What is Creativity?

I have given this word a lot of thought lately. I have recently read “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron and have started the habit of writing “morning pages”. It really has not been a struggle to adopt this practice since I have kept a journal on and off my whole life.

What is new for me is to think of myself as a creative human being. I have never really thought of myself as artistic. But this book focuses on the word “creative” and the change of term is thought provoking to me. Traditionally, I always think of the two words being synonymous. Someone who is creative is artistic. But does creativity have to be expressed solely though artistic expression?

I find that this morning habit is deeply reflective. I have learned a lot about myself and the stories I run consistently through my brain; some true but most not. But what is most interesting is that I have never thought about how much stuff I actually create.

Is the creation of a strategic plan and a corporate
vision creative? Is coming up with a new recipe for dinner being creative? Is designing my own thank you card on Tiny Prints creative? Is writing a pithy tweet creative? Is planning out an agenda for a meeting creative? Is pulling together synergistic ideas and forming a new strategy creative?

I think it is very true that we are all creative beings. It gets expressed in a million different ways every day. What is exciting to me is how technology is speeding up and easing the ability for us all to express our individual gifts.

We have citizen journalism with the rise of web 2.0, we have Instagram and Flikr for budding photographers; blogging for wannabe writers, and Pinterest for those that love to gather and organize ideas and data, to name just a few.

What is sad is that we don’t embrace and revel in our creativity enough. Maybe that is why we have had a period of innovation stagnation in our country. Too many people were trying to tell us what innovation is and how it can be created and planned in a meeting. A culture that embraces and nurtures creativity creates fertile ground for “black swan” events. The world is ready and in need of big creative ideas. The technology is there and growing at exponential rates to support big step changes. If everyone in the world saw themselves as creative beings how exciting would that be?!

How will you be creative today?

Fresh Eyes

I am part of a program called Strategic Coach .At my last session we focused on how to become intentional. As we roll into the end of 2011 and look toward 2012 I think this is a great topic to disucss. We are all starting to work on our plans for the next year. How we approach this task is very critical. It is especially tough right now with so many uncertantainties happening in the US markets. One example that was shared with us really hit home with me. I have continued to think about this passage on many occasions since my class.
 

Sir Lawrence Olivier example:  Before every play, he’d look through the curtain and say “this is not last night’s audience. This is not last night’s theater. This is not last night’s play. I am not last night’s character. This is not last night’s script. This is not last night’s cast” He would progressively get more and more scared and would take himself back as though it was opening night again, with all that same energy. Even though he’d done it really well the previous night, he couldn’t count on it this time. Every new situation needs to be seen with fresh eyes, so you have to remind yourself. You want a balance between the emotions of fear and excitement so your motivation is at its highest to do the best possible job.

I find this concept powerful in so many ways. In my industry of industrial products, specifically linear motion products, I find a pervasive culture of the use of the “milkman run”.  This is the habit of habitually calling on the same customers over and over again. What really frustrates me is how often the “script” that is played while making these visits is just the “script” that was used on the last visit. The salesman often makes assumptions as to what the customer needs are and where they are on their project. How much more could be achieved if they took on the Sir Lawrence Olivier example? If they went into new opportunities or even current customers but with no preconceived notion of the customers’ needs or wants? Let the customer define a new “script”. How many more opportunities could be discovered?

So how can we apply this when doing our budgets and sales forecast for next year? Do you have clear intentions of your desired future state? Are your goals clearly defined and based upon facts, not assumptions? 2012 is not a repeat performance of 2011. Are you looking at your forecast with “fresh eyes”? How high is your enthusiasm and motivation level when planning for 2012? Will you be ready for the opportunities that lie ahead?

While the world appears to be in a state of flux I am still optimistic for the year ahead. I can envision a new “script”. I am working on seeing the trends that will lead to a new “play” being written all together. It is an extremely dynamic situation that is playing itself out and while I cannot control what is happening in the world, I can control how I and my company react. And as the sign in the Boston Celtics locker room states: “The game is scheduled, we have to play it, we might as well win.”

The Lure of Three

Being an alumnus of the University of Arizona, I am by default passionate about college basketball. We had a fantastic ride under the great coaching of Lute Olson. With Lute leaving we have moved on to Sean Miller and he had an amazing year with the team, leading them to a part of March Madness and all that attention that comes with making it to the Elite Eight.

Our last game was against Connecticut.  We started out guns a blazing. I was very excited to see us take such a command of the game. And then a shift in energy happened and we lost our lead. After the halftime we came out with a renewed focus. The energy was back on our side and as the game was coming to the end it was looking really good for Arizona. But then it happened, as the clock counted down we got more and more caught up in scoring the three pointer. And as we headed into the last minute it was our demise, in my opinion.

Since the game I have thought a lot about those last twenty seconds. I wonder why the team could not see the value in going for the two pointer and taking it to overtime? Instead it was a repeated attempt to go for the win with the three point option which ultimate left them the loser by 2 points. I understand there was no guarantee we would have won in OT. And maybe the team was just too tired to take it OT. But Butler had just succeeded previously in OT and I thought for sure we could do it.

It makes me wonder if I do this in my own life?  Do I tend to go for the quicker win versus taking the longer safer road that might still result in a loss? I know that is definitely true when it comes to diet and exercise. Everything you read tells you consistency is key – slow and steady does win out. But I have a hard time with that and always tend to overdo it and end up sore or hurt.

Do we do this at work? I am sure I have. Maybe it is just part of the human spirit to want to take the risk and go for the three pointer versus the safer two points? Or is it an American thing? We want to win and win big. It is a great story to win with the three pointer in the last second, instead of in OT. So what is your risk taking style – do you go for two or are your lured by the three pointer?

What If?

I recently attended the Power Transmission Distributor Association (PTDA) Summit in Phoenix, Arizona (www.ptda.org). There I had the pleasure of hearing Mike Rayburn speak as a keynote speaker (www.mikerayburn.com).The title of Mikes’ address was “What If and Why Not?” Mike is an amazingly talented musician who uses music and comedy to get across some really big ideas. In this day and age we all want to be innovative. We all want to differentiate our products or services. We are all looking for value-add and a way to deepen our relationship with our customers. But we tend to get caught up on how to do it. Because usually truly achieving any of these goals requires a huge shift in thinking and/or behaviors. It means learning a new process or skill; defining a new technology or way of thinking. And that gets a bit scary and risky. But Mike pushes back and says why not just break it down into smaller parts and ask – What if or Why Not?

Mike stressed the importance of starting on the path to the goal. Don’t worry about having everything mapped out and solved. Interestingly enough that has been a theme I have heard recently from several people.  Mike says that often you just have to set your course and start moving and interestingly enough the solutions and resources will start coming to you. Deepak Chopra taught us the same thing in the “Soul of Leadership” class I took at Kellogg School of Management.  Deepak said we need to learn to trust the universe; that when you put big ideas out there, and you start to gain awareness, the universe will start to deliver the solution (http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/execed/Programs/SOUL.aspx). Just last month in my WPO Platinum meeting our facilitator Chris McGoff, Founder & CEO of The Clearing stressed the use of primes in creating strategic vision for our companies. One prime we learned was “Trust the Universe”. A concept that if we set our sights on what we have the know-how to achieve we tend to limit our vision and constrain our future. Visionary leaders make declarations about the future trusting that what is needed to fulfill the vision will emerge as they step out and take action (www.theclearing.com).

We are all looking at big changes within our industries and companies. The last year has created the need for new thinking. I think I am finally starting to realize that I don’t have to all the answers. I just have to be committed to the vision and taking the journey. So the next time I feel stumped by a problem I am going to pour myself a nice glass of Peju Estate Cabernet Franc Reserve and ask “What if and Why Not?” and trust in the journey that will follow.

MARSHALL GOLDSMITH and FRANCES HESSELBEIN - A Discussion on Leadership

Thriving in the New Economy - WOMEN PRESIDENTS' ORGANIZATION - Annual Conference

EVENT: KEYNOTE ADDRESS – MARSHALL GOLDSMITH, best-selling author and Executive Coach and FRANCES HESSELBEIN, President and CEO of the Leader to Leader Institute / formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, former CEO, the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (1976-1990)
SPONSORED BY: Cisco

WOW! What an amazing opportunity to see these two together. They have such a real affection and respect for each other’s abilities. I came away with severl pearls of wisdom from such a seasoned and smart duo.

Some thoughts to ponder…

-          Live by example

-          Lead by example

-          Have personal humility and total respect for others – otherwise the rest does not matter

-          You must have trust

-          How our your treating the people around you?

-          Find solutions through respect

-          “Manage to the Mission” like our armed forces, you have to have a real passion for the mission. Clearly know the “why” and the “purpose”

-          Innovate or die – Innovation is the change that creates a new level of performance

-          We all have losses and sorrows – But we have to see these as opportunities to make a difference

-          Don’t waste energy you could be using to make a difference

-          Get your staff to your passion level

o   This should be your first mission

o   Talk about your passion/mission and live it

o   Respond with “That will further our mission” or “That is mission focused”

-          Remember – MISSION COMES FIRST!

Are You Stuck!?

Thriving in the New Economy - WOMEN PRESIDENTS' ORGANIZATION - Annual Conference

KEYNOTE ADDRESS – PROFESSOR REBECCA HENDERSON, Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management, Harvard Business School

SPONSORED BY: Foley & Lardner, LLP

Professor Henderson finds that most companies do not achieve their strategic plans because they just have too many of them. We tend to have a hard time saying no. What does your pipeline REALLY look like? Are you trying to do too many things at once? Goals that are beyond the resources of your company? Are you "being too busy"? Most companies run at ~300% overload

These are the dynamics of overload

-The dangers of firefighting

-Why we tend to stay stuck

-How to break the cycle -what can be done

What are the realities of overload?

-Most everyone knows that the bottom projects will never get done

So kill those projects

Stop burning up your people

Over commitment reduces productivity

When you are constantly moving from project to project there is no time to reflect

Attention to projects actually declines

Focus shifts to short term versus long term

-Why does overload persist?

Overload is not about the person failing, it is a structural dynamic

people get blamed instead of the systems

Imposes pressure

Switch into firefighter mode, providing insights, fixing things instead of developing strategy, setting priorities and systems, and killing the project

Want to get unstuck?

-Manage your capacity - look at your projects like your product production pipeline

Don't take a bottoms up estimate approach

Most often tasks established are unreliable

it NEVER goes as planned

Always easy to make space for 1 more

keep good records of actual times required to complete past projects

Compare past projects to the new one - understand how really feasible the new one is

-Learn to like killing projects

Have a clear strategy and live by it -even if it is a "good" project - say NO!

Run a funnel not a tunnel

Clearly articulate the priorities

Let staff know what can "fall of the table"

Learn to face worse before better

Accept short term pain for long term benefits

fix problems - don't punish

-Change your habits around dealing with problems

respond to them as opportunities

-Build trust within the organization

Think about your relationships - don't just CYA