out-box

Thursday, April 08, 2010



Are you reading about leading?

To further develop your skills as a leader you can be reading articles, blogs, books, attending workshops, listening to cds and/or dvds.

Here is a great source for the top 150 blogs on leading from around the world only one click away.

http://www.noop.nl/2010/04/top-150-management-leadership-blogs.html

Work 15 to 30 minutes into your Sunday evening or Monday morning schedule and visit one of these blogs and read 2 or 3 of their most recent messages.

Then attempt to apply what you learn during the week.

Then on the next Sunday evening or Monday morning do the same.

Within a few weeks you will begin to see a difference in your skill levels as a leader.

Best wishes to you.



Alan

Saturday, April 03, 2010




Here are my responses to a few questions in honor of CREATIVITY DAY AND INNOVATION WEEK, April 15 to 21

What will do this year to honor Creativity and Innovation at work, in school, in your life?
http://www.creativityday.org/Welcome.html

1. What is a creative environment? How do you define it? What do you need to be at your creative best? How do you/can we develop a creative environment to promote day-to-day creative-thinking and solutions at home, school and in business? (You can refer to physical space, attitudes, systems, beliefs, etc.)

The total environment (physical, visual, audible, social, psychological, attitudinal, systems, beliefs, etc impact people in varying ways.

Some people just having a space to work and problems to work on is enough.

Some need highly stimulus filled spaces and environments.

Some need only to feel part of a group/team/family they trust to be creative

Some need systems to follow, guidelines and realistic parameters to be creative


2. What are the common obstacles and fears people commonly face when called to use their creativity? What solutions do you have?

Fear of failure
Team leaders or department heads that have learned to create a supportive environment where failure is not a threat.

Fear of not having their ideas accepted
A team, department or an entire organization that focuses on developing true connection and support throughout.

Fear of being ridiculed
On-going work to eliminate jealousness, immaturity, shallowness, and other factors that cause people to degrade, put down and negate ideas that are not their own.

Fear of be pushed out as strange, weird, undependable, etc.
An environment that grows to accept all its members

Unfortunately most of these are unrealistic in typical human organizations and cultures. A strong manager/leader/coordinator can work on helping individual highly creative individuals learn to deal with or protect them from these “PEOPLE PROBLEMS”.


3. What strategies are available for people to access their creativity?

Infinite intellectual, emotional, psychological, social strategies that are individually internal to those that are externally used by people.

Learning what type of environment works primarily best for them, for their teams, their departments, their organizations.

Hundreds of mental, visual, audible, gustatory, tactile devices and tools that can open up moods and mindsets to allow creativity to flow.

Tools and processes that people can learn that help them break mindsets, moods, perspectives allowing them to see things more creatively.

4. In what ways are you creative? In what ways do you contribute to the creative process/outcomes for others?

“Let me count the ways.”

Since first becoming aware of the first creative tool I experienced, S.C.A.M.P.E.R. created by Bob Eberle, and then attending my first CPSI and experiencing many creative thinking tools throughout the conference I have been collecting, discovering, creating, teaching/training varieties of SYSTEMS, TOOLS/TECHNIQUES, ATTITUDES/APPROACHES, METHODS, PROCESSES and STRATEGIES that can help people when they need to recharge, respark, regenerate or simply turn on their creativity.

By using a system of methods I continue to discover

S-SUPPORTING
P-PROMOTING
R-RECOGNIZING/REWARDING
E-EDUCATING/ENCOURAGING
A-APPLYING
D-DEVELOPING

Being creative is a choice that each of us can make any time any day. High, breakthrough creativity happens. Yet we can otherwise always choose to be more creative than the conditions and situations at any given moment appear to generate.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Creating Teams Takes More Than Mixing Skills and Knowledge

I my leadership and team building programs I have been stressing the value of knowing the people you work with in as many ways as you can...

background
education
skills
experiences
thinking styles
communication styles
confict resolution styles
value systems
goals
dreams

Read more about BEHAVIORIAL FACTORS from Tony Alessandra's article in SUCCESS magazine.



http://www.successmagazine.com/Using-Behavioral-Differences-to-Build-Teams-ThatWork/PARAMS/article/257/channel/15

The more you know the people in your group(s) the more then will become teams.
Robert Alan Black, Ph.D., CSP

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

MIND Design Communication Styles, a tool for leading in today's workplaces



We all begin with an initial style of thinking that impacts all other things we do to form our over all styles or what I call MIND Designs.

We can expand them, enrich them, add to them. I strongly recommend that we do not try to change ours or other people's styles.

One of my main points in my speeches, workshops and university courses is that we will all benefit by

accepting rather than rejecting other styles

striving to understand instead of mis-understanding other styles

work at benefitting from rather than avoiding other styles

strengthen and expanding our styles into the missing ones instead of challenging what we do not prefer or feel comfortable with

maximize our strengths rather than change ours

add skills from the others

team up with people who have other styles instead of objecting to them

Hope this is helpful too as you improve your skills of leading, communicating, teaming and cre8ng.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

What do you think are the differences in the roles of leaders and managers?

I have been leading retreats, giving workshops and teaching university courses for 30 years and have accepted the position that ALL PEOPLE who end up responsible for getting work done through small to large to corporation size groups of people all have to be able to be leaders, managers and bosses when necessary from the front line to the top floor.

Here is the conventional wisdom, standard thinking.

What do you think?

Difference Bet Manager & Leader?


What's the Difference Between a Manager and a Leader?
February 16, 2010

Managers and leaders aren't always distinct from one another given how much managers often are asked to take on, and the notoriously weak decisions made by top corporate leaders over the last few years. But a new AchieveGlobal study, "Developing the 21st Century Leader," reports there are, indeed, behaviors that set "leaders" apart. According to the study, real leaders:

• Apply principles such as fairness, respect, and "the greater good" to balance individual and group well-being. They act ethically to serve the larger good, not just to obey the law; encourage others to take socially responsible action; openly challenge what they consider unethical decisions and actions; take action to benefit others, not just themselves; recognize and reward others based on merit, not on politics; make fair decisions, even if they have a negative impact on themselves; and take steps to reduce environmental harm.

• Respect and leverage such basic differences as gender, ethnicity, age, nationality, and beliefs. They strive to meet the needs of customers representing other cultures; encourage collaboration among people from different groups; display sensitivity in managing across cultural boundaries; collaborate well with people different from themselves; effectively lead groups composed of diverse people; learn about the business practices of other cultures; and manage virtual teams with explicit customer-centric goals and practices.

• Assess their motives, beliefs, attitudes, and actions, asking, "How can I make sure my limitations don't lead me to make poor decisions?" They take responsibility for their own mistakes; seek the knowledge required to make sense of the big picture; examine what role they play in the challenges they face; and treat failure as a chance to learn and grow.

• Offer and execute practical ideas—and help others do the same—to create a climate in which innovation can thrive. They help other people adapt quickly to changes; help groups develop a shared picture of a positive future; develop themselves with the goal of improving overall group capabilities; solve real-world problems by thinking clearly and engaging others; tell stories to motivate others toward strategic goals; and find ways to promote speed, flexibility, and creativity.

• Connect with others on a human level to earn commitment, inspire effort, and improve communication. They read emotions in others and respond appropriately; adapt to the leadership needs of different groups; help others resolve issues of work-life balance; make a daily effort to inspire the trust of customers and colleagues; minimize the negative human impact of their decisions and actions; build and maintain a cross-functional task network; and communicate well with customers and colleagues at all levels.

How good are your company's leaders at saying "yes" and "no?"