What is Different about Synectics
Many years ago, our founder George Prince handed me his original manuscript of “What is Different about Synectics” to read. It is a fascinating account of the research behind Synectics and our body of knowledge. Three ideas in it grabbed me and never let go: 1. being creative is natural; 2. being creative requires the right climate; and 3. being creative is something we get better...
How the Emotional Climate (Field) Impacts Performance:
By George M. Prince Introduction Creativity practitioners have long been aware that one of the reasons for the effectiveness of their techniques is that they create a climate’ (or ‘culture’ or ‘field’) which is significantly different from that of normal working life. The term field was derived by Kurt Lewin and states that behavior is determined by the totality of influences on an individual in...
Taking the Risk out of Creativity
By George M. Prince Great achievers and great organizations thrive in environments that allow and promote risk taking. The challenge for trainers is, then, how to create a risk-taking environment, and this is a difficult task to accomplish. Risk is something that a sensible, prudent person seeks to reduce, or avoid, especially as it relates to their livelihood. It is a word that carries the...
Creative Meetings Through Power Sharing
In 1972, George Prince, our Founder, authored the article “Creative Meetings Through Power Sharing”, printed in the Harvard Business Review. In re-reading the article, I was struck by the continuing relevance of George’s observations on meetings and management. Forty years later, I do not believe the common opinion of the value of meetings has improved substantially. In 2012, the necessity to get the absolute...
Third Path in the 8-Fold Path: The Right Speech
By Joe Giordano “While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right intention refers to the volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental energy that controls our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement.” Thomas Knierim, Editor & Webmaster, TheBigView.com In this article, the third in this series (see links below), we examine how you, your...
Be a Person On Whom Nothing is Lost
By Connie Williams So I said to Annie Leibovitz last night….yeah, I was hanging with the stars at the induction ceremony for the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame. Actually my conversation with the famous photographer, who was one of the amazing inductees, was held at the end of the evening in the ladies room. Even the famous need to use the restroom before a long...
How to Prepare for Our Rapidly Approaching Science Fiction Future
By Chipp Norcross I had the privilege of spending the last two days as a guest at Singularity University’s Executive Program in Silicon Valley. And, after listening to a variety of experts in fields as diverse as computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, nanotechnology and neuroscience, I can safely say that the science fiction writers got it right. Really, really right. We already have StarTrek Communicators...
Mind Over Metaphor
By Connie Williams What are the key metaphors that your brand or category stands for in the eyes of your customer? I believe if you can answer this question, you can unlock the keys to the kingdom…that you can truly understand how your customers look at your products and brands. You can discover how to understand the unfulfilled – and even the unarticulated – wants...
You Already Have the People To Make Your Company More Innovative Part II: (Creativity Found)
By Terry K. Gilliam In the article Five Ways to Make Your Company More Innovative (Working Knowledge, HBS, May 23, 2012) Clay Christensen states: “I think about 40 percent of people just are not going to be good at innovating regardless of what they do. And 5 percent are born with the instinct. There are things that they do and ways that they think that...
How to Help Others Benefit From Being “Calculatedly Stupid”
By Chipp Norcross I’m always happy to see the “Intelligent Life” insert to The Economist when it arrives in my mailbox. Being a rare occasion when I was actually home when it arrived, I immediately sat down with a cup of coffee and started thumbing my way through. Ian Leslie’s thought-provoking article, Non cogito, ergo sum caught my eye. Ian provides a compelling story about the danger...
Believe in your team?
By Connie Williams Do you believe in your team? I was heading to the IMG Academy to help facilitate a meeting for a big energy company and was looking forward to the treat of spending an afternoon with a professional in the domain of big time sports motivation. In the world of sports psychology, there is a big emphasis is on beliefs. Players have to...
Take your Brainstorming to Breakthroughs!
By Connie Williams I went to an innovation process conference recently and was treated to a demonstration of traditional brainstorming by two excellent speaker/presenters. A group of about 150 people were divided into teams of around 15 to 20, assigned one member as a facilitator, provided with some guidelines (get ideas fast, say out loud, no evaluating ideas, etc.) given post it notes and sharpies...
Do You Have the Right Intent?
By Joe Giordano While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right intention refers to the volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental energy that controls our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. – – Thomas Knierim, Editor & Webmaster, TheBigView.com In this article, the second in this series (see links below), we examine how...
The Consumer Is Dead…Long Live the Deciders?
By Connie Williams I had a conversation with a client the other day about the word “consumer,” which I increasingly find limiting and insufficient. Many of my consumer packaged goods clients make a distinction between “consumer” and “customer.” For them, the consumer is that ‘end purchaser’ and the customer is the medium, the retailer or intermediary who provides the distribution and makes it easy for...
Brand Challenge Series: When “Value Brands” Need To Raise Prices
This article is featured in the online magazine Brandaide By Kyle Hermans An International quick service restaurant recently came forward with a complex brand challenge revolving around pricing for a customer-favorite menu item, which had remained unchanged for nearly 10 years. The menu item was a poster child for the brand, one that drove frequent customer value purchases and helped establish the brand as providing a...
What Does it Mean for an Organization to Be Stuck?
By Bryan Laychak Driving my kids to school, I glanced down to see the orange “Low Fuel” light reminding me that I chose not to fill the tank last night after flying home from business travel. “What if we get stuck?” I thought. “Who would we call?” I had a tight deadline and a responsibility to deliver the kids on time. I couldn’t afford to...
