How are you programming your internalGPS to be (more) creative and innovative as we go into this new year? Every one of us is creative; I used to think this was reserved for my very talented Mother and Sister who always had (and still have) a creative project going. I’d say, “Oh I just didn’t get that gene.” What a bunch of crap, I have just as much creativity as the next person and this idea of not being […]
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” – Plato In the Team Advantage coaching process that I use with teams and have seen transform teams in just the short 2-day kick off meeting (that is only the start), we set it up for play from the moment they walk in the room. There are brightly colored toys on the tables, fun music is playing, and there are only […]
One of the best ways to thrive in your work and life is to cultivate your sense of childlike wonder. One of the best ways to cultivate your childlike wonder is to take a fun vacation or at least plan some time for fun, laughing and play in your schedule. Riding every “high thrill” roller coaster in a Six Flags amusement park may not be your idea of fun, but for me it ranks at the top. Last week, […]
We can learn a lot from Kindergartners, I found this out a when I facilitated a fun team building game called “The Marshmallow Challenge.” (TED talk linked about this game) Teams of recent Kindergartner graduates are some of the best performers, they are only second to teams of Engineers/Architects when it comes to building the highest free-standing towers made out of 20 sticks of dry spaghetti, 1 yard of string, 1 yard of tape, and a jumbo marshmallow that must […]
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change….Vulnerability is not weakness. And that myth is profoundly dangerous.” – Brene Brown Think about a time when you made a significant shift. You created something new or did something courageous that took you down a different path or failed horribly at it. You never felt the same again. Take a minute and see that time clearly before you read any further. It was probably one of the most difficult times […]
❝Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Stay hungry. Stay foolish.❞ – Steve Jobs This is from the commencement […]
A couple of weeks ago I had the good fortune of hearing a great expert on the subject of creativity in the business world. Dr. George Land of the Farsight Group started his speech with a powerful statement from a study done of a large group of CEO’s: “Innovation and creativity are the two most important leadership qualities necessary in the next five years.” And he went on to tell us that the U.S. council on competitiveness made a […]
You are busy. You don’t have time for adding even one more thing to your schedule, right? Some of you don’t agree and that is great, but I know most of you feel like this and I ask that you stay open to adding a little daily commitment that will pay big dividends in your productivity and success. Happy and grateful people are more productive and successful people. There was a study done of people who tracked their acts […]
On Oct 15th I went to see my first “Ignite Phoenix” event, it is their 8th production here in the valley. The evening consists of 18 different people presenting their ideas in 5-minute presentations with 20 slides that automatically change every 30 seconds. It was quite entertaining and inspirational. The event is put on by the Phoenix Innovation Foundation, “a non-profit organization that provides educational and community building events in the Phoenix metropolitan area. A small team of volunteers […]
Have you ever discovered that your assumptions were more like obstacles than tools on your path to your destination? Sometimes we have to make assumptions based on our experience but unfortunately these assumptions can also cause obstacles and challenges if they go unexamined. Or they are assumptions held deeply in our belief system and we do not even realize that they are there. Crystal Daigle is a local artist here in the Phoenix area; I recently attended her creativity […]
