The Creativity Project » news

Workplace Cliques

adam — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:38:33 +0000

I read an article today on the dark side of cliques – it speaks about how cliques in the workplace can have a negative effect on overall performance. A good approach to break them down is to take them head on, and facilitate open discussions, so people aren’t excluding their co-workers, talking behind their back or leading a negative charge.

I heard recently the one of the top reasons people leave their job is a lack of a friend at work, or a bad relationship with their boss. No wonder it is important to make everyone feel included.

Want something new?

adam — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:35:35 +0000

I have been feeling stuck with my usual sources of internet news. In an attempt to broaden horizons beyond the usual RSS feeds, Digg and Reddit here are some sites with cutting-edge creative content…

10 New Interesting News Announcers

Where do you go to find new news?

Don’t laugh… this is serious

adam — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 22:58:03 +0000

Apparently Humor at the Office is Serious Business, so much that it is not just about “… clowning around and having fun. It has meaningful impact on cohesiveness in the workplace and communication quality among workers. The ability to appreciate humor, the ability to laugh and make other people laugh actually has physiological effects on the body that cause people to become more bonded.”

Of course, humor in writing research articles is still strictly taboo. But, go ahead, laugh in the office. When you boss frowns, just smile and wave, and tell you’re helping him with his bottom line.

Open Space Technology

adam — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:20:18 +0000

Seth Godin explores a new standard for meetings and conferences and how to justify the increasing cost and time commitment of travel. Face-to-face contact is much more effective than internet-related conferencing tools and Seth hits an important point that we need to address this effectively.

One powerful method Seth missed in his analysis is Open Space Technology.

This weekend, I attended a retreat in Open Space format. The format was developed by Harrison Owen after spending a year organizing a conference, and the feedback he received was, “Nice conference. The speakers were okay, but what we really liked were the coffee breaks.” His solution? To hold a conference comprised entirely of coffee breaks.

From this idea, he developed a powerful style of holding conferences where attendees were responsible for devising and convening sessions at the start of the conference. People then are required to go to sessions they feel drawn to with the understanding that they will leave as soon as they are no longer contributing or receiving any value. The results skyrocketed past anyone’s expectations – a magical environment was created where everyone was engaged.

In a day when effective collaboration is a necessity to justify the cost – Open Space is an alternative I suspect we will be seeing much more of in the future.

Pop-quiz

adam — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:58:01 +0000

Where does creativity come from?

The brain
The yet un-manifested realm of possibility
Action taken to create something new
Random chance
Edward de Bono
Hard work
TPS reports

Larry Lessig: How Creativity is being strangled by the law

adam — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:15:13 +0000

This week’s video is an insightful talk by copyright authority Larry Lessig about the creativity blossoming from access to content on the internet, and the conflict with copyright law which hasn’t caught up this new form of creativity – and the implications.

Slow down

adam — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:17:06 +0000

A bit of good advice came to me today from the Creative Generalist (via Leslie’s super premium blog) – especially needed after working non-stop: the best way to boost creativity is to slow down, because:

efficiency kills creativity
speed denies you any change to think
systems, by definition, throttle innovation
a firm, disciplined focus stops people going off on tangents (which is where most creative ideas will be found)
cutting costs often cuts out innovation too

Personally, I still want to know the where do you draw the line between getting things done, and making space to be creative? Or is it more a question of what is required for the task at hand?

Seems like I’m not the only one trying to figure out how to get things done…

Management Innovation Forum

adam — Sun, 04 May 2008 20:36:33 +0000

Management Innovation is emerging as a new focus for companies struggling with intense competition. It is a topic that is gaining a lot of attention, as can be seen by the annual Management Innovation Forum in Dubai.

Fortunately for the world, it seems it is much more valuable for a company to focus on creating engaging and fulfilling workplaces, rather than focus solely on financial gain. New powerful methods for remaining competitive, may work wonders for creating a more fulfilling work environment.

Finally. I thought with all this technology, at some point we could stop working like mad dogs and start enjoying our lives.

A clip from last year’s management innovation forum:

Stroke of insight

adam — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:35:08 +0000

Here is an interesting insight into the right-brain from Jill Taylor:

Jill seems to suggest that creativity comes from the right-brain, whereas logic and language belong to the left-brain. I’m not sure if it’s as much a distinction between the left and right hemispheres, as a mode of operating.

Shortly after watching this video, I came across another distinction on right-brained characteristics – and thought, hey, that’s me… and perhaps this is why I having trouble remembering details.

Discovery and perspective

adam — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:17:21 +0000

Just caught this new ad for the discovery channel (via the Creative Generalist)

It reminds me of one of my favorite clip, the Caral Sagan tribute – Pale Blue Dot:

What a wonderful way to put a perspective on the beautiful diversity and possibility that lies on our planet.