Memory is not intelligence

...if it was then computers would rule the world.

To get the best out of teams remember that a stressed mind becomes narrow in focus and a relaxed mind becomes wide.

If you want people to be creative, if you want people to think freely then concentrate on encouraging an environment that allows people to

• Think...openly, without fear and without feeling guilty that it is "not working"
• Have a life/work balance - relaxation breeds success
• Socialise so that fulfill their need for human interaction
  

Management by Michaelangelo

There are many people who enter management thinking great, the end of doing all the boring, mundane jobs. Then they realise how hard management is, and they wonder why they ever aspired to being a manager. Well Michaelangelo has the answer...

When asked by a young boy why he was hitting a large piece of rock with his hammer and chisel replied, " Because there's an angel inside and I'm helping him to escape"

When you are next faced with the round of weekly coaching sessions, performance appraisals, recruitment...just remember what a creative, inspiring role you have...you are allowing the angel inside to escape....

Challenging the Obvious

Advances in thinking, in products, in services come when people forget their perceptions and challenge the status quo. A story to illustrate

In ancient philosophy whoever could untie the Golden Knot was destined to become King of Asia. All who tried failed. Alexander the Great after trying decided to write his own rules, pulled out his sword and sliced the know in half...job done!

Often at work and in life we are blinded by what we see as constraints, our assumptions, our preconceptions.....if you are stuck, then challenge the rules, the status quo...challenge what you believe are stopping you from advancing...try a different approach.

Brainstorming needs Structure to be Successful

To be successful in brainstorming session you need to structure the sessions. Often people think that in order for people to be creative, you need a clean piece of paper. No matter what creative activity you are doing, people need some structure. A totally clean piece of paper can bring fear to the group, a pressure to come up with that world shattering idea.

Unstructured thinking is rarely successful, so there is a fine balance of providing some structure without stifling ideas.

To be successful

1. Send a clear memo outlining the purpose of the session with a clear sentence which outlines the issue, problem or opportunity. This gives people some time to think and prepare for the meeting.
2. At the start of the meeting, read out the sentence. Set out any limitations that are givens, or areas that must be covered.
3. Within those limits, then make everything else available for discussion - write every idea down....don't allow any judgement on an idea, not at this point. Bring
4. Keep checking that you are staying on track to the initial problem or opportunity.
5. Once all ideas have been captured, stop the session.
6. Then set a new session for looking rationally at all the ideas.

Structure brings a sense of purpose, and also separates the creative from the logical thinking.

Brainstorming or Creative Thinking

When you are trying to be creative sometimes you get bogged down. One technique that I use is to change the word...so if you are thinking of a designing a new car...think vehicle, transport, carriage etc. This inspires you to think away from how your mind thinks of the word car.

This works with process. For example if you want to design a new induction program....think welcome, invite, introduction, training, new starter, starter etc