![]() |
|
What Every Manager Should Know About How to Think Creatively
You may have heard of Roger von Oech's book, A Whack on the Side of the Head: How to Unlock Your Mind for Innovation. It's as much fun to read as its title suggests. It covers the ten common obstacles to creative thinking. It's about ways in which you can unlock your mind for innovation, for change, for more interest, or even for a career change. Mr. Von Oech writes about the time when his English teacher in high school put a small chalk dot on the blackboard and asked the class to tell him what it was. A few seconds passed, and then someone said, "It's a chalk dot on the board." The rest of the class seemed relieved that the obvious had been stated, and no one else had anything more to say. "I'm surprised at you," replied the teacher, "Yesterday I did the same exercise with a group of kindergartners, and they thought of fifty different things the chalk mark could be: * a cat's eye, The lesson that I wish to share with you is the importance of looking for more than one right answer. When you look, you will be surprised to learn how many answers are available. We have been trained in school to look only for the first right answer to every problem. The average person does this; the creative person looks for many. Looking beyond the first solution to a problem can result in a whole new set of serendipitous solutions - solutions that can be a hundred times better than the first one. Remember: When you maximize your potential, everyone wins. When you don't, we all lose. © Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in ezines, newsletters, and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required. Contact him at: executiveandgroup-consulting@yahoo.com when you use this article. Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management Consultant and Trainer, conducts lectures, seminars, webinars, and writes articles on his theme: "... helping you maximize your potential." He offers management, marketing, and parenting resources at hisMaximizing Y our Potential blog.
MORE RESOURCES: |
RELATED ARTICLES Connect with Your Surroundings Clutter is one of my favourite topics, and I've written before about the many different types of clutter and how each affects our creativity and our creative expression.Clutter is just one part of our surroundings - our physical environment - that has an impact on our creativity. Magic In Your Spice Rack Variety is the spice of life, but spices, historically are the stuff of magic! A spell, after all is really just a recipe and traditionally many of them involve plant life or herbs. Magic doesn't have to be complicated to work. 3 Clever Creative Strategies! I've got a confession to make.. Be Creative to Get Money Creativity alone can make you money and no matter what anyone tells you or what you think, anyone can be creative. Creativity is like a skill that needs to be developed. Brainstorming Effectively BRAINSTORMING: The basic tool used in generating many possible solutions to a problem is brainstorming. To use the brainstorming process effectively requires following a prescribed set of rules very closely. Creativity Management - Intellectual Cross Pollination Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Self-Care for Creative Artists: 10 Reasons To Care About It 1. To be more comfortable in performance situations - performance anxiety usually stems from a variety of causes - physical, mental and emotional. True Power: Understanding the Source of All Creation and Creativity "True Power" is a series that will focus on proven techniques to accomplish any goal. Each exercise is designed to enlarge your ability to believe what you want is possible and will actually happen. How to Generate Ideas for Info-products? Dear friends the current study shows that there are more than 50,000,000 registered domain names on the Internet (approx.)(Reference http://www. How To Entertain A Thought After studying scores of great thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci, I think I've stumbled upon what really set them apart from the rest of the folks living (and thinking) at the same time.It's remarkably simple. Gift of a Letter "What cannot letters inspire? They have souls; they can speak; they have in them all that force which expresses the transports of the heart; they have all the fire of our passions." Letter from Heloise to Abelard (from Gift of a Letter by Alexandra Stoddard)Just returning from the National Stationery Show in New York City, I was struck by the energetic "forward motion" of the thousands of vendors still enthusiastic about the power of the hand-written note. Unlock Your Creative Secret Weapon It seems like this week a ton of people have been asking me how they can become more creative. I even had one client jokingly accuse me of being in cahoots with the Devil in trade for my creativity. A Quick Course in Creativity This quick course in creativity is designed to give you a platform to stand on as we look at the various ways you can handle home, social and workplace situations, job-search details and career-path decisions. Let's examine what creativity might look like. Who Wants To Be A Creative Genius? Can You Learn Creativity?Have you ever watched Robin Williams do a stand-up routine? Could so much creativity and spontaneity result from a highly organized approach? Definitely. Wild and funny thoughts don't come from nowhere. Gifts of the Inner Voice Now that I no longer awaken to the sound of a jarring alarm clock, I've learned to welcome the early morning hours.Because that is the time when I can hear my inner voice most clearly. 10 Ways To Boost Your Creativity Creativity is your birthright - but can often be hidden in the everyday. To facilitate your personal development and self growth, here are some creativity tips you can use to resurrect, refresh and enhance your creative faculties. Tapping into Your Super Creative Power Do you consider yourself creative? How about super creative? Most people may not think of themselves as creative, but I believe that everyone has the potential for great creativity. They just need a little understanding and practice. Internet Business: 10 Important Creative Ways To Get New Product Ideas Creativity is one of the most important keys to success in any business.If you want to succeed in any business, you have to be more creative and pragmatic. Creativity Management - Don't Write, Rewrite Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Being Creative is Essential for Online Success Do you have a strategy that ensures your online business stands out from the crowd?If your answer to the above is NO then you need to address this issue, because if you don't, it is unlikely that your online presence will even be noticed.With there being so much competition in every field on the internet it is essential that you offer your target market something different than your competitors. |
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |