Take a deep breath & remember to exhale
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Change management & wellness
To get the things you’ve never had
Do the things you’ve never done
(Sign posted in a store I visited while at a community festival today.)
If you define ‘things’ beyond just stuff this is powerful.
It’s also timely.
I’m embarking on some radical new learning for some new business goals. Most of the time I’m jazzed up with excitement and standing tall, looking into the future. Sometimes though when my nerves are knocking and my breath feels faint and echoes of ‘are you sure you can really do this?’ bounce around in my head, it’s good to remember…..
Take a deep breath and remember to exhale.
You never know what fire’s burning inside you until you bring it out into the light of day.
What do you need to do to get the things you’ve never had?
And speaking of diving in, take a look at this crazy and courageous guy who takes a deep breath and soars, literally.
Tags: business, Business & organizational development, change management, creativity & innovation, leap of faith, learning
What we adults can learn from kids on how to stay positive & not set limits for ourselves
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Creativity & innovation, Human resources
Look at the possibilities you’re missing.
Set some time aside to think big. Bigger.
There’ll be time later for evaluating, categorizing, weighing the pros and cons etc. For now don’t set any limits. Repeat. No limits.
Sing to yourself.
Move.
Enjoy.
Enough said.
Tags: attitude, creativity & innovation, learning, parenting, positive, possibilities, thinking big, training & development
How to get creative – backwards and forwards
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Creativity & innovation, Human resources
How creative are you? Do you know your creative assets and blind spots? Keep reading for a simple way to discover them.
With help from the wonderful Dolly Hopkins, I created a creativity skill set called E.S.C.A.P.E. Each of the letters stands for a different creativity skill.
The ‘A’ stands for assumptions, as in identifying and breaking them down. Making assumptions is the biggest creativity killer.
The most common creative assumption? That’s easy. That you’re not creative.
I beg to differ. We’re ALL creative, we simply show our creative strips in different ways.
Here’s another example of an assumption. Which way do you read? If you’re reading English you read left to right. But is that the only way?
What happens if we turn that assumption on its head? A damn fine video, that’s what.
And your creative blind spots? Take this simple 6 question assessment to find out how you rate on the creativity E.S.C.A.P.E. meter.
Want to learn more how to E.S.C.A.P.E. by embracing your own creativity? Join me in the upcoming one day course I’m teaching by the same name, June 23rd from 10 am to 5 pm at Langara College in Vancouver, B.C. Get more info and/or register. Hope to see you there!
Tags: assessment, creativity & innovation, creativity assessment, embrace creativity, langara, langara college, learning, lost generation, youtube
How do you get creative? Why use a mosha cup of course
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Creativity & innovation, Human resources, Training & development
I was driving to pick up my hubbie from the airport and listening to Stuart McLean’s the Vinyl Cafe on CBC radio. The tunes were great and I was bopping and singing along, a great big grin plastered wide on my face.
Stuart was relaying his tales of growing up in Montreal, and, as only he can, making the mundane magical. He talked of being a young boy many years ago and holding a precious, crumpled one dollar bill which he carefully carried to the local record store. Once there he asked for the Mosha Cup record.
‘Say what?’ the store owner asked.
‘Mosha cup’, Stuart patiently repeated. And repeated. And repeated, noting that the lines of confusion on the man’s face were not diminishing.
Finally the store owner got another employee and together they listened to what Stuart wanted. Eventually a light bulb went off, a record was sold and Stuart walked out of the store listening to the men laughing.
He didn’t get the joke until he peered carefully at the record label and then his light bulb went off.
And so it is with creativity.
Our brains like to fill the knowledge gap, we like to have answers that sate our curiousity. The problem is, when we’re trying to be creative, the answer itself can wreak havoc.
Once we have ‘THE ANSWER’ it prevents us from looking for other solutions. Once we label something one way, we’re less likely to see it another. A mosha cup is a mosha cup and could only be a mosha cup.
This happens a lot. For years I thought the song lyrics to ‘Lay Down Sally’ by Eric Clapton were ‘Way Down South’. When questioned I was pretty vehement in my defense of the ‘right’ answer. I simply couldn’t fathom it another way.
And that’s the kicker. How to fathom things in other ways. How to identify and strip away the constricting bonds from our thinking and look at things differently.
Know what Stuart’s record was? Here are some hints:
- it was #1 in 1957
- it was Elvis Presley’s second biggest hit in the U.S.
- it’s roots are in a bottle of pop
Still no idea? Check the song out here.
Want learn how to look at things differently and ramp up your own creativity? Check out the ‘Embracing Creativity; How to Rediscover your Creative DNA’ course I’m teaching at Langara College in Vancouver, B.C. on June 23rd. Hope to see you there with or without your mosha cup!
Tags: cbc, cbc radio, creative, creativity & innovation, development, elvis presley, Human resources, langara college, learning, stuart mclean, training & development, vinyl cafe
4 simple steps for how to get dreams out of your head & into reality
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Creativity & innovation, Human resources
Do you have a hard time getting dreams out of your head and into reality? Not sure what to do with inspiration when it hits mid-meeting or at midnight?
While you may be able to come up with new ideas, what to do with the pesky, flighty fellows is a whole other matter. Based on a gobsmacking, stop the bus moment I had recently, where my future course was irrevocably altered, I’ve come up with 4 steps for how to get dreams out of your head and into reality.
First some background.
Recently I attended the Crave Business Development Symposium and was fortunate enough to have my business selected to be profiled throughout the day.
Translation: I got to have the laser bright lights of biz dev experts focus on me and Rock.Paper.Scissors all day. When they talked branding, marketing, sales, and finance, the examples they used, the applications they made were all focused on moi.
Talk about heady. Talk about blistering heat that that kind of focus produces. I get giddy just thinking about it. But I digress.
First out of the gate, Danielle LaPorte from White Hot Truth and Heather White of 2020 Communications illuminated a massive assumption I’d been making about distribution channels for my business. I had previously thought the only way for folks to get their hands on my training content was either by my doing training face to face or by training others to deliver the content. Not being interested in the latter I didn’t think about it any further.
Until they uncovered the hidden assumption. The rest of the day was spent charting a whole new direction.
Leaving there I faced the challenge of how to make those great ideas a reality. I came up with four ways to do just that:
- Post It Notes: grab a stack of Post It Notes and carry them with you everywhere. When inspiration hits, write one idea down per post it. Don’t edit, don’t fret, just get your ideas down. I started using the bigger notes (3X3) but then switched to the smaller notes (1.5X2) as I found them easier to manage.
- Foam core: Buy a foam core display board, you can get one here. Take your burgeoning pile o’ stickies and sort them on the board. You can sort them by all sorts of criteria. Choose the one that makes sense to you. I sorted mine by marketing ideas, product/service ideas, sales ideas and resources I’ll need to source. See my example above. Best of all, you can change the sorting as time goes on, taking advantage of the removable, replaceable stickies. The foam core board is cheap, light, and it stands up for display (so you can marvel and coo at your brilliance).
- Light pen: Buy a pen that has a built in light. I found myself waking up several times in the middle of the night with blazing good ideas, only to have forgotten them in the morning. This one looks good. I’ve got it on order. In the meantime I’m keeping a pad of paper by my bedside with a regular pen.
- Excel spreadsheet: Transfer all your post it notes to an excel spreadsheet & then categorize them. I used the same categories as I did with the display board plus a critical one …. due date. I’ve also added in how many hours I think each task is going to take me. I use the list function in excel (oh how I can opine about this lovely feature) – as it lets me sort by due date, type of idea etc. Now I have my workplan – what I need to do, how long it’s going to take me and when I need to do it by. It’s a thing of beauty.
Heads up: I’ve used two of the 6 skills that you can learn to become more creative. Breaking assumptions is one of them. Engaging (getting organized and actually getting stuff done) is another. Want to learn more about the skills? Register for the ‘Embracing Creativity; How to Rediscover your Creative DNA’ course I’m teaching at Langara College in Vancouver, B.C. on June 23rd. Hope to see you there with or without your foam core!
And you? What have you used to help you realize your dreams? Please let me know. If you use any of the suggestions above, please keep me posted (pun intended).
Tags: 2020 communications, assumptions, Business & organizational development, business strategy, crave, creativity & innovation, danielle laporte, dream, excel, foam core, heather white, langara college, light pen, planning, post it notes, vision, vision board, white hot truth, work plan, workplan
Chuck the flotsam & jetsam so you can see beyond the horizon
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Change management & wellness
Love this ad, love what it captures. Today looms large but not so much tomorrow or the long term prospects.
Where’s your focus? Likely it’s barely beyond the tip of your nose. On today.
With all the flotsam and jetsam of today’s frenetic life we have to jettison the garbage in order to focus inward and beyond.
Jettisoning the flotsam and jetsam means seeing beyond…
- my frustration at having to ask my kid 5 times to take the dirty laundry to the laundry room
- the quiet screaming of my email in-box to “read me, deal with me, me first, outta my way this is really urgent”
- the knee jerk impulse to say yes before deciding if that yes will keep me on track, on vision
Focusing inwards means being able to see beyond the flotsam and jetsam to the horizon and beyond, for example …
- what’s really important about raising boys in today’s complicated society
- how can I create systems that will make email more manageable so I can do more strategic work
- having a clear vision and the steps to achieve it so making everyday decisions is easier
Quiet reflection translates into seeing not just long term prospects but what I have to do today to get there.
Quiet reflection also illuminates assumptions I may be making that are holding me back and limiting me.
On that note, anyone for a cookie?
P.S. Interestingly, the ad is for the Central Bank of Bahrain.
Want to know more about how to see beyond the horizon and get more creative? Register now for the course I’m teaching
Embracing Creativity: How to Rediscover Your Creative DNA
June 23rd, 2010, 10 am to 5 pm, Langara College, Vancouver, B.C.
For more information or to register go to the Langara website registration page or email or call Leslie Kemp at 604-323-5981 or lkemp@langara.bc.ca.
Tags: change management & wellness, focus, perspective, vision
Want to know how you measure up on creativity skills?
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Creativity & innovation
What are your creative strengths and gaps? Take this 6 question, multiple choice creativity assessment and find out.
Oh and if your (un)creative devil is whispering sweet and sour thoughts into your ear like …
- “I’m not creative”
- “I don’t have a creative bone in my body”
- “I don’t ____ (fill in the blank with a creative art – paint, sew, draw etc.) therefore I’m not creative”
… then kick him in the shins and brush him off saying to yourself “uninvited guest”.
I’ll post the collated results of the assessment in 2 weeks or so (don’t worry, it’s all anonymous, no names promise!).
Want to ramp up your creativity in the meantime? Take a course.
Embracing Creativity: How to Rediscover Your Creative DNA
June 23rd, 2010, 10 am to 5 pm
Langara College, Vancouver, B.C.
Feel the need to be more creative but not sure where to start? Is the pace of change outpacing your ability to keep up? We’ll open the door to your creative DNA through fun and engaging activities. We’ll combat common myths (‘I’m not creative’) and common fears (‘I’m not creative enough’) through practical application of 6 main creativity skills for use both at home and in the workplace.
Receive a resource package during the workshop plus a bonus follow-up resource package to help anchor and reinforce your learning.
You’ll leave the workshop engaged, refreshed and with a plan for how to put your newly (re)discovered creativity to work.
Here’s what others have said about the workshop:
· “I just want to say what an amazing time I had at your seminar. I haven’t laughed that much in a long time! (and feel free to quote me on that!)” ~ Melanie Miceli
Customer Service Representative
Service BC, Ministry of Labour and Citizens’ Services
· “Lee-Anne was very knowledgeable about the topic” ~ Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation workshop participant
– “You’ve let me know that it’s okay to be scared to be creative and taught me ways to overcome this fear. THANKS! ~Bethany Wheeler, University of the Fraser Valley
Cost: $125. For more information or to register go to the Langara website registration page or email or call Leslie Kemp at 604-323-5981 or lkemp@langara.bc.ca.
Tags: assessment, continuing education, creative escape, creativity & innovation, creativity assessment, embracing creativity, escape, langara college, learning
What do women want?
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Creativity & innovation
Good question. Turns out it’s not big, burly men to help carry our parcels to the car.
Best Buy was trying to increase sales to women. They hired a male consultant (go figure) who said the answer lay in hiring beefy male employees.
Didn’t work (surprise surprise).
What did work?
Asking their female employees to talk to their existing female customers.
This simple, elegant process led to two changes:
- wider aisles – to accommodate strollers
- product signs that were less technical and more functional – how long a wash cycle takes, how many clothes fit in the washing machine
Results?
Sales to women increased by 2 billion (that’s billion with a ‘b’).
Easy peasy.
Through laser listening and incisive insight they nailed it.
Thanks to Peter Sheahan, who I heard this story from.
On a similar note want to know how to get more creative? Register now for the upcoming course I’m teaching –
Embracing Creativity: How to Rediscover Your Creative DNA
June 23rd, 2010, 10 am to 5 pm, Langara College, Vancouver, B.C.
For more information or to register go to the Langara website registration page or email or call Leslie Kemp at 604-323-5981 or lkemp@langara.bc.ca.
Tags: best buy, female consumers, learning, marketk share, peter sheahan, women consumers
Kick the rabbit in the butt & suspend disbelief – it’ll lead to breakthroughs
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Creativity & innovation
Can you walk on water? These guys can. Check out the video below to see how they do it.
“You have to believe … it’s not impossible.” “We’re discovering it as we go along.” Some of it “was by mistake.” “It takes a lot of practice.” “If you fall down try again.” All words of advice from these water walkers.
It’s about mind over matter. Steely, gritty determination wins over what I call “yeah but, no but, rabbits”.
- yeah but we’ve tried that before
- yeah but we don’t have the time
- yeah but we don’t have the money
- no but ‘they’ll’ never go for it
- no but it’s impossible
- no but it won’t work
There’s time and place for critical analysis, determining ROI, weighing the pros and cons etc. however these come way too early. Instead the ‘yeah but no but rabbits’ decimate creativity and innovation.
After all someone had to suspend disbelief in order to:
- sail around the world without falling off the edge
- invent a phone that didn’t tie you down by a cord
- create a virtual encyclopedia that has displaced hard copy encyclopedias
So kick the rabbit in the butt, suspend disbelief and see what breakthroughs it leads to.
Like walking on water.
Caveat: some folks think this is a marketing ploy for the shoe company. What do I believe? I dunno but then again I don’t really care, it’s about suspending disbelief.
Want to know more about how to suspend disbelief and get more creative? Register now for the course I’m teaching –
Embracing Creativity: How to Rediscover Your Creative DNA
June 23rd, 2010, 10 am to 5 pm, Langara College, Vancouver, B.C.
For more information or to register go to the Langara website registration page or email or call Leslie Kemp at 604-323-5981 or lkemp@langara.bc.ca.
Tags: breakthrough, change management, creativity & innovation, disbelief, extreme sport, learning, liquid mountaineering, walking on water
What is creativity? Making a radio out of a phone
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Creativity & innovation
The other day my 13 year old nonchalantly took my IPhone and placed it in the radio (see above). What was he doing? Using the radio to play the music off my IPhone.
Simple?
For him, yes.
For me, no.
I had banded my thinking, which is a creativity killer. Banded thinking is placing constricting, limiting beliefs around our thinking. Like you can’t play a phone on a radio.
Even though I use earphones to listen to my music on my IPhone. Even though I use it for many other uses, ‘phone’ was the dominant category reserved in my gray matter. My kid unbanded my thinking.
IPhone used to equal phone.
Now IPhone equals cool kitchen radio.
Took my kid to take off the bands and make me realize how you can make a phone into a radio.
Want to learn more about creativity? Register now for the course I’m teaching at Langara.
Embracing Creativity: How to Rediscover Your Creative DNA
June 23rd, 2010, 10 am to 5 pm
Langara College, Vancouver, B.C.
Feel the need to be more creative but not sure where to start? Is the pace of change outpacing your ability to keep up? We’ll open the door to your creative DNA through fun and engaging activities. We’ll combat common myths (‘I’m not creative’) and common fears (‘I’m not creative enough’) through practical application of 6 main creativity skills for use both at home and in the workplace.
For more information or to register go to the Langara website registration page or email or call Leslie Kemp at 604-323-5981 or lkemp@langara.bc.ca.
Hope to see you there!
Tags: creative, creativity & innovation, embracing creativity, IPhone, langara college, learning, rediscover your creative dna, teaching