Watershed Solutions Blog

Posts Tagged ‘innovation’

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An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail. ~Edwin Land, Inventor

Anxiety is the hand maiden of creativity. ~T. S. Eliot, Poet

Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. ~Gail Sheehy, Journalist

Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work. ~Rita Mae Brown, Writer

Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous. ~Bill Moyers, Journalist

Rule of art: Cant kills creativity! ~Camille Paglia, Authour

The heart and soul of the company is creativity and innovation. ~Robert Iger, CEO Disney

“Just as energy is the basis of life itself, and ideas the source of innovation, so is innovation the vital spark of all human change, improvement and progress.”~ Theodore Levitt, American economist and professor

“Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time.” ~ Bill Gates. Microsoft

“You have all the reason in the world to achieve your grandest dreams. Imagination plus innovation equals realization.”~ Denis Waitley, author and productivity consultant

“The world leaders in innovation and creativity will also be world leaders in everything else.” ~ Harold R. McAlindon, Author

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.”~ Theodore Levitt, American economist and professor

What does the colour blue mean to you? Do you think of the open sky and how it represents freedom? Or do you visualize the deep blue sea and feel its peace and tranquility? Would you believe that blue can cause feelings of creativity? According to Rui Zhu and her colleague Ravi Mehta from the University of British Columbia blue can prompt creativity. This is the result of the innate feelings that we have for each colour. For example, blue creates a secure and welcoming environment thereby paving the way for greater imagination.

Need to be More Creative at work? Try these ideas:

-Change your screensaver colour to blue. One of Zhu’s studies had subjects use 20 toy parts, painted either red or blue, put together a children’s toy. Judges found that those using blue parts developed more innovative products than those using red parts.

-The next time you are refilling your printer paper tray reach for the blue paper as the calming sensation associated with this colour may fuel creativity. Zhu believes these “subconscious associations” are linked to our life experiences.  If a blue sky can create a safe environment, putting people into a more explorative mindset then why wouldn’t colour paper promote the same effect?

-Incorporate blue into the colour scheme of your office or brainstorming area. Most of Zhu’s subjects, about 75%, believed that blue would not only increase their creativity but also attention to detail. Although Zhu’s studies found that red was responsible for the latter, she says that people believe that blue helps regardless of the task.

Interested in this week’s tip? Check out these great reads:

Your supervisor requests that you hold a meeting with the development team to discuss strategies to attract new clients. You want to ensure success and know that this can only be accomplished with the input of your team members. In fact behavioural scientist, Patrick Laughlin has shown in his book Group Problem Solving, that getting input from a group can produce a better outcome than relying solely on one problem solver. Here are 5 tips when asking for input :

Identify the problem before informing others of your goals and objectives. This gives them time to consider their approach to the problem before you suggest yours.

Be clear on the goals so others know what the ultimate objective is. Display these goals publicly so they can keep them on the top of their minds.

Brainstorm. Brainstorming is the process of collecting many ideas without immediate judgement according to its founder, Alex F. Osborn. Refrain from evaluating ideas in this phase the bigger and more outlandish the better. By holding off on evaluation you set the stage for creativity.

Let everyone share their ideas. In a group the people who are more outgoing or outspoken are likely to dominate the discussion. Overcome this barrier by allowing people to choose between sharing their ideas out loud or jotting them down on a cue card.

Take the most concrete ideas and develop brief keywords or phrases for them. In Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, Noah J. Goldstein and coauthors remind us that although leaders should be open to the diversity of many ideas, they have final say. The leader should comb through the suggested ideas and note the most promising ones on cue cards. Next arrange the cue cards on a table to spell out a complete strategy. Group members should be given the chance to alter the arrangement by swapping out cards or adding to areas for an overall stronger fit.

Interested in this week’s tip? Check out these great reads:

With the new year in full swing you may believe that it is your time to make a difference. Perhaps stepping out of the shadow of your coworkers or showing your supervisor what you can do. In How to Get Your idea Approved, author Amy Gallo reveals the 3 essential strategies to utilize when seeking approval for an idea.

Two Heads are Better than One

Before scheduling that formal meeting with your supervisor, I would ensure that your ideas are complete. Gallo suggests testing the theory by asking colleagues which in my opinion allows you to gauge whether after each conversation the idea is ready to go or needs more tweaking. If fellow employees can find faults with the idea, imagine what a boardroom full of executives with strict budgets and zero tolerance would do. Speaking with individuals who are “responsible for giving the green light” holds 3 purposes according to Gallo:

-Builds curiosity and establishes a need

-Demonstrates that you value feedback and recommendations

-Helps to seal cracks in your proposal and reveals areas to improve and expand

I strongly believe that the more you take in from your audience the better you can prepare and build a strong case for your idea.

Build on what you know

Writing out a detailed outline of your proposal would aid in uncovering any areas that key stakeholders might pick at in a formal meeting. If you come across a section that you cannot elaborate on then it’s likely that you have not thought it through. Gallo believes it is best to think about any possible concerns that your boss may have with your idea.

In Buy-In, Lorne Whitehead and John P. Kotler consider the 3 techniques that people use to bring down an idea:

-Asking confusing questions and for unnecessary detail

-Raising suspicions, fear and doubt

-Not taking your idea seriously and putting it off

Instead of dodging these attacks, Gallo recommends welcoming such questions and developing concise, honest responses to match. If there ever comes a time when an unfamiliar topic surfaces I suggest thinking calmly of what you know and building on it.

Establish a Need

I like to start my presentations off by establishing a need through careful research of company goals and values. Your superiors must realize that a change is required otherwise your idea is dead from the get go. Gallo considers following with the essentials like how you propose a change and how your idea benefits them. I walk the audience through my thinking process so that each step refers to the goals of my proposal. Including a tangible timeline allows the board to consider the costs that will be incurred and allows me to explain how quickly they will be recovered. But, Gallo recommends not overwhelming them with too much detail; it can distract from the main goals and can inadvertently kill the “positive mindset” that you’re trying to build.

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. ~Margaret Mead

If you have the courage to begin with, you have the courage to succeed ~David Viscott

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation ~Herman Melville

The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense ~Albert Einstein

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves ~Edmund Hillary

Everything you can imagine is real ~Picasso

When your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme. ~Jimmy Cricket

Laughter is the greatest weapon we have and, we, as humans use it the least ~Mark Twain

We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are ~Talmud

The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes ~Tony Blair

Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action has a simple but influential model for inspiring leadership all starting with a golden circle of why, how and what.

The question “Why?” is however, the most important for making a difference. He talks about Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers, arguing that Inspired Leaders, regardless of size and industry; think, act, and communicate thoroughly. They make sure their point is loud because people “don’t buy what you do; they buy Why you do it.”

He illustrates how every individual and organization knows what they do and how they do it but very few know the WHY for the “WHAT and HOW” . The leaders who inspire us think, act and communicate differently from everyone else. They are driven by the WHY  and not the WHAT,. They are also passionate about their purpose and beliefs and act accordingly. Apple and Dell produce more or less the same product line but no one buys or knows that dell mp3 exist plainly because the WHY factor is missing. Apple strongly believes in “thinking differently” while Dell doesn’t.

Once leaders know WHY, HOW brings their Why to life. How’s are the strategies, guiding principles or actions that inform the path they will take in quest of their WHY. These guiding principles are the road map or the code of conduct to start to move a Why into something useful and tangible. They are, quite literally, the actions companies take or the environment in which they work best. Focus on the big picture is key here.

WHY is ineffective if companies can’t make it tangible and that’s where the WHAT comes in. WHAT do you want to produce in term of product and or service that will inspire your customer in the same way the WHY inspires you. Apple and Dell produce more or less the same product line but no one buys or knows that dell mp3 exist plainly because the WHY factor is missing from the WHAT factor

Companies and individuals need to inspire people to do or buy what inspires them. Find your Why, How and What and inspire, lead and succeed. Be more innovative, more lucrative, command greater loyalties from customers and employees alike and, most importantly, be able to repeat your success over and over. You can be the one to change the course of commerce or even society.

“Good sayings are like pearls strung together.” ~Chinese Proverb

“Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
~Joshua J. Marine

“Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.” ~Jonathan Swift

“Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.” ~Fyodor Dostoevsky

“Human success is a quotation from overhead.” ~ Charles H.

“The best way out is always through.” ~Robert Frost

“There go the people. I must follow them for I am their leader.” ~Alexandre Ledru-Rollin

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ~John Quincy Adams

“There’s a way to do it better—find it.” ~Thomas Edison

“It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction”~Pablo Picasso