(If you recognise any of these in yourself then you might like to alter your behaviour unless of course you control nuclear reactors for a living. If you recognise any of these in your boss or colleagues then start job hunting.)

•    I want to lose weight.
•    I want to get fit.
•    I want to give up smoking.

The big issue here is that these types of resolutions involve radical behaviour, or at least we believe they do so. On 1st January, we eat only lettuce leaves, throw away cigarette packets and start running marathons. This is just too hard. Maybe if our lives (or that of a loved one) depended on such a radical reform we might make it but it is too easy to just eat one cream cake, smoke a cigarette or have a rest day.

So what should we all do? The answer in most cases is to have a long term goal with several well identified milestones along the way. So if you really do want to run a marathon your goals might involve running a short distance now but working up to say 1 mile, 5 miles, 10 miles etc or perhaps mixing walking and running and trying to extend the periods of running. The second important concept is time. The words ‘New Year’ imply a change on 1st January which is linked to the early part of the year. What about not eating cream cakes in July or not smoking in September? A small change that lasts is worth more than a huge but failed effort.

Our goals should be relevant to our lives from this point on. So I might say the following to myself:

•    I want to get fitter.
•    I want to reduce my blood pressure to normal.
•    I want to be able to run a mile by Easter and a half marathon by Christmas…and so on.

Note that all of these are measurable and I cannot easily cheat without bribing a doctor or tampering with my bathroom scales. I can further enlist the help of others by publicising my goals (sticking them to the fridge, telling friends or colleagues).

Apply one or two of these ideas to your personal or working life and you will notice a difference. Try it and see.

–

Derek’s work encompasses consultancy, idea generation, creativity workshops and facilitating continuous innovation. For more information visit his website http://www.Creative4Business.co.uk or contact him at Derek@Creative4Business.co.uk

Well Business Burps are a little like this. They have the following characteristics:
• Something unexpected happens following a period of high energy.
• There is excitement.
• There is resentment on the part of competition i.e. that’s not fair.
• There is some embarrassment on our part to exploit the situation.
• The event is likely to be totally ‘left field’.

A recent example of this is Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Borat, the sixth most famous man in Kazakhstan. This is viral marketing at its very best. It is embarrassing, offensive to the Kazakhstan government (at first), completely unexpected and well thought out (Borat has his own website, mySpace, etc) and many, if not most, people are talking about him.

So what has this got to do with business. First of all Borat is business for his creator. Secondly his appearance is at odds with what has gone before. So if, like many businesses, Sacha Baron Cohen had adopted ‘Best Practice’ we would have just got yet another mediocre comedy film. Instead we got the product of ‘Next Practice’. Like Borat, our new business ideas must be the product of ‘Next Practice’, a ‘Business Burp’. Not only should your idea be different, its method of delivery or production should be future looking too. So when you are next considering a strategy of innovation or business growth or ‘burping in the boardroom’ then consider
the following:
• Is your idea unexpected (for the marketplace)?
• Does the energy exist to see it through?
• Does it have the impact for competitors to scream ‘its not fair’?
• Can you avoid the fear and other barriers that could stop you exploiting the situation?
• Can this be delivered through new processes or working practices that make it even harder for competitors to copy?
• Are you forward and outward looking?

In my case I received a series of what might be called mild ‘attacks’ on my point of view (God is just a belief system), only one of which is posted on the site. The remainder were sent directly to me. Rather than be incensed as to why someone would dare to disagree with my point of view I began thinking and formulating a list of my own questions:

Did those commenting have the same viewpoint as myself regarding the questions? After all when we look at house property details we can all see different things when we look at a house from different directions.

Were comments coloured by beliefs themselves? Do readers and listeners filter what they want to see and hear according to their belief systems? Did readers see the set of questions simply as an argument for or against God?

Were those commenting actually aware of the context in which those in charge of the website formulated the questions or the context in which people answered them? Were the questions a starting point for debate or simply an excuse for a soapbox? Nobody knows.

As consultants, teachers, trainers or coaches we tend to base our approaches on sets of questions which provide a basis on which to work. How many people jump to conclusions based on these questions and how many use them to create a picture and then dig some more? A good listener does not let their own beliefs get in the way, nor do they jump to conclusions or pass judgement. We have all seen the consultant who is really just a man on a soapbox.

The point here is to look beyond the interview, read between the lines both when you are asking questions and when someone else is asking.

• Why are these questions being asked?
• What information/emotions are they designed to tease out?
• Am I biased in any way?
• Will I like the answers?
• What can I learn from this experience (will this change my point of view)?

There are others, but you get the idea. Don’t take everything at face value, be prepared to interpret and look beyond the obvious. Communication is based on message and meaning. Modern communication methods ensure that we usually get the message but they tend to help us to ignore meaning.

… and for the record, I answered the questions as if I were taking a psychometric test (read and answer in a short space of time) rather than using them as a springboard for an anti/pro God argument. This does mean that there could be one or two inconsistencies but knowing this, readers should be able to find out a bit about me and engage in a (friendly) debate down the pub.

What is God?
Derek: Just a belief system, not a real entity. This is good in that each person can have their own individual perspective. If God were an entity then we could end up playing tug of war (as some religions do) like we do with possessions. It also means we can believe or not.

God or the Big Bang (or both)?
Derek: Being a scientist at heart I would say the Big Bang but if we go back in time to the advent of the Big Bang then I cannot comprehend what came before. At this point God may not be relevant either apart from comforting those who cannot cope with lack of certainty.

God or Darwin (or both)?
Derek: Definitely Darwin. Unless all of science is off track. Creationism cannot explain the age of the earth, evolution etc. Darwinism can.

God or Darfur ? (How can Darfur happen if there is God?)
Derek: Depends on your view of God. I have not heard of any pro-God views that say God is a nasty piece of work. Most are along the lines of a strict but fair parent figure. If there is a God along these lines then Darfur and other tragedies cannot happen.

Who is God’s God?
Derek: There’s the rub. What happens if there is no God now but something or someone becomes God in the future. Could God have come into being at Big Bang time? In a way we should never answer these sort of questions although they provide plenty of food for thought and material for sensible debate.

Will the real God please stand up? (Why do we have so many religions?)
Derek: Setting aside the fact that I believe there is no God, if God did exist and wished to reach out to everyone then God would adopt some sort of ‘disguise’ to do so. Also many religions do not deny God but are simply based on the teachings of prophets. Does this mean that those writing scriptures etc do not have an answer for ‘God’ but concentrate on what came after?

Is this just a big lab and are we just guinea pigs and God just a researcher?
Derek: There could just be some sort of being out there who is playing with us all, and we will never know. The only argument against the lab idea is that experiments can be re-run. The human race is a once only opportunity. If we mess up then we do it big time.

Unexplained phenomena = God?
Derek: Unexplained phenomena= lack of knowledge or information about what is happening. Take ancient descriptions of natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes or eclipses. Find out more and the need for attribution to a higher entity often goes away.

Although creativity is a component of innovation it is often seen as a standalone topic and many HR professionals and senior managers treat it as exactly that. Readers who truly appreciate creativity and its benefits will know that the greatest value is obtained from long term interventions – training plus cultural change is more valuable than simply being furnished with a copy of De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats.

The difference between slow food/slow innovation and slow creativity is that when innovating, the slow options are usually different from the fast option. The components of slow creativity are, however, exactly the same. The difference lies in timescales, combinations of interventions and above all skill and knowledge in introducing new techniques and ideas.

So if slow is good, what does it look like? Here are a few ideas about what to look for:

•    Realistic timescales, avoid the rush to generate new ideas this afternoon.
•    Beware the boss distributing self help books.
•    Look for opportunities to collaborate with others.
•    Look for ways to determine if what you are doing is working.
•    Ensure that whatever methods you use do not exclude others.
•    Signs of increased intrinsic motivation.
•    Signs of changed and exploratory/learning behaviour.

But what happens if you apply the ‘quick fix’, maybe forcing groups of unwilling individuals to brainstorm with post-it notes? Again this is not an exhaustive list but you might notice:

•    Reluctant participation and a possible decrease in output.
•    Less variety and volume of ideas due to a narrowing not a widening participation.
•    Individuals struggling to come up with ideas on their own.
•    Less focus on playful behaviour and emphasis on quantity not quality of output.
•    Increased absence or reasons to focus on more ‘important tasks’.
•    An aloof and critical management style.

So slow is good because it adds value and is sustainable. Borrowing from the food metaphor, slow creativity requires a competent chef whilst slow innovation and slow food require both a competent chef and a different list of ingredients. And here is the key. Because slow creativity uses the same tools and techniques it is too easy for inexperienced people to dabble. Thus the moral of the story is ‘go slow, go carefully’.

Sometimes Creativity just doesn’t work for one or more of the following reasons:

• The problem scenario or situation has not been properly defined
• The facilitator does not have the correct skills
• The participants are unwilling

Or more than likely the wrong techniques have been selected. Alas you cannot use brainstorming for everything! So how should you go about categorising and selecting techniques?

The following ideas might be useful:

Group/Solo working – who is going to use this technique? Will you use it for one person or a group?

Converge/Diverge – are you looking to focus on, or identify just one possibility or are you wishing to actively generate many options or ideas?

Exploration/description – does the technique allow you to just explore or perhaps describe the situation more fully?

Reality checking/planning – you know what the possibilities are but you need to check that your ideas are feasible or to set out some course of action.

Idea generation/building – this is divergent but are you generating los of ideas or taking a smaller number and building upon them?

If we want to classify Reverse Brainstorming then we could classify it as Solo or group working, convergent, exploring, idea generation. A Cartoon Storyboard could be classified as Solo or Group working, convergent, planning or building.

So how should you select a technique? Often we wish to perform several actions one after the other but for the sake of simplicity lets imagine you need some ideas about how to beef up your sales and marketing effort. You could work either on your own or in a group, you simply wish to generate a large number of ideas in a short space of time. Something like Reverse Brainstorming or a Nominal Group Technique might be the answer. If, however, you needed to explore or describe your current situation before moving on to generate ideas then the above techniques would not be ideal and you might find a modelling, drawing or even visualisation technique more useful.

Go on, try it! You might even find this Creativity stuff useful.

When you have a bright idea there is always someone who takes the wind out of your sails by asking “What about …?” Why not preempt them by doing a little homework first? Below are 50 questions, variations on the usual who, what, why, when, where. Think your idea through using these as prompts and see if you can improve your idea.

Who

1. Who is affected by the problem?
2. Who else has it?
3. Who says it is a problem?
4. Who would like a solution?
5. Who would not like a solution?
6. Who could prevent a solution?
7. Who needs it solved more than you?

When

8. When does it occur?
9. When doesn’t it occur?
10. When did it appear?
11. When will it disappear?
12. When do other people see your problem as a problem?
13. When don’t other people see your problem as a problem?
14. When is the solution needed?
15. When might it occur again?
16. When will it get worse?
17. When will it get better?

Why

18. Why is this situation a problem?
19. Why do you want to solve it?
20. Why don’t you want to solve it?
21. Why doesn’t it go away?
22. Why would someone else want to solve it?
23. Why wouldn’t someone else want to solve it?
24. Why is it easy to solve?
25. Why is it hard to solve?

What

26. What might change about it?
27. What are its main weaknesses?
28. What do you like about it?
29. What do you dislike about it?
30. What can be changed about it?
31. What can’t be changed?
32. What do you know about it?
33. What don’t you know about it?
34. What will it be like if it is solved?
35. What will it be like if it isn’t solved?
36. What have you done in the past with similar problems?
37. What principles underlie it?
38. What values underlie it?
39. What problem elements are related to one another?
40. What assumptions are you making about it?
41. What seems to be most important about it?
42. What seems to be least important about it?
43. What are the sub-problems?
44. What are your major objectives in solving it?
45. What else do you need to know?

Where

46. Where is it most noticeable?
47. Where is it least noticeable?
48. Where else does it exist?
49. Where is the best place to begin looking for solutions?
50. Where does it fit in the larger scheme of things?

Most readers will be familiar with, or have heard of Malcolm Gladwell’s best selling business book ‘The Tipping Point’. The author suggests that there is a point at which you need apply only a small effort to create an effect. This is rather like giving the final push to topple a large boulder or tipping a finely balanced set of scales. If only we could find this point, we could all save ourselves time and effort.

Once the tipping point is found then we, and our businesses will be beating the competition and lining our pockets with untold riches, right? Is there anything to stop us? Well, quite a lot actually. Take the simple case of sitting down on a chair. You see the chair, walk round to the front and then sit down. Did you check that the chair was still there or that it did not have a wobbly leg. Most of the time nothing will happen but what happens in the 1 in 100 or 1 in 1000 cases when a practical joker has removed the chair?

This is a somewhat simplified example but neatly illustrates the point that we must keep our wits about us at all times. Having created a strategy for the future we want it to succeed but how many of us do not keep watch? What is it exactly that we are watching for? This is where we come to The Slipping Point. If you were driving up a slippery slope or along an icy road it would be the place where you lost grip, where your forward momentum slowed, and where things just did not go as planned. What can be done about this?

• Ensure Management are ‘Hands Ready’ i.e. they are aware of what is going on but are not micro-managing or too eager to take control. This provides space to see the bigger picture.
• Do your employees work in teams? The more they do this, the more support they provide, the more knowledge is shared and the more flexible they are when confronted with challenges.¬†
• Is there a desire to win or are you all there to pick up your pay cheques?¬†
• Even if you have a desire to win, do you know how to win?¬†
• Keep an eye on the external environment, competitors, customers and any other factors that could affect the economic landscape.
• Foster as many external relationships as you can. These provide information and can also be leveraged in times of need.¬†
• Promote the right culture. Transparency and morale are often used but infrequently heeded. Lead by example and gain trust and you will be in good shape.¬†
• Promote the concept of stretch, an environment in which your employees and management alike are challenged and allowed to learn.¬†
• Get the best from your staff. This extends from what management actually ‘do’ to staff to encourage and motivate them as well as reward systems.¬†

Pay attention to the above and you have a very good chance of executing that carefully crafted strategy and avoiding The Slipping Point.