When I do creativity & innovation training workshops, I inevitably come across participants who don’t think they’re creative, who don’t believe they have a creative bone in their body.

People, if you make it through a day you’re creative.

If you’re breathing you’re creative.

If you’re a parent you’re creative (especially if you’re a parent of a teen).

If you’ve ever started a new job, traveled to a new destination, created a new friendship, or created anything for that matter, you’re creative.

One of the stumbling blocks for people believing they’re creative is the assumption that to be creative means you have to create something entirely new.  We can’t all be Steve Jobs.  Lots and lots and lots of opportunities for creativity exist in what I call ‘cobbling’ – putting two or more disparate things together.

Who knew a comb could help you hammer & save your fingers at the same time?  Check out more examples below.

Want to find out your own creative strengths & gaps?  Check out my quick creativity assessment.

(Thanks to Rania for sending these pictures my way.  You can see more here.)

The first month of the new year is about to slip by.  Sit up, take notice & look back before looking forward.  If you didn’t catch all the posts this month simply usher yourself down to the well & click as you wish.

Learn well in the training & development learning well.

Dive deep into the learning well or take a small sip. Shower yourself in training & development or just get your big toe wet.

Refresh & refreshing.

As you wish.

• Freedom for creativity? Freedom from creativity? Is this a playground or a jail?

• The Rock.Paper.Scissors newsletter is out:
• Resources related to Emmanuel Jal, former child soldier
• What a former child solider has to say about forgiveness & more

• A ludicrously easy, perspective changing way to better tie your shoes

• What is culture? 5 ways people from different countries learn differently (& 5 ways we all learn the same)

• Fresh perspective = creativity + words that dance

• Learning enhancing yogurt

• It’s IS (not) my job & other reasons (not) TO change (or learn)

• We all have n.u.t.s (nagging, underlying to’dos) but don’t let them drive you nuts

• Spontaneous heartfelt Jen Louden shoots from the hip AND the heart

• It’s not my job & other reasons not to change (or learn)

• Training & development interests, skills & opportunities a la Scott Belsky

Limitations?  Guidelines?

Safety?  Security?  Sanctions?  Sanctimonious?

The signs surrounding the playground that swam by me as I jogged my way around Washington Square in New York City a while back got me thinking.

Do we need rules to set us free?

Is this a safe space within a jungle?  Or is it a sterile void where creativity fled long ago?

Perspective.  You be the judge.

~~TGIF- each Friday I rejig & re-post a blog entry from my www.life-lenses.com blog, which is about enhancing our perspective & worldview.~~

Creative Commons licensed on Flickr by: chany14

What if words could dance?

What if content could sing?

What if training & development could taste?

A whole lot more creativity, that’s what.

Here’s what can happen when you bust out & think out loud, out of the proverbial box….

Creativity.  Never gonna give you up.  It’s a must.  A ‘gotta have’.  A go to.  It’s calling from your very own DNA.  Will you heed the call?

(Thanks to my teen for sharing the link with me.  He’s my ever-present font of creativity & frequent source of blog post ideas.)

Rising up and gracefully meeting the challenges that today’s ever increasingly fast paced world presents can’t be done with the thinking of yesteryear.

Changing perspective means breaking out of the bonds that tie our brains down.

Encumbered with false assumptions (we’ve gotta do it this way, any other way won’t work, we tried before, it failed), we tend to trundle along well laid paths, head down, focused.

Until, something makes us look up … and … out.  Towards possibilities.  Towards breaking the ties that bind.

Here’s an example.  Whether you have young kids in your life or not, it’s a great example of reinvigorated thinking.

Do you and I have to be with each other to read a book together?  Not the way A Story Before Bed envisions it.  Once signed up, you and your loved one can read the same book and see each other and yet be many continents and time zones apart.

Creative?  You bet.

Endearing?  Of course.

Go get your book on.

September passed in a blur and you missed out on some Rock.Paper.Scissors’ blog posts?  No worries.  Here they are – laid out like a picnic for your perusing – here’s the Rock.Paper.Scissors’ monthly training & development round up. You’ll find all the blog posts for the month of September below.

Learn well in the training & development learning well.

Dive deep into the learning well or take a small sip. Shower yourself in training & development or just get your big toe wet.

Refresh & refreshing.

As you wish.

• 29 ways to stay creative … when you’re training (part 1 of 3)

• 29 ways to stay creative … when you’re training (part 2 of 3)

• 29 ways to stay creative when you’re training (part 3 of 3) plus a contest

• When you’ve had a hard day training, listen to this answering machine message for a laugh

• Perspective on public peeing – are public toilets a gift? (& other issues of access & inclusion)

• Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Social Media and the 3 little pigs© – book review of ‘Social HR’ by Harpaul Sambhi

• Rock.Paper.Scissors E-newsletter’s out: Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Social Media and the 3 little pigs

• Rock.Paper.Scissors E-newsletter’s out: Social Media resources from ‘Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Social Media and the 3 little pigs’

• Rock.Paper.Scissors E-newsletter’s out: Funny Social Media resources from ‘Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Social Media and the 3 little pigs’

• And the winners of ‘Eureka’ are …. (insert drum roll here)

• Can you sum up resilience in a song? Bella can – listen up

• Jessica Fraser, co-founder, Mobile Movement, on innovation

Note: this post contains a chance to win a free song.  Keep reading for how to enter…

I came across this great video (see below) from Tofu Design called 29 ways to stay creative.  I really like the title because it assumes you and me are creative to start with, which is my mantra.  Creativity is in our DNA – some of us just have to dig deeper for it if we’ve been discouraged from displaying our creative gifts.

I’ve added to the 29 points to emphasize how you can stay creative when you’re training, creativity being such an important part of training and all.  The first part of each item below is from the video (e.g. break the rules), what follows are my suggestions (e.g. create curiousity).

BTW: for the first ten ways to stay creative when you’re training see the first post.  For the second ten ways see the next post.

21) Break the rules - in training ‘ah ha!’ is often preceded by ‘huh?’ as the Heath Brothers say in their excellent book Made to Stick.  Create curiousity, don’t give away all the ‘answers’.  Learning will pop and stick as a result.

22) Don’t force it -  you can lead a  horse to the classroom but you can’t make her learn.  Create the most sumptuous learning environment and learning content you can but know learning is a partnership between you and the participants.  You can’t force learning.

23) Read a page of the dictionary – I use paper or online dictionaries for a creativity activity.  To reinforce the concept of ‘cobbling,’ that is creative concepts often cobble together disparate, seemingly unconnected things, I’ll have participants pick two random words from a dictionary and make up a story for how they’re related.  How are watermelons and speakers connected?

24) Create a framework – have a plan.  Know where you’re headed with your training content.  Break it into organized chunks.  That’s how our brains learn.

25) Stop trying to be someone else’s perfect – learn from the masters but make your training your own.  If you’re copying someone else the participants will know it.

26) Got an idea? Write it down - training ideas are elusive.  Got one?  Make sure you capture it on your iPhone, Blackberry, notepad whatever, just capture it.

27) Clean your workplace – make sure your training supplies are easy to find and organize.  No one pays you to take 4 hours to pack up your supplies for a workshop.  Organize your training agendas.  Mine always include:

• a list of supplies I’m bringing to the workshop
• a list of supplies I’ve arranged for the client to provide
• what I need to do on site to prepare before the workshop starts

28) Have fun – I always say suffering is optional when it comes to learning.  Make your training workshops enjoyable and retention increases.  The old adage of ‘putting your nose to the grindstone’ involves blood people!  Who wants to suffer when it affects learning and dramatically decreases retention.

29) Finish something – all good things must come to and end, just like this series and just like training workshops.  Make sure you plan for a suitable closing.  I plan my closings to include a focus on both process or Journey Life Lenses™ as well as content or Destination Life Lenses™.  Then, depending on the particular group I’m working with and what they need, I’ll put the emphasis more on one or the other.

Putting the points into practice I’m combining 5 take a break, 8 drink coffee (or my equivalent shake your booty),  18 (count your blessings), 28 (have fun).  Eureka by the Soweto String Quartet just came on.  I’ve just cranked it up and am about to leap out of my chair and dance to it.

Point 9 is listen to new music.  Make a comment below about your idea for staying creative.  On Sept 26th I’ll randomly draw three people who’ve commented and send them a copy of Eureka so you too can put the points into action!

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

I came across this great video (see below) from Tofu Design called 29 ways to stay creative.  I really like the title because it assumes you and me are creative to start with, which is my mantra.  Creativity is in our DNA – some of us just have to dig deeper for it if we’ve been discouraged from displaying our creative gifts.

I’ve added to the 29 points to emphasize how you can stay creative when you’re training, creativity being such an important part of training and all.  The first part of each item below is from the video (e.g. surround yourself with creative people), what follows are my suggestions (e.g. include creative folk in your inner circle).

BTW: for the first ten ways to stay creative when you’re training see the first post.  For the final 9 ways see the next post.

11) Surround yourself with creative people - this is key for great trainers, make sure you include creative folk in your inner circle.  Some of my fav friends and sources of inspiration are Dolly Hopkins, Dyana Valentine and Danielle LaPorte.

12) Get feedback – soooo important yet oft overlooked.  When I teach Workshops that Work, a training on how to teach in engaging, creative ways, one of the most nerve wracking yet best received sections is when folks get up and actually practice teaching.  There’s nothing like getting feedback from other trainers (as long as it’s respectful and well intended).  Ask a respected colleague to sit in on a workshop and get their feedback.  Ask them for both specific and general feedback.  For example if you’re unsure of how your introductions are received ask for specific feedback on that.

13) Collaborate – two heads are better than one is an oft used mantra.  Know that when it comes to training it generally takes much longer to co-plan and co-deliver a workshop.  The benefits to the participants are many (e.g. seeing two delivery styles), just make sure you plan your time accordingly.  Also when you co-facilitate make sure you’re clear on roles, who’s doing what, if it’s okay to step in with a comment or not when it’s ‘their’ turn, and how do you signal each other if time is running over etc.

14) Don’t give up – praise the goddess of training!  Training and development is tough.  There will be times when you wonder just how on earth did I manage to muddle it so badly?  Great trainers are made not born.  It takes time to perfect your craft.  And because you’re working with no less than unpredictable human beings, the very same content can go swimmingly one time and drag you down the next.  Be tenacious!

15) Practice, practice, practice – hand in hand with the above, no baby ever came out of the womb teaching another how to breastfeed.  It takes practice, and more practice.  Even if you train the same content continuously, each group will be different, guaranteed.  And likewise each group is a chance to practice and learn.

16) Allow yourself to make mistakes – your training will be downright boring if you don’t. Playing it safe means no leaping into learning, no novelty, no newness.  When you’re trying a new technique however, know that some will rise to the top and others will tank.  Your attitude towards mistakes will go a long way in helping your participants be comfortable in doing the same.

17) Go somewhere new – I’ve done training in the Canadian Arctic in -72 degree celsius weather and in East Africa where I had to watch for hippos by night and monkeys by day.  I’ve done a workshop with Beluga whales jumping at the back of the room and in a room with no heat in the middle of winter.  New venues spark it up and bring new learning to the table so get out and go forth!

18) Count your blessings – keep a file (electronic or paper) of feedback from participants.  Remember why you got into training and development in the first place.  There’s nothing like the rush of helping to facilitate learning and opening doors for participants.

19) Get lots of rest – taking good care of yourself means you’re better able to be the great trainer that you are.  Get enough sleep and make sure you have lots of water to drink.  If the workshop is long enough ensure proper breaks (for you and the participants).  If I’m anticipating a tough crowd I’ll bring some lavender scent with me to help me stay relaxed, calm and open.  Think about what works for you and do it!

20) Take risks - it’s a risk for participants to enter into learning.  It’s about making oneself vulnerable.  As a trainer we can and should model that as well.  Some of my best feedback has come when I’ve felt the most vulnerable and taken the greatest risks.  Take a deep breath and dive into learning!

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

It’s one of those iffy training exercises.  Asking a North American audience to use their bodies to form a picture is risky.  Eyebrows tend to head north.  Question marks (or the equivalent, #$@#$!) dance above participant’s heads.

We North Americans, especially corporate North America tend to divide our brain from the rest of our body.  There’s a clear delineation and rarely the two shall mix.

However.

On this particular day, gathered with some 70 folk, towards the end of a training I decided to do it.  After getting them into smaller groups of three I said …

• Create a picture, as a group, using your bodies that reflects what your organizational culture looked like in the past.
• Next create a picture, as a group, using your bodies that reflects what your organizational culture looks like now.
• And finally do the same except form a picture of what you’d like it to look like in the future.

To reassure the group I joked that they didn’t have to touch if they didn’t want to.  We weren’t going to hug and kiss and sign Kumbaya.  I encouraged all members in their small groups to participate.  In advance, I told them they’d be showing one other group their pictures.

After a few minutes the raised eyebrows calmed down and the groups got to work creating their sculptures (notice I didn’t use that word, it likely would have been too intimidating).

At my signal each group quietly demoed their pictures to another group – one at a time, without speaking.

Past flowed into present which merged into future.

Then they switched.  The presenters then became audience and the partner groups reciprocated.

Then IT happened.

A participant came up to me and with a gleam in her eye said that her group wanted to see everyone‘s pictures and asked if they could all demo.

Ulp inducing gulp #1:

• I hadn’t told the group they’d be demoing in front of the entire group.
• It could be a clear case of being disrespectful by changing the rules mid-way.
• It could have broken down the sense of team that we’d worked hard to build during the workshop.
• Hey, some folk could rightly be yammering, you didn’t say we’d have to do that.  I wouldn’t have done my picture like we did if I knew Bob would be watching. OR  Oh God, please kill me now- I’d rather die than have Meredith see our pictures.

Ulp inducing gulp #2:

• we were short on time.
• while less of an access and inclusion issue than #1 but lunch was definitely calling.

What to do?

I made a snap decision and told the large group what the request was.  I asked them to form a large circle and following my lead as a I slowly pointed around the circle, to form their first picture.  I acknowledged that were were improvising and gave them an out – making it clear that they were free to pass if they didn’t want to participate in front of the large group.

After a moment of silence to let it all sink in I quietly started to my left and began swinging my arm around the circle.  Slowly sculptures formed and then unformed as my arm swept past.  Pictures of the past kept emerging, rippling out of each other.

When I got to the end of the circle I doubled back quietly reminding the group to form their ‘present’ pictures.  Again, sculptures unfolded quietly.

Finally a third round brought us sculptures of the future.

It was quiet when we finished.

I closed the workshop and encouraged them to continue dialogue about what they’d seen, to approach their colleagues and ask them about their pictures.

I encouraged them to look for differences that made a difference and similarities that were significant.

It worked.  The gulp inducing decision worked.

In fact it was pretty darn cool.  I loved the improv element that a participant brought to an old activity, one that I’d learned decades ago while working in the Philippines.  It’s called Moving Pictures.  Feel free to use it (crediting the source is always appreciated) and let me know how it goes.

I don’t like pumping gas.  I always get impatient.  I’m not really sure why as it doesn’t take all that long to fill up my gas tank but nonetheless it’s a task I don’t like.

That’s why, when filling up on a road trip recently, I was delighted to find a reason to chuckle as I pumped the gas yet again.

The gas station had a poster that taught kids about bugs based on the splattered remains on the car windshield.

What a creative idea.

What a conversation starter.

What an entry into dialogue.

What an invitation to learning.

What a way to make bug guts interesting.

And what a way to relieve the monotony of a long drive.

What’s your equivalent of learning via splattered bug guts?