In this TedX talk, my colleague Brandy Agerbeck describes five steps to using visual & spatial tools for shaping your thinking. I love her combination of both flip charts and PowerPoint. I love the simplicity of her outfit. I love the way she uses the space onstage. I love her visual mnemonic, using the fingers [...]
IDEATION versus EVALUATION
When we try to improve or invent a product or process, we often get stuck in negativity: “Oh, no that won’t work!” Part of the problem is that we need to separate out IDEATION from EVALUATION. These are two different mental processes, using our right and left brain hemispheres, and we can’t do them both [...]
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Let’s Trade Problems!
As a facilitator, I am always pushing my clients to put announcements and reports into a memo and reserve their F2F meeting time for the things that people in groups do best: generate ideas, make decisions, solve problems, plan strategy. So I am always interested in new methods for ideation and problem-solving. Daniel Pink’s blog [...]
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More toys!
I am a big believer in the power of play. Children aren’t the only ones who benefit – we all are able to learn and create more effectively when we approach our tasks in a spirit of playful inquiry. I frequently use graphic and manipulative tools with my clients – one group in particular has [...]
Business Lessons from Improv
I was really tickled to come across this list of Improv Tricks That Will Make You a Better Business Person. One of my declarations – “Don’t work at it, play with it!” – comes from the life lessons I’ve learned from years of studying, practicing, performing,and teaching improv. Stop for a moment and think of [...]
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November Is Art Every Day Month!
In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the idea that practicing something – anything – for ten thousand hours will make one an expert. I don’t know how much science there is behind that magic number, but I don’t think anyone would argue that practice is important in building any skill. Art Every Day Month [...]
The First Follower
I love this little video. (The narration is transcribed here.) I get two big lessons from this. First, if you are going to be a leader, you need to BE EASY TO FOLLOW. If what you are doing is too difficult or complicated, it will be too hard for folks to understand you and join [...]
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More on Play
>Garr Reynolds (author of Presentation Zen, one of my favorite books) has compiled some great thoughts, images, and video snippets on the importance of play.
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