Corporate Creatives

Escaping – Is it the Answer?

2012-01-16T10:26:00.000-08:00

I’m reading a book, Escapefrom Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur,by Pamela Slim in response to me making the leap—okay, maybe it was a push—tostart my own marketing firm.

You see, inOctober, I was downsized. In my heart, I knew I would own my own businessagain, and had been thinking about it for years. This seemed like the impetusto make it happen. So, for the past two months I’ve been working out the detailsof setting up my own firm, RoyalApple Marketing.

But thisblog is not about my business, it’s more about the advice in that bookfor those who are living in the cubicle nation and have a tremendous desire toget out. It talks about how creativity may be zapped to near disappearancewhile living in the nation, and ways to overcome.

What’s mostinteresting to me about the book is that Pamela mentions many of things I’vewritten about as well. It’s nice to know I’ve not been talking aboutnonsensical things the past few years. Here are some commonalities and thingswe both stress to help keep the creative juices flowing. You never know where it could lead, including leaving the "nation."

Mix it up. If your work is very cookie cutter and you’re looking forsomething to jazz up your life, mix things up. I’m not saying go out and dosomething crazy, but I—we—do encourage you to take small steps to engage yourcreative mind. Consider walking a different way to the cafeteria, or while window-shoppingin your town, or as you walk the dog. You will begin to see things differently,which may cause your mind to begin to think differently—more creatively.
Create a vision board. I was floored when I read this in her book, since Iwrote about it a couple years ago. Vision boards help you to remindyourself of who you are. Vision boards are there to graphically illustrate whatyou enjoy and where you want to be in your career or personal life. They can bevery stimulating and a lot of fun to create.
Track ideas. If you’re like me, your mind seems to churnat all hours of the day or night. It seems ideas come to me at the strangesttimes. And that’s why I keep a notebook in my nightstand. Pamela takes it astep further and suggests keeping notebooks all over the house, for thoseingenious moments when that idea surfaces. Once you begin this practice, youwill wonder what you did before it; and will begin to realize you are morecreative than you thought.
Morning Pages. Morning pagesare somewhat like a journal. Don't worry, you don’t have to be a writer to keep them.It’s kind of a brain-dump-type tool that allows you to write—long hand—your thoughtseach morning. This should not become your to-do list, but rather a blatheringof things that simply come to you. It is meant to help clear your mind ofclutter and to let the creative juices flow.
Exercise. I’m sure many of you made New Year’s resolutions to get in shape, tolose weight, and to feel better. I congratulate you on making that part of youreveryday routine. Exercise is a great way to get the creative juices flowing.Your body is being energized, which in turn, feeds the brain with positiveendorphins. To me, walking is the best form of exercise because you areoutdoors and stimulated by so many natural occurrences. You also have manychoices, such as where to walk, the time of day to do it, and if you want to sharethat time with someone else.

These arejust a few of the great bits of advice Pamela offers in her book.

If you’re amember of cubicle nation and are looking for a ray of light and some answers about escaping, read thisbook. It’s a fun read, and may even spur you to get over your fears to movetoward the job and career of your dreams.

How do yousurvive cubicle nation? Share your tips with fellow readers.

Ciao!

Becky

Holiday Survival Techniques for Everyday Use

2011-12-22T10:20:00.000-08:00

I recentlyattended a networking event with a panel of experts talking about takingcontrol of your health, wealth, and life during the holidays. Perfect timingwouldn’t you say?

The wayit was positioned was taking time out during the busiest time of the year tolearn how to de-clutter and regain focus while things around you may seem likethey are in chaos.

Now whocan use some de-cluttering activities and new ways to keep your health top ofmind? I know I can. As creative professionals, we often fill our lives withactivities that keep us fresh and energized. But, there comes a time when toomuch is just TOO much.

One speakerPeter Bentley, Director, JanusCapitol Group, sharedthese key tips you can use each day to help keep yourself on track and healthy.

Prepare for your week. Look at the calendar on Sundaynight—or the night before your week starts—for the whole week. Then prepareyour de-stressing timeline based the events you have listed. Remember to take a“de-stress” break after the most stressful events or activities. Be sure to putthat on your calendar as well. Then, stick to it. Without this recovery time,you may begin to feel overwhelmed.
Thebetter you learn to recover fromstress, the better prepared you will be when you need to handle a trulystressful situation (think major event, not just a work-related deadline).
Write out the story of your life. Then reflect upon that story andwrite what you’d like it to be going forward. By putting the thoughts “onpaper,” you may reflect and revisit, and even reshape the story until itbecomes the story you want it to be. You have control here. It’s your story!Have one that feeds your goals.
Evaluate on whether your life is workingfor you or if it’s really working FOR you in the sense it’s helping you to moveforward in your life’s progress and dreams, as well as in reaching your goals.

One keypoint he mentioned was something called the Corporate Athlete. Now I haven’t heard that phrase since work-life balancecame out in the early O’s. It holds a lot of merit. The premise is basicallythat employee performance directly correlates to employee health. Skillfulenergy management comes from aligning your personal and deepest values andbeliefs with your day-to-day situation.

Anotherspeaker, Randi Bale, owner of Healthy Organized Living, shared some excellent organizational andde-clutter tips to help keep us from going, basically, coo-coo during thisever-so-busy time of the year.

One womanin the group was telling us about the gifts she buys for her kid’s teachers andeven the school janitor. Randi had a great tip about this. If you choose to buygifts for all the extraneous folks in your life, keep a list of the people and what you buy them each year. In thisinstance, as the children get older, the woman will buy fewer and fewer gifts.But in order for her to feel like she’s contributing, keeping the gifts to aminimum now is key.
Let people off the hook. It may seem like a relief totell your best friends that their friendship is gift enough. If you havefriends who expect a gift from you, consider a card with a personalized note orquote telling them what their friendship means to you. By giving your friend a“by” at the holidays is also a “by” for you; and, thus, one less action on yourto-do list.
Don’t fall into the family trap/peerpressure. I knowit’s easier said than done. Randi told the story about an Italian woman whodecided she was going to break tradition and to save herself some time as sheprepared the holiday feast. She chose to make the easier dish of baked zitiover lasagna. When her sister found out, she laid on the pressure the she justcouldn’t server ziti. It was tradition to serve lasagna. Rather than say no andstand her ground, the first woman made the lasagna in the wee hours of themorning to appease the family wishes. Be strong people! Hold your ground. Thisgoes for work life, as well as personal situations.
Set boundaries. Seriously, you must take all youractions into account and set boundaries. Be firm with them. If you waffle, Iguarantee you will hear a sucking sound in your ears as you succumb to thepressure.
Prepare yourself ahead of time. This goes for all aspects ofyour life. For example, if you’re dieting—even if you’re not and just want tobe health conscious—check the restaurant menus ahead of time to ensure you haveyour meal planned out.
Don’t give to every charity. When it comes to the holidayseason, charities may be among your list of gift recipients. Don’t fall trap togiving to organizations you normally wouldn’t. Be clear about the charities yousupport. If you get that call do donate during the holiday season, be firm bysaying, “Thank you for calling. I’ve donated to my dedicated charities thisyear. Thank you.”

Reviewthese tips to see how you can apply them in your day-to-day work or playactivities. I thought the tips were good enough to share. They are my gift toyou dear readers.

Whatde-stressing techniques do you use? How do you de-clutter your life during the busiesttimes of the year?

Happyholidays readers. I’m looking forward to a tremendous 2012. I hope you are too!

Ciao!

Becky

Leadership Lessons from the Underdog

2011-12-15T12:48:00.000-08:00

Lessonson leadership are all around us.

You knowI saw Moneyball earlier thisyear. And there have been dozes of movies and books written on the topic. But,there was a recent articleI read that ignited this blog.

It’sabout how AndyBernard, a fictional character from the television show The Office, makes his way as a leader inhis new role as the office branch manager. He’s egotistical. He’s overbearing.Basically, he’s a jerk. But his boss, Robert California, doesn’t care. He wants to see how Andywill take the reigns and lead his team.

Whatdoes he do? Well, he tackles his charge with gusto and does the following:

Engages in out-of-the-box brainstorming. Now, those of you who have been in aserious brainstorming session know, even though it’s brainstorming, there arerules, well, okay, guidelines. Working outside the confines of those guidelines can cause havoc.
Incentive Program. Due to the lack of success he hadwith his brainstorming technique, Andy resorts to thetried-and-somewhat-successful game called the incentive program. The twist headds is that the team can pool resources to gain access to an uber prize.

Thisreminds me of a leadership game I was involved with several years ago. We hadto blindly take a number of pouches with various items in each. We knew ourgoal was to increase our net gain for each team using the items in the pouchesthat were of varying value. I as a team of one, I knew my chances of “winning”were slim.

However,a couple colleagues had seen me in action and quickly approached me to form aco-op with them. All proceeds would be split equally among the board. I joinedthe co-op without batting my lashes. Over the period of sixty minutes, weslowly conquered our competition and asked them to join our co-op. There wasone hold out and in the end, that group lost due to their lack of resources.

Inthe end, our methods aligned with the ones Andy used to inspire his team.

Set clear direction. Know what you’re goals are. Set clearand attainable metrics and tasks to accomplish the goal.
Freedom to attaingoals. We were to developour own methods to attain the goals. If a co-op member crossed and ethical ormoral line, they were out and had to apply at the remaining teams. Giving staffthe opportunity to determine their fate will inspire them to be more creativein achieving their goals. It also creates a powerful dynamic called “buy-in”.
Measure and Promote. When a team is striving for a goal,especially if the environment is competitive, post the results and successmetrics along the way. It may inspire creative competition. And, as we know,competition is good!
Encourage andMotivate.You should know your team members well and how to encourage each of them to be success. Atleast that’s what good leaders do. Leaders avoid analyzing staff and determinea one-approach-fits-all method to keep employees motivated. Being flexible andunderstanding is key when it comes to motivating employees.
Perseverance amongself-doubt is encouraging.There will be times that you, as the leader, may have some self-doubt when itcomes to accomplishing a goal. There’s no need for you to shout it from therooftops. But, rather, show your determination to succeed when the end may notbe in sight.
DemonstrateFulfillment.You spend a lot of hours with your colleagues, sometimes more than you do withyour family. Encourage your team to be playful and fun and to demonstratefulfillment in their work. There are few of us who would continue with our dayjobs if we won a large sum of money. So, think of it this way, take each day asa gift and find something encouraging it in. Share your fulfillment with yourteam. After all, if you’re cranky, your mood “runs downhill”.

In theend, underdog wins inspire each of us differently and offer hope to succeed.

Shareyour stories about lessons from the underdog. Remember, the appointed leadermay not always be the underdog or the person with the lesson to share. Look aroundyour team for inspiration. It’s everywhere!

Who haveyou been inspired by lately?

HappyHolidays!

Ciao

Becky

Bucket Lists—Make Your List and Check it Twice

2011-12-03T04:31:00.001-08:00

As theyear winds down and I begin to reflect on all that took place in my personaland professional life, it got me to thinking about my bucket list. Howsuccessful have I been at ticking things off it this year?

I mustsay 2011 was a tumultuous year for me. However, it’s not the year’s fault asmuch as it was my own. I had goals. I had dreams. I had my trusty bucket list. AsI re-assess, I am happy to say there were a few things that I checked off, to:

Learnmore about mobile app development and marketing—check.
Continueto expand my mentoring and leadership skills with my team—check.
Visit acountry I hadn’t been to before—check…Mexico.
Swim withdolphins—check.

But,there is one thing on my list that I’d hoped to knock off, but was unsuccessful—toparasail.

I’ve hadit on my list for a couple years and had the chance to go two years ago. Thenthe seas were too rough and my trip was cancelled. A sign I’m sure. However,now when I get the chance to do it, I think about it more and wonder—Is thisreally something I’m meant to do? I mean, I’m afraid of heights and have astrong aversion to drowning. I began to ask:

Does thisgoal really make sense for me and will I enjoy the experience?
What ismy true reason for putting this on my list in the first place?
How willthis translate into my professional life? Does it need to translate?

Make your list. Check it twice.Re-assess and sprinkle it with spice.

Ascreative leaders, we need to think about items on our bucket list that take usout of our comfort zone, for ourselves and for our teams. We need to take timeto evaluate our staff and to help them grow. We need to consider our own goalsand how they align with our company, our department, our team, and our owncreative lives. If you are finding that your goals and bucket list are notaligning, maybe it’s time to re-assess what’s on your list. As the year comesto a close, now is the perfect time.

Here is aquick guide to help you determine if you need to revisit your list:

Were opportunities presented that would lend me toaccomplish this goal? If not, re-assess the goal’s realistic qualities. If yes,why weren’t they taken?
Did I set a time limit on the goal, making it measurable?If not, you may consider doing this to create pressure for completion. You knowabout SMART goals. Leverage that technique here as well.
Were additional resources needed to accomplish the goal?If so, determine what they are and seek them; thus, redefining the goal basedon those needs.
Is the goal right for you, or are you living someoneelse’s dream? For example, is parasailing really my goal or something thatsomeone thought would be cool to do so I added it to my list? How willaccomplishing that goal make me stronger, smarter, and a better person?
Am I truly motivated to complete this goal? If you lackthe motivation to complete something on your bucket list, maybe it’s time tore-evaluate if it should be on your list at all.
Was my bucket list item too large to manage? Was it trulyoverwhelming? If so, consider breaking the goal into parts to make it easier tohandle. For example, maybe before parasailing, I should take swimming lessonsthat will make me feel more secure if I land in the water.

Goalsetting can often be stressful for everyone involved and can weigh heavily onthe creative leader. With 2011 coming to a close, what were you able to checkoff your bucket list? What is still on it? Do you need to re-assess that list?As you ask yourself these questions, ask your team as well.

Bucketlist goal setting is something that defines who you are as a leader, a person,a mentor, and a professional. There must be things on that list you’d like tocheck off this year. You have less than 30 days to accomplish it.

What willyou check off before year’s end?

Ciao!

Becky

Why Freelance When There are Corporate Gigs to be Had?

2011-11-26T13:43:00.001-08:00

The otherday I came across an article “20Reasons Not to Freelance,” and I said to myself, ‘Okay, I’ll bite.’

I wantedto be enlightened as to the nearly two-dozen reasons why this person feltfreelancing was to be set aside for the corporate gig. As a freelancer for morethan two decades myself, I’d always had a corporate gig to fall back on, butknew deep down I would give it up to do my own thing. That day has come.

Here’s someof the reasoning the original author has for not freelancing. I willcounter-point throughout.

It’seasier than a corporate job. If you’ve freelanced you know it’s not the same assitting in an office with a bunch of other designers, if you have the luxuryand kind of corporate gig where there is more than one of you. When the writerspeaks of having a team of people, he must have been thinking larger corporate.Many small organizations only have one designer/creative person on staff thateither does the work him/herself or works in conjunction with an agency. So,I’m not so sure it’s easier because you’re still designing all day whileattending meetings and other corporate-required things.
You don’thave much experience. Um…well, even for students coming fresh out of college,you may not have a lot of business experience, but you’ve more than likely beendesigning things for nearly a decade already. Consider the amount of time youspent designing websites as a teenager or building fashion accessories orwhatever your forte may be. Then off to design school, whether a traditionalinstitution or a more specialized school like the Pratt Institute, you spent several more yearshoning your skill. During this time, you may have owned your own business andbegan freelancing in your teens and early twenties. For those of us with anentrepreneurial spirit, we begin working our business from an early age.
You needbenefits. To me this is an argument from my parent’s generation. Today, thereare many ways to get health insurancethrough entrepreneurial groups without paying through the nose for them. Be smartabout this. Don’t go without insurance just to save a few bucks, because ifsomething happens to you, it will cost you a great deal more than any insurancepremiums you may have to pay. Just be sure to understand what you’re payingfor.
You haveno self-discipline. I have to say, I’ve met a lot of designers who may not havethe corporate sit-in-a-cube mentality or who want to work early in the morningto fit the corporate culture. But that doesn’t mean they don’t work their buttsoff the hours they are dedicated to their jobs. Grant it, there are alwaysfolks who are not disciplined. I’ve meet tons of them in the corporate worldtoo when I was working my butt of to please the higher ups. You know whathappened to them? They were ignored, shifted from department to department, orfired eventually. The same will happen to a freelancer. If you don’t have whatit takes, then don’t waste your time or anyone else’s.
You don’thave any time-management skills. Again, the original author must be speakingabout people who have never, ever worked on a project before or who have noexperience whatsoever. Grant it, beingon your own, you need to understand boundaries, when a project starts andstops, and how to manage your time. If you’re not good at this, there are lotsof ways to set up schedules to help you manage your time, or better yet, workwith another freelancer who specializes in project management to help you stayon track.

Theauthor offers a lot more reasons to not freelance, but I think for anyone whohas done it, made it their full-time gig, and has been successful many of thesereasons are false. People measure success differently.

If you’rethe type of person who is or has been a successful freelancer, I’d like to hearfrom you. I’d like to write a follow-up article that highlights your successstories and how working independently has shown that you can do it and make itwork. Help me to debunk some of the reasons in the original article.

Ciao!

Becky

Social Media Plus – The Gears Are Turning

2011-11-17T13:37:00.001-08:00

YesterdayI attended the Social Media Plus(#smplus) summit in Philadelphia—a city I’ve never ventured into eventhough I live just outside the New York City area.

Anyway,it was a packed house with tremendous speakers obviously focusing on socialmedia—an area I specialize in for my clients. I am so glad I attended, not justto see how great things are in this space, but to learn about analytics,connect with people (I mean we are social after all), and to debunk some mythsI’ve heard about.

Jason Falls (@JasonFalls) kicked it off with his engaging “No Bull Sh*! Social Media” presentation. Throughout,he called the spades a spade and put it all on the table from the social “treehuggers,” as he called them, to the suits looking for ROI.

What didhe teach me about being a creative professional in the social space? Well, forstarters he wants us to:

· Ask questions, lots of questions!

· Push the envelope to find new waysto meet client needs.

· Do research (and more than you geton an info-graphic).

· Expand your mind to the businessside. Yes, social is about, well, um, being social. But, if you work for acompany it is about business marketing and you must be able to demonstrate thesuccesses.

He alsopointed out the seven business drivers of a good social strategy, only two ofwhich can be ROI-oriented (R&D and Sales). When working with executiveteams, be sure to help them to understand the benefits of social in the otherfive areas and get the up-front drivers for each. If there are metrics to behad for each of these areas, be ready to provide them.

1. Brand awareness

2. Reputation

3. PR

4. Build community

5. Enhance customer service

6. Facilitate research &development

7. Drive sales & leads

I thenattended a session hosted by Eric Boggs (@ericboggs), in case you don’t know, he is the founder of Argyle Social. And yes folks, he waswearing argyle pants. I can’t go there…

If you’rein social and you haven’t looked at some of the great stats this company Tweetsabout, check them out.

Eric talkedabout finding the truth in analytics, which go deeper than what you may see onthe surface of some platforms, e.g., Google Analytics. This point really strucka cord with me since I review stats on so many different platforms to becertain I’m getting a well-rounded picture. Amen to this!

He sharedseveral stats-related insights based on a sample size from Argyle clients,including:

1. RSS Feeds and Manual feeds insocial return the same results. So, stop stressing over using RSS feeds topopulate other social content areas. It’s not worth the grey hair.

2. Scheduled posts generate clicksnot conversions. According to the sample, the outcome they concluded was that scheduled posts drive traffic.Timeliness drives conversions. You must know what your "sweet"spot is. For example, if you’re promoting a conference, you may use scheduledtweets one month out to help drive traffic to the site, and to potentiallyincrease conversions. But, stats show that you may see an increased conversionrate closer to the conference start date.

3. Hashtag stuffing doesn’t work.According to Argyle’s sample, 52 percent of post stuffed with hashtagsunderperformed those without them. I found that very interesting

4. Curators get higher clicks perpost. When comparing curators (those who share information to educate) topromoters, curators get more clicks. However, as expected promoters have higherconversion rates.

WilReynolds from Seer Interactivewas up next. He talked about how search engines don’t always lead to the truth.Take for example, a company with SEO in their name or that has it splatteredall over the site tags. Organically that company may rank higher than you whohas a huge YouTube following because…and wait for it…Google Analytics do nottake YouTube stats into account. Wow!

Anotherthing he mentioned that resonated with me was, when people “un-follow” you, it’san opportunity for you to connect, improve, and touch base with them. You canfind out if people are un-following you with http://www.quitter.com.I wouldn’t stress over it to the point that you become paranoid. But it’s anice way to see how to improve your biz or see if someone has hijacked yourcontent.

On theflip side of this, if you’re looking for people to follow, check out www.followerwonk.com. This providesstats on your followers and people who you need to connect with that areinfluential in the space.

By theend of the day, as it is with any great conference, my gears were spinning. Iam looking forward to implementing the things I’ve learned with my clients andproviding them with new value-adds and metrics.

What areyou doing in the social space as an in-house creative?

Ciao!

Becky

Enough Already – Stop Dwelling on it!

2011-11-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

This month, an article was released from the excellent, contributing writers for “O” Magazine (Oprah) that caught my attention, because I must say, I’m an over-thinker. I over-analyze. I dwell. I stew. And yes, I can spend countless hours rehashing a conversation that never took place, just in order to get my two-cents in.

But, enough about me; how does this pertain to a corporate creative? Well, as creative people, we can, at times, discount our greatness, or on the flip side wonder why others don’t see our greatness for all it’s worth.

Just when you’ve got a deadline looming and projects out the wazoo, you’re thinking about that argument you had with your daughter’s dance teacher last week and how you will confront the “situation” this week. For over-thinkers, depressive moods can strike at any time. Below are some tactics for you—and you know who you are—to get yourself out of the overthinking spin you’re in to see the light of a great day.

Distract Yourself. Now there’s a great tactic that I often find works well for me. I had a great mentor and boss who once told me to “change the channel” when things were clogging my mind. He not only meant it figuratively; he also meant it literally. When you’re finding yourself in a snit about something, or dwelling way past it’s shelf life, change the channel. Do something different, like excise to new music or take a walk/drive someplace you’ve never been. I find that when I’m stewing about something and I need a change, I listen to a different kind of music. Music that makes me think of different or “better” times. For me, that happens to be music from the ’80s. I mean seriously, who doesn’t love a good head-banging song from Def Leppard or a toe-tapper from a movie like “Footloose” (ahem…the original!)?

Be Mindful. If you take a minute in the midst of the most deep “tail spin” your one, and be mindful of your breathing, relax, and let the breathing work its way through your body, you should begin to feel like you’re relaxing and that the tension starts to dissipate. I’m not saying learn how to meditate here, but taking a moment to focus on you, your breathing, and relaxing, you may just ward off those evil spirits for a while longer and hopefully will come to the conclusion that whatever you’re stewing over will be a small blip on your radar screen of life.

The best and worst of it. Start with the worst-case scenario you can imagine for the outcome of whatever it is you’re stewing about. Play it out, all the way. Then end by thinking of the best-case scenario, so in the end, you’re thinking about the positive rather than the negative. Take that positive nugget and focus on making it a reality.

As creative people, we can often take any situation and make it into a full-length dramatic film starring Johnny Depp with direction by Martin Scorsese. However, rather than focusing on the what-ifs, the might-have-beens, the why-didn’t-they-notices, and all those negative tracks, focus your energies on the positives.

Positives such as:

When people talk to you about projects, you are already steps ahead of them thinking about the design, marketing, copy, and production of the piece, elements that may never have crossed their minds.

People are in awe of your talent because they just do not possess that kind of skill.

Being able to take the concept and make it a reality.

When you sit back and think about all those conversations you wished you had, and those moments when you just cannot fathom why someone didn’t “get it,” take it in for a second before reacting. Consider why they may not have been able to understand your creative genius and think about how you could explain in terms they may understand.

Finally, when you are in the moment and you want to rip someone a new one…change the channel. Make the choice to stop and breath before reacting. Don’t hold it in like it’s a treasure the keep. Let it all go.

Now all I have to do is take my own advice. So, I’m signing off to go play with my dog and enjoy the moment I’m able to with her while she’s alive.

How do you prevent or still those over-analytical moments? Share with us your story.

Ciao!

~Becky

What’s Your Moneyball Moment? How To Change the Game!

2011-10-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

I recently saw the movie "Moneyball." If you haven't seen it, it's a great movie. One of the reasons I liked it so much was that even though it was about baseball there were so many underlying messages in the film that could be used for just about any teaching moment.

For example, questioning the status quo was a huge theme throughout the movie. Another relevant example for me was to have conviction in what you are doing to make your idea succeed—100 percent conviction in what you believe to make your philosophy move forward no matter what the naysayers say.

Overall there were some resonating themes for me that I'd like to share with you, especially if you're in the corporate creative field. Let's begin:

Believe in yourself: When taking things off the rails and moving toward an "out-of-the-box" theory, you must have faith in what you're doing. Believing in yourself is of the utmost importance as people try to shoot down your idea, challenge your rank, question your sanity. Keep the faith in your beliefs and follow your gut.

Believe in your team: When you make changes and start to shake the leaves on the tree, you have to have faith in your team to help you get to goal. If your team supports your efforts and believes in you leading them in the right direction to make something great happen, believe in them. Listen to them. Hear what they have to say. There may even be times when you have to drop the most arrogant naysayers in the bunch and move forward.

Knocking it out of the park when you thought you'd just get to first base: Setting expectations are paramount in measuring your success. When you knock your theory out of the park instead—i.e., instilling change, rather than just making it to first base, i.e., creating some noise—the feeling will be amazing! The change will have a ripple effect and people will try to recreate your success. Remember copying is the biggest form of flattery.

Savor the moments: Remember to take the time to savor the moment when it happens. By acknowledging the successes as they happen will fuel the team, stoke your own ego, and increase momentum to keep the drive going. It may also help you through those times when people are poo-pooing your ideas, ideals, and commitment to the status quo.

Let it go and watch the show: This goes along with savoring the moment, just on a larger scale. Once all the prep work has been done, all the late nights are over, and it's time to demonstrate your idea, be confident, and let the show run. I'm not going to say that worrying won't be twisting your gut, because it should be if you've committed to the effort.

Believe in your convictions, even when others think you're crazy: Let's think about Richard Branson for a second. He's come up with some wonderfully exciting initiatives, and he's also had some failures. If you were to think of something kind of off the wall and you were looking to bounce the idea, would you think of him? I would. I've many times thought about some ideas that I think could be truly successful and he's an inspiration to me. Think about those you admire and why. Was it because they stepped outside their zone and took a chance? Was it because they believed in themselves? Maybe it was their demonstrated leadership that made you admire them. Use those people’s examples for inspiration.

Be part of the team, don't just watch from the sidelines: In the movie, Brad Pitt's character, Billy Beane, never went to the baseball games because he felt like he was a jinx. He would also not go into the locker room to talk with the guys. He treated them like commodities to be traded and bought. But, there was a huge turning point in the movie when he takes the advice of his assistant GM, Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill, to get to know the guys and inspire them. Once he began meeting them, dispensing advice, and making the players human instead of commodities, the team really turned around.

Think about your own experiences. Do you enjoy working with people who just tell you what to do, but have no idea what you do? It's not a motivating experience. But, when you work with someone who not only knows what you do, but also knows how you do it and can dispense valuable advice, share in the wins, and learn from you as well, it is a truly inspirational experience.

In the end, I plan to see the movie again just for the entertainment factor. But seriously, if you haven't seen it, check it out and think about how it pertains to an idea you have. You never know, you could knock it out of the park, win 20 in a row, and maybe even change the way people think about the game.

I'd love to hear from you and your inspirational moments that changed the status quo. How did you do it, and how did it make you feel?

Ciao!

Becky

Burning it at Both Ends Doesn’t Make You a Hero

2011-10-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

I was recently reading an article by Martha Beck (can you hear the angels singing?) about being tired, and bringing yourself back from burnout. As creative professionals we not only live in, what seems like, a perpetual mode of burnout, we often light the candles ourselves. From working full time for companies to freelancing and hosting gigs for our friends, we tend to take on a lot … in fact a ton.

Here are some levels of burn out and techniques Ms. Beck offers to help deal with burnout from the lightly toasted to the crispy version. Take heed folks as the major holiday season approaches and new and mysterious events, meetings, and good, old, holiday cheer start to land on your plate. Take some time for yourselves.

Here are the burnout levels Martha speaks about, interpreted by moi of course:

Driven – You’re working at a fevered pitch day-in and day-out with no end in sight. You know who you are. We often to this with new clients, projects, and even workplaces to the tune of burning the midnight oil…oh and did I mention the weekend oil too.
Dragging – You use artificial sweeteners, pills, or caffeine to give you that positive glow everyone admires. Or…ahem...you think they admire. Those of us who have been-there-done-that know better. Filling your system with fake adrenaline is no way to live. Eventually you will collapse from all the additives and that won’t be a pretty sight.
Losing It – You’ve gained (or lost) a few pounds, “So what!” you say with the personality of Cruella Deville, with an index finger pointed at the culprit who brought it up. People are flocking to be around your joyful self…not! And you most of all feel like you’re at your best—again, a lie. When you start to see the fringe form on your best suit (your birthday suit that is), watch out. You are heading down a steep hill in a freight train with no breaks.
Hitting the Wall – Personally, I’ve been to this stage and had to take a leave of absence to clear my head. When I did, I slept for 2 full days before I could even open my eyes. People, you don’t want to go here. In this stage, your body is sending you so many signals how can you possibly ignore it? The next thing to happen will be a brick will actually hit you upside your head. You cannot duck in time because you’re just too blind to care.
Burned Out – Now a lot of us say we are burned out, but as you can see, there are many stages to this complex and heroic step we all take toward our own demise. Burn out is not depression, but rather a symptom riddled feeling of despair. It can lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease.

In the 70’s there was a song, “Billy Don’t Be A Hero,” that I often think about when I see staff trying to reach a precipice that is just unattainable…for anyone, no matter what your sadist boss may say. Of course that song is not about working crazy hours and putting our health at risk, but it is about how need to think about the choices you’re making.

Here some suggestions Martha writes about as well:

Graze like you at a trough: Rather than eating large meals that consume time, effort, and energy, focus on meals that can be consumed quickly but yield some fantastic results. For example, a smoothie with fruit and yes even some veggies help to curb your appetite. I happen to be a fruit smoothie-kind of girl. But am willing to give the veggie ones a try. One of my bosses once gave me a bit of advice when working the conference circuit. She suggested eating a hard-boiled egg in the afternoon to keep my brain energy up. For me, that works. Find your hard-boiled egg to keep your brain working well.
Sleep: We’ve all heard it before. You just cannot survive on 4-6 hours of sleep a night. If you feel you are the type of person who requires little sleep, but you’ve been burning it at both ends, you may want to rethink this part of you day. Seriously, you don’t get a badge or medal of honor for being “that” person who is emailing everyone in the middle of the night.
Exercise: I know, I know, when will you fit THAT into your schedule? You have to make time. Even if it’s initially for 10-15 minutes per day, just do it people. You will feel better.
Your Environment: This is a new one for me. Take a temp of the environment you’re spending so much time in. Do you love it – chillin. Or do you find you’re grinding your teeth, spitting nails at people, or just plain not enjoying yourself – too hot to handle. You want to find those places that make you feel your best.

Remember, as creative professionals we tend to have our fingers in a lot of pies because that’s what we love and that’s just what we do. We are drawn to new, exciting, and yes, sparkly things. We want to please, not only our bosses and coworkers, but also mostly ourselves. If you don’t heed the signs, you may end up resting flat on your back, in bed, in a hospital, or in a box. You choose.

I’d love to hear from you on this. How do you deal with burnout?

Ciao!

Becky

Creative Pros Take Ethical Shortcuts – Seriously?

2011-09-06T01:27:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, Scott Adams’ Dilbert cartoon character Alice was hosting an interview. During the interview, she asks the candidate if he is creative? Being a willing, yet unknowing and excited candidate, he replies, “Oh, Yes. I’m very creative.”

Alice then comes back with something I must say, as a creative professional am offended by. She says, “Research tells us that creative people take ethical shortcuts and are generally less honest.”

I wonder then, if Alice would suggest that Steve Jobs is more unethical than say Bill Gates? One is much more creative in design, implementation, and marketing. Yet, both are highly successful people. Hmmm…never mind. I won’t spend any time pondering an answer.

As a creative professional, this “research” makes my short hairs stand on end and immediately makes me want to defend myself as if protecting my young. Why is it that analytical thinkers and left-brained folks point fingers at creatives as if we live with another set of standards and call ourselves professionals because we earned our credentials from a Cracker Jack box?

I realize Scott is a creative as well, and through his comic often pokes fun at marketing folks. Is this the general consensus among technical professionals? That we “creative types” work under the auspices of loose guidelines that fall somewhere in a grey area where rules don’t apply?

Seriously, I’d like to know.

I must say to people who engineer or build products and want to make money, well…um… I hate to burst your bubble, but unless you can market the product, it’s not going to sell itself – with few exceptions of course.

Eh hem…the next time the left-brained thinkers have a spark of an idea, remember it’s the creative folks who put the spin on that lackluster idea and make it shine. We consider all possible angles for the product to help you take it to the next level. We are the ones who put the color in the design, make the grill sizzle in an ad, and bring the adoring fans to your events.

All I’m saying here folks is a little respect please. Without creative people, the world would be a much more dull place to play.

I’m off my soapbox now.

Ciao!

Becky

Courage is a Four-Letter Word

2011-08-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

I recently read the book “The Help” by Katheryn Stockett, which inspired me to consider how creative professionals should look at the courage of these women and apply it in their lives.

Now, I’m not saying working in the creative field equates to what these women were faced with in the 1960’s in rural Mississippi. But rather, it is to take a look at the courage these women had to make a change not only in their lives, but also in the lives around them.

“The Help” is, at its core, a book about courage. This blog is about four-letter words that can inspire you as a creative professional to have the courage to keep you going each and every day in a field you love.

Let’s begin.

Take that step: a four-letter, three-word phase to encourage you listen to that inner voice that has been poking at you for weeks, possible months or even years. Take that step toward a goal you have been looking toward. Start with a plan so you can break the steps down into palatable bites so as not to overwhelm yourself.

Hope: Hope is a word of encouragement and inspiration, and has a lot of meaning. When you have hope, you often feel like there is nothing you cannot accomplish. Hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel on a grueling project. Hope that your work will win the prize at the national meeting. Hope that you will be recognized this year and the promotion will come. According to Wikipedia, hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life.

Love: As the Beatles once sang, all you need is love. Well, of course, you need more than love, but when you have love, you feel like the support you need to make, in some cases a monumental change, is there. You know deep down that even if you fail or the project fails, you are still a winner in someone’s book. A person’s unconditional love can be enough to get you over the hump and make the change. Self-identified love is even better. If you love yourself, you know you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. So stop badgering yourself and treat yourself like your best client, favorite friend, and love of your life.

Life: As you look at your life, do you ever ask yourself: What am I doing? Why do I do this? How will I grow from this project/job/experience? If so, then maybe you are evaluating your life and considering making a change. As I recently learned from my brother’s unexpected death, life is what you make it and that it can be snuffed out at any time. Life’s too short to spend it doing something you don’t enjoy, being surrounded by people you don’t like, and working for people who do not see your value. Rather, embrace life for all it has to offer. Take it by the horns. Give it a good shake. And say, “I’m in the house. Now let’s get started!”

Help: This may be among the hardest, little words we know. Asking for help may make you feel less capable, inferior, or even worthless. However, by asking for help, you are demonstrating a great strength. Your ability to seek others’ expertise, knowledge, and assistance shows you know you are not an island. Embrace the help of others and encourage it among your staff.

Risk: This little word can get you into a heap of trouble. However, consider this. Being a risk taker is among the key leadership traits for business leaders. People who are willing to take a calculated risk are considered innovative, creative, forward thinking, and yes, even sometimes a little crazy. Consider if Sir Richard Branson had stayed at his job many years ago, we wouldn’t have the Virgin group of products. If Mark Zuckerberg were unwilling to think outside the box and take a huge risk, Facebook would not have been born. Risk is scary. It’s exhilarating. It’s a tease. It’s a four-letter word that can change your life.

Fear: Fear is another little word that has a tremendous amount of power over people. It has the ability to paralyze (believe me I am nearly catatonic when a spider enters my room). Or, it has the ability to create an adrenaline rush that pushes you forward. Think about your day-to-day activity in the creative world. There is a tremendous amount of pressure, especially if you work on the agency side, to knock it out of the park each and every day. You fear as you progress in your career that your designs are no longer relevant, edgy enough, or progressive. However, that fear can drive you to continue to learn, to embrace changes in your profession/industry, and/or to seek the insights of younger staff members. Wait…did I say look to younger staff? That’s right. They have ideas, thoughts, and abilities too. Take that fear you may be holding hostage and set it free. Use it to your benefit. If you want to learn how, watch “The King’s Speech.” Talk about using fear to propel you as a leader.

Leap/Step/Jump: When the time comes for you to make that crucial decision, you may leap, step, or jump willingly into the unknown. However you choose to make the move to the next place, do it with grace, aplomb, and joy. My only suggestion is to hold that courage you possess tightly, but not so tightly its suffocated, and take it on that journey with you.

In closing, there is one four-letter word I would like to point out that is not a word of courage and that’s hate. Hate is a powerful little word, but one that inspires movement for all the wrong reasons. If you’ve ever made a decision based on envy, hate, or greed, you may have come to regret that decision later.

What four-letter words come to mind when you think of courage?

Share your thoughts and stories with all my readers.

Ciao!

Becky

Overcoming a Horrible Boss

2011-07-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, a very funny movie, “Horrible Bosses,” was released. I went to see this movie for two reasons, one for a reality check, and two to learn how not to be a horrible boss. You see I manage a staff of creative professionals.

Not only did I see this movie, but I also did some research on the topic to make sure I wasn’t completely losing my mind. Here’s what I learned.

You might think your boss is bad, but it could be worse. Trust me, over the years I have worked for characters like Kevin Spacey and the male version of Jennifer Aniston’s character. But, after seeing this movie, I learned it could be worse.
What are you doing to learn the right things about overseeing a staff? What motives them? What scares them? What do you need to do to ensure you are doing right by them, while increasing productivity and loyalty?
Do not plot to kill your boss….ever! This might seem like a clear-cut idea, but seriously don’t think about it. If something were to happen to your boss, you’d feel terrible. Really you would.
Money and title are not always the motivators for everyone. One character in the movie didn’t want a promotion. He just wanted his boss to leave him alone and to stop harassing him. Learn what motivates your staff, and show them you understand that and give them opportunities to receive those motivators.

With the economy so bad, employees can feel trapped. Christine Porath, assistant professor of management at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and author of “The Cost of Bad Behavior,” conducted research concluding that 94 percent of us get even, but through less violent means, e.g., leaving to job.

In her research of 1,000 employees and managers from a cross section of industries, Porath found that bad behavior [by bosses] resulted in the following by staff:

48 percent intentionally decreased work effort.
47 percent intentionally decreased time at work.
38 percent intentionally decreased work quality.
80 percent lost work time worrying about the incident.
63 percent lost time avoiding the offender.
66 percent said their performance declined.
78 percent said their commitment to the organization declined.
And 12 percent said they exited the organization as a result of their uncivil treatment.

In the end, nobody wins—the boss, the staff, the company, the client, or the customer. If people are working in fear, being less productive, and constantly looking over their shoulder how can they focus on what they need to in order to get the job done each and every day?

High turnover is very costly. And until upper management sees that turnover as a serious issue, you may have no recourse except to leave for another opportunity.

Take the high road in this case. You could speak with your boss and address the issue directly. If you choose to do this be sure to document everything. You could leave your current employer either with or without another opportunity. You could continue in the situation and just chalk it up to “them’s the breaks.” Or you could use the opportunity as a learning experience, taking in cues that will help you to be better boss some day yourself. There is no right or wrong in this situation except to be true to yourself and make the most of your career.

Remember you are the person who owns your career path, not someone else.

Tell me what you’ve learned from your less-than-stellar bosses over the years and how you overcame the situation.

Ciao!

Becky

Team Dynamics – Does Personality Really Matter?

2011-06-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

The other day I was reading an article from the accounting profession on team dynamics, and ironically it got me to thinking about creative team dynamics. More importantly was that fact that the points made in the accounting article mirrored many in the creative field.

Personality is only one aspect that makes your team members unique;
Diversity among team members, including backgrounds, skills and abilities, is needed and should match the strengths, position, and personality of each team member;
Staff should be given the chance to modify their personality to meet the company culture; and
Expected results are needed for each position on the team, no matter what the personality.

All of that sounds familiar, I’m sure.

As performance review time draws near, many managers and team members are asked to reflect on what they have accomplished over the past several months; what they plan to tackle in the distant future; and what they can change in the present. For some people those changes relate to team dynamics and personality traits, or fitting in.

Consider your role in the creative field. There may be times when you think you could tackle something new and want to be given a chance to do so, but find that you are not granted that opportunity. Take time to reflect and ask yourself a few simple questions:

Are you qualified to do the job? Not only do you have the technical skills to accomplish the goals, but do you also embody the drive and leadership skills to be successful.
Does the job align with your personality preferences? For example, if you love to lead projects and prefer the analytical side of things, you may not succeed at leading teams because you lack the desire or need to deal with less than black-and-white staffing issues.
How is your personality perceived at the company? Take, for instance, a friend of mine who has a wonderful personality and is very funny. However, it’s very hard to take him seriously. So, when considering a role with senior leadership on client-facing matters, would you take the risk and give him—the “live wire”—a chance? Maybe. Maybe not.

Teams are made of diverse members that when taken together create a synergy to accomplish the goals before the, exceed expectations, and strive to create new. Further, there are leaders and there are followers. None is necessarily better than the other. Each has an equally valuable role.

In the end, personality should not be a key driver for team effectiveness. That should be based on skill, ability, willingness to learn, and ability to be flexible while learning from constructive criticism.

According to Jennifer Wilson, the accounting article author, “Great leaders strive for diversity without sacrificing their team’s commitment to perform and deliver results.”

I’m curious to learn what are you doing to encourage team members’ personality to shine through, while accelerating team and personal effectiveness?

Ciao!

Becky

Creative Leadership—Change is Gonna Come

2011-06-20T18:15:00.001-07:00

I recently read a white paper “Leadership in a (Permanent) Crisis” and authors, Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky wrote, “When the economy recovers, things won’t return to normal—and a different mode of leadership will be required.”

In today’s economic crisis, or any other crisis for that matter, many leaders tend to do the status quo to quell fears—fears of their staff and their own fears. However, this type of leadership will not sustain, it is a band-aide in a situation that may need a tourniquet.

According to these authors, if you are waiting for things to return to normal, you will be sadly disappointed. In fact, they feel that leadership “will require new skills tailored to the environment of urgency, high stakes, and uncertainty,” and I agree.

As creative professionals, we often juggle many projects at one time, and as creative leaders we need to embrace change, and in many cases foster it and champion it, even when it may not be the trend.

Adaptive leadership gives creatives a chance to hit the reset button within their teams, organizations, and profession. In fact, these authors feel that using the uncertainty of the moment brings closure to the challenges of the past. Throughout the process, leaders, and not just those on the management team, but all leaders within your team and organization take, the opportunity to:

Change key rules of the game;
Reshape their organizations and teams; and
Redefine the work people do.

The last may be the hardest for people to do.

Leadership pre-crisis, with traits such as analytical problem solving, efficient decision-making, and verbalization of clear direction, may not cut it in the new environment. Dealing with “loyalty to legacy practices and your desire to change them may put you in a position of attack,” the authors state.

One way to alleviate the onslaught, is to:

Devise numerous experiments versus a larger, grand strategic plan;
Embrace the crisscross approach the project will take as you make your way across the minefield of experimentation; this process often leads to better or new products; and
Think of the process as a prototype to be improved upon over time, e.g., v1.0.

In the end, this means as leaders we need to create a culture of “courageous conversations” where the most challenging and often difficult conversations take place. In the past, devil’s advocates and those with views “not of the culture” were closeted; however, under this new leadership, treat those people with respect, listen to them, and protect them from the organizational culture.

Here are some other tips from the authors:

Distribute leadership responsibility—no single person knows all that is going on within their organization;
Mobilize everyone to generate solutions rather than telling everyone what they should be doing; and
Embrace diversity—not racial diversity, but idea diversity.

Lastly, four things to consider as you take on this change as leaders:

Learn to take care of yourself. Be optimistic and realistic. This helps you to have a healthy bit of tension while keeping denial at arms length.
Find a place where you can reflect and regain perspective.
Have a confidant, a person you can share the highs and lows with who understands what you’re dealing with; an executive coach may be the ticket.
Avoid losing yourself in the role. Defining who you are by an event or experience at work may not be the everlasting mojo you need in your life. It can make you vulnerable to change and shifts, and could deny you other opportunities in your life.

As you think about your organization, your leadership style, and those you work with consider how flexibility will bring you and your team the creative lifeline it needs to be successful personally and professionally.

I’m interested to hear how you are making flexibility a part of your leadership style. Please share your experiences and ideas with us.

Ciao!

Becky

Creativity on the Road - Use the Time to Your Advantage

2011-05-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

With the unofficial start to summer quickly approaching, you may want to encourage your creative pros to relax their brain or maybe even play some creative games when on road trips.

Recently my hubby and I had to take an unexpected road trip. While driving, we played a little game. He knows that I want to write a book, and I even started one in 2009, but that's another story for another blog. So, on our five-hour trip we got to looking at road signs and making character names from them.

For example, the first one was Geneva Lyons. We got her name and then started thinking about her character. The plot began to develop as character names built. We had fun thinking about who the characters were, what their role was in the book, and who would play them in the movie. We have a Morgan Freeman-type character. Sandra Bullock is the heroine. The location is in the south...and that's all I'm going to say. You will have to wait until the book comes out to find out what happens.

Anyway, my point here is, if you have a road trip planned with your family, engage them in a little creative time. Let them know that creativity is not just drawing, painting, and video games. It comes is all formats.

Encourage creative thinking with your family members and when you return to your office, who knows, you may just have the next novel plot, product name, screenplay, or piece of music to inspire you upon your return.

Happy travels.

Ciao!

Becky

Creative Pros Job Search Tips

2011-05-01T05:19:00.000-07:00

With the creative job market opening up and graduates entering the workforce, I thought I would spend a little time talking about a variety of steps you can take to land a job at a creative agency or as an in-house creative professional. The advice below is peppered with my own experience, as well as input from a variety of agencies, including AKQA, JESS3, Code & Theory, and Mekanism.

Though these tips are not all-inclusive, they do provide an overview of what to do in the following areas. You can read more from each of the agency recruiters from a recent Mashable article.

Resumes
Cover Letters
Interviews
Correspondence

Resumes

Some of these tips may be familiar to you. However, keep an open mind. Look for the tidbits below that you haven’t tried, and embrace all the wisdom offered from the agencies noted above.

Spell check, spell check, and spell check! This is a given. Yet, I cannot tell you how many creative professionals’ resumes I receive, whether they are designers or coders, with spelling errors.
Use a professional email address that is a version of your name versus say, a hotmail account. This demonstrates your knowledge with email and also shows that you are progressive. For example, having an AOL email address may be a red flag to some recruiters.
Do not send a prospective employer and email via mobile, unless they specifically ask for it that way.
Include a PDF version of your resume in your email correspondence. This can be difficult with a lot of the online resume submission tools, but send a follow-up email to the career center contact with the PDF version. For creative rolls, particularly design-related roles, layout matters.
Provide a link to your online portfolio. Remember, cumbersome interfaces can get in the way for people with limited time on their hands. Often recruiters can receive hundreds of resumes to review. Let your work speak for itself rather than the intricacies of the technology.

Cover Letters

Again, spelling and grammar checks are paramount. If English is not your native language, or the country in which you are submitting your resume is not your native country, have someone else review your resume.
Refrain from referring to yourself in the third person. It’s awkward.
Write a personal and direct note that explains the key things you want to discuss with this employer while highlighting your best traits. This tests your professional tone. If you will be in a writing role, this email must impress.
Subject lines should stand out, without being too obnoxious.

Interviews

Now is not the time to be shy, especially if you are a recent graduate. Practice interviewing with a coach if you need to be more vocal or are nervous about the interview process. This is the time to shine and can make or break the next step in the interview process.
Research the organization’s work culture and dress. Dress one step above when interviewing. Over the years, I’ve had creative folks come to my office in flip flops, jeans, t-shirts, floor length leather jackets, and outfits that were really cool, but inappropriate. At the time, I was working in a very conservative, Big 4 accounting firm. Um…casual was not the way to go.
Express your passions, such as music, fashion, music, theater, etc. There are vertical markets that can use your insights within their business.
If you are a recent graduate, be bold. Contact people in the industry you have connections to or who have influence. You never know whose interest you may peak.
Learn what the agency or company where you are interviewing specializes in. Pick three creative pieces you found most moving and why. Be sure to talk about those pieces during the interview.
Have your elevator speech ready, while being prepared to talk about your projects at length.

Correspondence

Call and email contacts at places where you are interested in working, but do it within reason.
Refrain from Tweeting things to your prospective employer that include links to your portfolio, e.g., @Mekanism check out my new designs www.mywebsite.com
Be creative, but not arrogant. Thus, when sending messages to prospective employers, be creative, even edgy, but refrain from obvious boasting.

There are so many ways in which creative professionals have landed jobs, from a chance meeting in an elevator or party to diligent networking. What tips have you found helpful in your search or as you have interviewed creative professionals over the years?

Ciao!

Becky

Sun-Seeking Mission Inspires Creativity

2011-05-01T05:11:00.000-07:00

This past week, I have been on a sun-seeking mission on the high seas. I have been visiting Cozumel, Mexico and various ports in the western Caribbean. While on this journey, I put my office work aside and filled my mind with the colors, smells, and sights around me. This led to me thinking that creativity surrounds us everywhere and that it can be applied in our corporate creative roles each day. So pretend you are on the world’s largest cruise ship with me, and open our eyes, ears, and minds to the input.

While I strolled or sat in my lounge chair, I took in the amazing colors of the sky, the too-small swim suits on people from around the world, and the amazing fruity drinks the bartenders carried. I began to think, “How I could mix and match those things in my creative projects at work and even into my everyday life?” I frequently closed my eyes to commit those colors, patterns, and yes, in some cases, huge faux pas to memory.

Below are some tips I took away from this vacation that I think you may find helpful in your creative roles at your company.

One skill creative professionals must learn—especially those in a corporate environment—is how to produce on-demand creative. Professionals we work with who are not creative types may not understand, nor care, what it takes for us to come up with award-winning designs, or even on the basic level, work we are proud of. Though there are creative briefs, project guidelines, and other methods for solving common visual problems, we must still be able to get focused, get creative, and produce work that doesn’t look prescribed or forced. This skill comes with time, experience, and practice.

Create a schedule. This in itself will give you the creative time needed to formulate creative and to keep ideas fresh. Begin your day with a set schedule to check the more mundane items on your corporate list, such as email, scheduling meetings, and organizing you/your team’s project list. While putting aside the time to deal with the business aspects, be sure to set aside time to also let your mind wander.
Observe things around you. Like I did on my sun-seeking mission, I have absorbed a great deal of new ideas on how to mix colors, spices, sounds, and scents for a titillating new way of bringing creative ideas to my work and life. Study the people and world around you. Remember, the goal of a design, copy for an ad, or anything creative is to send a message or to solve a problem. Observing others and the way in which they live helps you to learn more about your audience.
Inspiration collection is so important. I’ve talked in the past about vision boards and being able to collect things that inspire you. For example, how many times have you passed a creative person’s office/cube and noticed they have toys on display? More times than not I’m guessing. The toys are often colorful, have an interesting texture, or remind of us something from our mind’s eye. Begin collecting things that inspire you. I, for example, have a fashion style book on my coffee table and a shoe-a-day calendar on my office desk. I use these tools to help me think of new ways to mix and match patters, colors, textures, and styles to invoke a feeling. Give it a try. Create your own inspiration collection.
Use a mood board, which, again, is similar to a vision board, however, slightly different. A mood board helps you to get back to the design basics—space, balance, texture, repetition, line, and color. Mood boards help you to think about each of these items individually rather than all together, which is how we often are “pushed” into design in our corporate worlds. It helps to think about the elements separately and then work them into the whole. Mood boards also help to create the project’s overall feeling rather than getting bogged down in the specifics.

There are so many ways to help you foster creativity in the workplace, especially for designers and writers. Have you ever had a person who is not in your department walk past you cube/office and wish they could be doing what you do—creating imagery, copy, sounds, and designs? I have, and it’s a wonderful feeling. I love being a creative professional and hope that you do as well.

Share the tips you use in your corporate creative roles to help foster creativity. We can all learn something new today.

Ciao!

Becky

Instant Inspiration

2011-04-05T13:07:00.001-07:00

Even though we may be creative people, we still need to be inspired from time to time.

A few weeks ago I was reading an article in “Oprah” magazine about the creative process and how people often lose their sense of creativity at an early age, when math and science start coming into the equation and less emphasis is placed on the creative arts.

In that article there were several tips on how to inspire creativity, some of which I’ve shared with you below.

1. Read “Not A Box,” by Antoinette Portis. It’s about how a rabbit in a cardboard box uses his imagination to transform the box into other things. Have you ever done that in your life…used your imagination to “transport” you someplace else? Come on now…not even in one of those all-day meetings?

When I was a kid, my brother and I often used cardboard boxes for forts, race tracks, sliding down snowy hillsides, and more. This book is reminiscent of “Who Moved My Cheese,” but rather than focusing on change management, it focuses on how inspiration and creativity can transform your current situation into a different situation.

2. Get Outside. How long has it been since you went outside and looked around? I mean really looked around? There are so many things in nature that can inspire a creative spark. I particularly like winter and spring months. Why winter you may ask? The lack of color makes color actually pop more. The red cardinal in a snow-covered pine tree. The blue green against white snow. The bright blue ski on a crisp, winter morning.

Then spring is an explosion of color. I often say to people that if the colors occur together naturally, then they go together. Nature’s pallet is well formed and dynamic. Take a look around you—the texture and color of trees, bushes, and shrubs, the details in spring flowers, the color of the spring, nighttime sky. Nature is an abundant source of inspiration. You just need to open your eyes and your mind.

3. Get re-acquainted with things. Increase your knowledge of things through the use of several senses. Use your eyes to see them. Pick things up to touch them and to feel the texture on your fingers. Smell things. Experiencing things with more than one sense helps your creative juices to flow and can transcend into a project you may be working on.

For example, when the ride “Soarin™” at Disney’s theme parks was being developed, the engineer could not figure out how to make the ride move up and down in the stacked format it current work on. He went home and began playing with his son’s erector set. After building a few prototypes with the toy he figured it out. Then when the ride’s design idea came back to the creative team they were tasked with figuring out how to make the ride even more realistic. The result, as you fly over California you can smell the orange groves. When flying over the golf course, the golf ball whizzes past your head and whoosh of air puffs past your face. Touching, smelling, and feeling all came into play with this project.

4. Grab opportunities. Look around you for inspirational opportunities. If you’ve recently attended an event with friends, send a hand-written note. Yes, a hand-written note versus something generated from a computer. If you’re hosting a dinner event, create hand-made party favors. Get your kids involved if you have them. Children are great idea generators who have not yet had their creativity stunted. And, celebrate the everyday with something special.

Here are some simple ideas. What else can you think of?

· Use colored napkins at dinner rather than plain white, or vice versa if you use colored napkins all the time

· Put flowers on the dinner table once in a while

· Cook or bake something you’ve never made before

· Make party favors for a get together or have a theme-based party (We’ve had several of them and they are a lot of work, but so much fun.)

· Walk/drive/cycle a different way to work

· Change the radio station in your car

· Post a photo on Facebook™ and ask your friends to write a caption for it (I do this a lot.)

· Turn off the television and read, draw, paint, or go outside

· Take a family portrait from under the table (Now that should be fun!)

Inspiration is all around us. We just have to take the time to look, notice, and absorb.

I’m interested in where you find your inspiration and ways you harness that creative juice to move through your life.

Ciao!

Can’t Get No Respect

2011-04-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

The other day I was in a meeting with my CEO, a couple people from sales, folks from the affinity staff, and one other person from marketing. We were going over our strategy for our keynote presentations for our summer meetings.

At one point, my CEO says, “You (meaning marketing) spend so much time on design and it’s not about design. Can we spend less time on design this year and more on content?” He also said something like nobody here is interested in design. I raised my hand and said, “I am!”

As we progressed through past slide decks, he said, “I really like this slide. It tells the story well.”

The VP of Marketing turns and says, “Well, it wouldn’t have been as effective with a stick figure now would it?” Touché! I was so proud of her for sticking up for the designers.

So, I ask, why in 2011 are the “creatives” still being dissed; and, what can we do about it? Where’s the respect?

First and foremost, team leaders must stick up for what their teams do. Marketing, creative staff, and designers seem to get the short stick of the deal more often than not. I am unsure what people think we do all day. Color in coloring books? I guess because we approach work in a different way than the digit-heads and linear thinkers, people perceive what we do as child’s play. Having a team leader who will stick up for not only what you do, by why what you do is important is critical to the success of your role in an organization.

Second, be your own champion. If you are a creative professional who attends meetings with senior leadership, team members from other departments, and as a representative for creatives overall, be a champion. Tell stories about how the creative aspects of what you do impacts your organization’s bottom line. For example, I work with an online media staff that supports web site and online production. Not all of them are creative professionals, but rather are folks who focus on technological advances in how things work online. Because I have a creative background, I have to be consistent on why we need to test creative concepts and push the envelope not only with technology, but also with creative marketing. I think of it as the Jack Welch approach to creative leadership. Say it over and over and over again until the message starts coming out of people’s mouths without prompting.

Third, represent! Stand up for being a creative pro. Don’t shy away or shun who you are as a professional. Creative pros often get a bad rap for not conforming to corporate rules, work hours, dress codes, etc. Who cares? You bring value to an organization beyond conforming to some white shirt’s rules and stringent needs to be part of the master race. I’m not saying go out and ignore the establishment. What I’m saying is, stand up for what you do. Be proud of the creative genius you offer to your company. Have accolades readily available that demonstrate how you and your role impact the bottom line.

Last, share your skills and knowledge with others. Outside-of-the-box thinking is what gets us noticed. How do we take a tried and true story and make it fresh again? Who do people turn to creatives when this kind of question comes up? Because we have the answers. Share your ideas with others. Explain the process you go through when working on new creative. It helps others to open their minds and possibly share new ways of doing things too, which then spawns ideas that leads to the answer…this is how we make it fresh again.

As creative team leaders, it’s important to help your team think outside the box, embrace their creative genius, and to share how your team continually supports your company’s bottom-line strategy.

How are you as a creative leader being a champion for yourself, your team, and the creative profession overall? I’d love to hear from you on this one.

Ciao!

D.U.C.K. – Watch Out for the Ideas

2011-02-20T16:22:00.000-08:00

Do your creative teams D.U.C.K. during brainstorming?

Let’s face it, creative people like to brainstorm. We are idea generators and dream makers. We love to think outside the box, color outside the lines, and call our own shots.

So when I attended a brainstorming session in January with a room full of linear thinkers, it got me thinking about certain techniques people use during brainstorming session. One in particular came to mind—D.U.C.K.—Don’t Use Creativity Killers.

Over the years, when I’ve been involved in projects with marketing teams, graphic designers, web user interface developers, and gamers, And one thing has been consistently true—we feed off each other’s ideas and often go into the sessions with a “no-holds-bar” attitude.

That’s what D.U.C.K. is about. It’s about not using words, ideas, and phrases that stifle the creative process, such as “it’s not in the budget,” “too expensive,” “too many resources will be needed.” If someone used creativity killers, they were to grab one of the stuffed duck toys in the middle of the table and squeeze it, causing the thing to make a hideous noise.

As creative leaders and professionals we often like these types of sessions that exhaust and exhilarate simultaneously. Encouraging brainstorming sessions among creative professionals is like recess to elementary school children. It gives us a chance to loosen up, shake things up, and run around like we’re on fire. It’s an outlet we crave and so rarely get to indulge in once we’ve hit the corporate world.

In addition to this technique, below are some other styles you may find helpful when starting a brainstorming sessions with creatives or with those outside the creative group.

Mind Mapping – This technique is tried and true. You begin with the main goal in the center, then branch ideas out based on major subtopics. The team continues to branch out subtopics until they have been exhausted.
Brain Writing – Write ideas on a sheet of paper and after 10 minutes shift the paper either right or left to the next person on the team. Each person builds off the other person’s ideas. Continue the rotation until all parties have had all sheets of paper (hint: place a number or “start/stop” on the top of the pages so you know when you’ve reached the end.
Ground Rules – Though this isn’t a brainstorming technique, it sure is important to set the ground rules when working in groups. Rules such as criticism isn’t allowed; ideas, no matter how wild, are encouraged; the more ideas the better; and every person should try to participate by building upon or combining ideas from someone else.
Scatter Brain (my terminology) – Bring lots of flip charts and Post-It notes to the session. Present the general goal to the group and let them begin by writing their own ideas down on Post-It notes. On the flip charts begin to organize ideas based on the outcome of the Scatter Brain session. Once the organization piece is completed, take a break, then begin thinking in a more linear fashion, but encourage continued brainstorming activity throughout the meeting.
Venn Diagrams – A process that involves drawing two, intersecting circles that draw comparisons between objects/ideas/events/people.

There are so many ways to brainstorm. What types of brainstorming techniques have you found to be the most useful when working with creative professionals or anyone for that matter?

Ciao!

Becky

Mentoring Creatives – Like any other professionals?

2011-01-22T19:06:00.000-08:00

I work in the financial services industry. I must say, as a marketing pro with a serious creative bent, financial services is not as sexy as some other industries to work in.

However, I did read an interesting article in the Journal of Accountancy recently about mentoring, and low-and-behold there was some information that crossed into our creative world.

Over the years, I’ve been mentored and I’ve mentored. And, I must say, I love both equally. Below are some of the tips that the Journal highlighted, and my suggestions on how to make them apply to creative professionals.

1. Mentors should ask challenging questions that help mentees to expand their scope of responsibilities. Okay, I’ll give them that. Yes, a mentor should challenge their mentee with questions that will help them to expand their responsibilities. When it comes to creative professionals, this technique may help mentees to reach their stretch goals.

2. Be highly connected to your mentees. Again, I can understand where they are coming from with this one. My take on this is that you should understand what your mentee does in order to help them prepare to grow in their field. However, I guess I’m challenged to believe that. There are people I work with who ask me for advice. I don’t specialize in their area of work, but they seek me out. It also applies to me. I seek people who have knowledge and advice to share who may not specialize in what I do. This gives me a new angle to look at things, and opportunity to see things a way I may not have been able to in the past. Further, they may not specialize in what I do, but they have great experience that I can learn from. In the end, to me it’s not necessarily the connection that makes the difference; it’s the ability share stories and information that resonate.

3. Challenge others with penetrating thoughts. Again, I think this is a great tip. And yes, as a mentor you should push people to be the best they can be. As a creative professional, you are marketing the best product you have—yourself. A good mentor will push you to question yourself and push you to question others. If you simply lie down and take everything at face value, how do you expect to grow? I’m not saying go out there and be a jerk about it. What I’m suggesting is know your stuff and be sure to ask questions that help you dig deeper. For example, ask questions that go beyond “how do I get to the next level in my career?,” which is a good basic-level question. Ask questions that make you go back and think about things, questions that challenge your understanding. As a mentor you want your mentee to challenge you as well. You can learn in this process just as much as they do.

When it comes down to it, mentoring creative professionals is exciting, rewarding, and engaging.

What advice do you have for mentoring creative professional? (Hint: This is a great exercise for all of us!)

Ciao!

Becky

2011 Leadership Competency Includes Creativity

2010-12-20T18:33:00.000-08:00

As 2010 comes to a close and we reflect upon what took place not only in this year, but also throughout the decade, I must say, I never thought I’d actually come to hear or read, in this case, the following:

“According to a recent survey of 1,500 chief executives conducted by IBM’s Institute for Business Value, CEOs identify “creativity” as the most important leadership competency for the successful enterprise of the future,” from Nicole Skibola’s blog “The Social Responsibility to Generate Employee Happiness.”

Most important! Did you read that a second time too?

As a creative professional, yes, I knew that creativity was among the many leadership characteristics that I sought in those I followed, and among the many qualities many look to from me.

After all, if you’re not creative, flexible, and able to adapt with the changing requirement of your team, department, company, and profession, how do you survive?

The article goes on to talk about “harnessing natural human creativity to optimize performance.” As I reflect on that, like you and all the creative professionals reading this blog right now, we know that having work environments that support our creative side nurtures and helps our creative juices flow.

I think some of the creative qualities that may be missing from this blog include the often-times forbidden word “fun.” Each week I have a team meeting and on the top of my notes page I write FUN in large, bold letters. I oversee a small team of online producers who work tirelessly to crank out 15-20 email campaigns per day along with unlimited amount of web site changes required to keep our ecommerce site humming. At the end of the day, I want them to have some fun or the job could become robotic.

Fun is one of the many ways we as leaders can bring creativity to our teams. We can also provide environments that allow for some “down” time to think creatively.

As creative leaders, it is our responsibility to encourage our professionals to bring their best game to the table and offer the most innovative answers to our business challenges.

When you are thinking about the end of this year and decade and how you can impact the future, does creativity play into your vision?

If so, share with us how you interject creativity into your leadership style, whether at work, school, home, or play.

Let’s get the creative leader out there and celebrate our “new-found” status.

Ciao!

Becky

What’s Your Sign?

2010-11-29T18:42:00.000-08:00

Today I was struck by two stories that inspired me to write this blog. One of them was from Fortune Magazine’s “2010’s Top People in Business,” and the other was SmartBrief On Leadership’s article “What’s Your Management Motto.”

It got me to thinking about my legacy as a leader and how my staff would describe my style. I’ve heard them say, “You’re the best boss I’ve ever had,” and “You’re crazy!” Both make me smile widely, but what do they really mean to my team.

I would consider my sign to lean more toward the latter—especially since I have a physical sign on my office wall that says, “Out of my mind. Back in 5 minutes!”

The sign instills a sense of fun and allows others to express their feelings of being overwhelmed and often needing a few minutes to regroup during the day. When people laugh about it and point it out to me, I often laugh and say I need 50 minutes. It is a great icebreaker with visitors and puts everyone at ease.

That’s what I try to do with people. I like to make them feel at home and relax around me. When people are uptight they tend to clam up. I need those around me to open in their communication, especially when I’m trying to solve a problem. Honesty and humor have gotten me a long way in my career.

Though I’m a very hard working and dedicated employee, I like to have fun. I mean, I’m in the office for 10-14 hours a day and want to spend part of that day burning calories laughing.

What I learned from both articles mentioned above, is that leaders often have a saying or motto they live by. It’s not a long-worded phrase, but something akin to a mantra.

“It can be done!” a sign on Ronald Reagan’s desk.

“No whining.” Posted on former CEO for Southwest Airlines, James Parker’s wall.

“The buck starts here,” Donald Trump’s motto posted his office.

Leaders often have a positive attitude that is infectious. Optimism exudes from their pores. They believe that everyone has a talent. Energy and enthusiasm is what draws others toward them. They are not only confident in themselves; they are confident in others as well.

As a creative professional and leader, what would your sign say?

Ciao!

Becky

Hiring Creative Pros – Seriously?

2010-11-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

The other day I was reading an article from Inc. magazine about how to hire for creativity. Now this is a no-brainer for those of us in the field. Am I right?

Maybe. Maybe not.

This Inc. article author talked about innovation and moving the business forward. “Think outside the box,” she states. Now, I want to know, why do people turn to creatives when they need to innovate or think outside the box? Are there no other types of professionals they can turn to?

This blog topic highlights some ways in which you can distinguish a truly creative professional from someone who “simply plays one on tv.” Let’s take a look.

Determine the kind of creativity that counts—Now this can be tricky. Many company leaders find it hard to integrate creatives into the workplace. And, when hiring creative people, one must first determine if he/she wants a creative person with a breadth of creativity that can draw conclusions from disparate events and has a big-picture vision; or, a person with creativity within the bounds of their role/job description. Be realistic. Consider your company’s track record with both kinds of creative thinkers to determine what you’re looking for and the tolerance for “out-of-the-box” thinkers within your company. Define what is acceptable and what is “too outlandish.”
Attracting creative professionals to your company—If you want to attract creative professionals to your company, one way is by telling a compelling story in an attractive fashion, whether that’s through your web site, blog, advertising, social media presence, or public persona. Also, consider setting the tone with the job description. Use adjectives to describe the role in a way that would make a creative person want to apply. Standard business language is generally not creative enough to engage the typical creative pro.
Seek adaptability—When looking for creative professionals, it’s rare you’ll find one that’s been doing the same thing for long periods of time. Many creative people have freelanced or own their own consulting or design firm on the side. Also, remember to look for experiences that may not be captured on a resume. For example, use behavioral questions during the interview process to delve into those “in between” spaces on a candidate’s resume.
Ask creative interview questions—Use behavioral interviewing questions that are out of the ordinary to see how people handled the obscure. Take for example this question, “How would you weigh a jet without using scales?” This question allows the interviewer to witness the interviewees thought process, while weighing—no pun intended—their answer.

In other words, when looking to hire creative professionals, you too have to think outside the box. Toss away the standard questions. Make the interview engaging to entice the interviewee to want to continue with the process. Engage the person intellectually, and stimulate them creatively to ensure they are willing to put their creative energy into working for you and your organization.

I’ve noted from my experience being a creative professional, as well as leading and hiring them, that I toss the traditional interviewing methods out the window. I often host an interview outside in a park. I ask questions such as, “Tell me about the most favorite project you’ve ever worked on, and it doesn’t have to be a business project. What did you like most about it?”

I don’t always ask where they want to be in five years, because as creative pros, more than likely we want to be out on our own doing our own thing rather than being confined to a cube.

What tips do you have when it comes to hiring creative professionals into your work environment?

Please share you comments with all of us.

Until next time, ciao!

Becky

Getting Your Foot in the Door—One Shoe at a Time

2010-10-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

My office location recently changed and we relocated to a shared-office space. Prior to the move, my supervisor asked the senior marketing team to join her for a meeting. During our meeting, we talked about the new/revised dress code for our staff. Once finished, we were to share the information with our teams.

Jeans were no longer allowed. We were to consider smart causal, which according to her is a step up from business casual. Now, I don’t know about you, but I cannot keep all the “office causal” styles straight. So, I simply go for what I know, which is corporate.

My team, which is a creative marketing team, did not take the news well. They liked wearing jeans. They liked having comfortable clothes. And, they didn’t think they’d be joining any senior leadership meetings any time soon, since it hadn’t happened to them thus far.

So, as a leader of a creative team, I had to take a step back and frame this new request in a way that made sense to them. Here were my tips.

You’re not Steve Jobs—Even though you may wear a black turtle neck, sneakers, and jeans, you are not a CEO of one of the world’s most relevant companies. Until you make CEO-type decisions, you are all to follow senior leadership guidelines.
How you dress matters—Our clients are in the financial services area. Though they are slowly modernizing and accepting of new ways, the tradition still has a long-standing hold on how we present ourselves. When they arrive in suits, ties, and dress shoes, they expect the same level of “respect” from our staff.
Perception is 9/10 of the law—No matter how hard you try to change it people have preconceived notions about you based on the way you dress. Recently I was reading an article by Steve Tobak where he states, “When someone’s smartly dressed in business attire, I think sharp and savvy. Unless of course he turns out to be an idiot. Then he’s just an idiot in a suit. When an individual wears jeans and an un-tucked shirt to a business meeting, I think guts and confidence. Unless he turns out to be an idiot. Then, that’s right, he’s just a sloppy idiot. When folks wear business casual—khakis and polo shirts—I think mindless drone or middle manager who won’t take risks.”
Dress for your audience—If you know you’re having a meeting that day, make sure you’re dressed to at least the level of your audience, and then one step above. There are few worse things than getting reprimanded for something so simple as your wardrobe.
Spiff it up when you’re starting out—When you’re first starting out in your career, spiff-up your wardrobe. Once you’ve proven yourself, you can relax a little.

It’s crazy to me that I’m writing a piece about wardrobe in the 21^st century, but it still holds a lot of weight in companies today. I like being known as the shoe girl in my office. And I like that I dress up every day. But, hey, that’s me. When I dress down, I feel down and it shows.

I’m not saying go out and buy a whole new wardrobe to please your boss. But I am suggesting that you add your own personal style to keep you current and make a statement that makes sense for your office’s wardrobe style.

What office “wardrobe” challenges are you faced with? Share them with us today.

Ciao!

Becky

Justification for Poor Leadership – Maybe?

2010-09-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I was reading an article about companies not being a democracy. The author is a self-proclaimed “turnaround ace,” who offers solid advice to employees about how employers “see” them.

After reading his article I’m not surprised he feels the way he does about leadership. “The most effective leaders are benevolent dictators who hold employees accountable,” he writes.

Now before you jump to conclusions and want to string this man up by his toenails, let’s take a look at some of the points he makes. Then I’ll counter with information I’ve read from another author. Then you, as a creative professional, decide what format works best for you.

Justification for Poor Leadership

Owning a business is about gaining a profit, not winning a popularity contest. Mr. Cloutier states, “You cannot be effective as the owner of the business unless you are feared and respected by your employees.”
It’s mistaken that you will get more from your employees if you are loved.
Democracy is not to be used in a business setting. In fact, the only opinion that counts is that of the owner.
Tell your employees, “Don’t think…obey.”

Okay, I cannot continue to write this gibberish, but you can read his full article if you’d like.

I’d rather focus on ways to infuse leadership at all ranks of your organization, from copywriters to senior designers. Consider these points.

Have fun! People work for all kinds of reasons, and pay is just one of those reasons. Do you know what motivates your staff?
Treat employees like adults. Oh, for goodness sakes, doesn’t this make sense? Of course it does. They are adults after all.
Reward good, hard work. You can reward good work in a multitude of ways. If your budget doesn’t allow for monetary rewards, get creative. Maybe the person’s name is mentioned at a team meeting. Maybe you offer a ½ day off with pay. Maybe you bring in a treat noting a job well done.
You teach, and learn. We may not all be teachers in the traditional sense, but we are teaching and learning each day. Be sure to offer teaching lessons to your staff. And, remember to learn from them as well.
Value people. Making people feel valued is so rewarding for everyone. Demonstrating each and every person’s value on a team is paramount to helping the team synergy increase.
Set realistic and achievable goals. Setting lofty goals can be de-motivating to a team. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set stretch goals for each person on your team. As well as team goals that go above and beyond to encourage team participation and achievement.

Now, which organization and leader would you rather work for? I’m sure you’re not scratching your head or tossing a coin on this one. But just think of all those people who are working in the first environment and what that will mean when the recession comes to an end.

Are you the kind of leader who welcomes new people on your team and nourishes their creativity? Are you the kind of leader who asks team members to participate in their goal setting process to enliven their own personal and professional growth?

Tell me more about what you think makes a good leader. And remember the leader isn’t always the person who is the highest-ranking person on your team. All of us have the potential to be leaders in our own way.

I look forward to your comments.

Ciao!

Becky

Overcoming Death Threats to Creativity

2010-08-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

Recently I was reading an article Ideacide (14 Ways to Kill Creativity) and thought, now this could lead to something good. But, let’s spin the concept a bit to see how we can overcome the death threats to creativity.

In the article, Youngme Moon, author of Different: Escaping the Competitive Heard, shared thoughts from her video, “My Anti-Creativity Checklist,” on how to stifle creativity. Below are some of the highlights I particularly…um…liked?

Play it safe: List to that inner voice that tells you not to stick your neck out.
Respect history: Always give the past the benefit of the doubt.
Make skepticism your middle name: Show everyone why the idea won’t work.
Keep your eyes closed: Your mind too.
And my all-time favorite—Be suspicious of the creatives, the lunatic fringe: What do they know anyway?

As you take a look at your business model and how to take your business to the next level, whether you’re a CEO, marketing VP, or just another person in the marketing department, it’s important to share ideas and brainstorm ways to make things work better—for you and for your customers. One way to do this is to overcome the death threats to creativity.

Let’s take a look.

There are people within your organization that think they have all the right answers and don’t want anyone to challenge the status quo. They want nothing to do with “pie-in-the-sky” thinking or “crazy flights of imagination” as the author of Ideacide states. They want to be the person who is the only creative voice in the organization. If you have one or a few of these folks, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

You have to overcome, through various means, to kill the death threats to creativity. Here are some suggestions:

Put a suggestion box in a location where anyone can offer suggestions to improve their work, the business, events, fun, and more.
Allow people to offer “off-the-wall” suggestions, even when you think they don’t have anything to offer. If you stifle them, one day you will come to regret it. They could have the next best idea to a slice of bread.
Encourage creativity. Put puzzles in the community area for anyone to work on. It’s visually, emotionally, and creatively stimulating to work on puzzles. And, it takes your mind off whatever you’re struggling with.
Keep your eyes and ears open. Stay abreast of what’s happening not only in your field, but also in the field of your business. Offering suggestions that are current or even futuristic could help your business get its next breakthrough.
Take risks. Albeit risks that fall within your tolerance level. Some people are more risk-averse than others. But think outside your comfort zone. Would it kill you to put a new color on the website? How about using the color red as an accent color in a financial document (a huge no-no in some firms).
Host networking events in your office rather than after hours when people want to get home. They don’t have to be expensive outings to baseball games and the like. They can be simple things, like an ice cream social or bagel Fridays. Be sure to mix it up time and again. People are probably sick of the pizza lunches.
Play games. People love games. You can do things like Word Find and Crossword puzzles outlining your strategy or business models. Make it fun.
Paint the office in visually stimulating colors or host colorful, interesting artwork. I currently work in an office that has grey walls, white ceilings, and charcoal cubicles. At first it’s striking, but as I’ve worked there over the past six months, I’ve found my wardrobe has been infused with color since my surroundings are so drab. If you have creative people on your staff, encourage them to submit artwork, paintings, and creations for the office setting and rotate the projects. It can even extend to those who are creative with food. This allows them to be creative, and shows that you care about their lives and want them to be inspired in the workplace.
Ask the customers. Polling your customers regularly—for example through email campaigns or on your Web site—will provide you with feedback on what they are looking for. Rather than assume you know them so well that you can anticipate their every need, ask them what they’d like and where they’d like to see you moving.

There are so many ways to overcome the death of creativity in your office, home, and life. Take the risks. Share your ideas. But most of all, be open, be honest, and be part of the solution. Everyone is creative in his or her own way.

What are you doing as leaders and employees to infuse creativity into your work and life?

Ciao!
Becky

Do you have the vision for creative success?

2010-07-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was reading an article by Martha Beck in “O” magazine. It was about vision boards. Now, I recall hearing about vision boards, but not really knowing what they were.

According to Martha, a vision board is a collage of pictures brought together to “depict (and lead me to) my desired future.” When I read that, I thought wow, that’s profound! It’s similar to what sports psychologists do with athletes. You have to visualize the win to make it happen.

As you consider your career and all that you want or need to accomplish, you may want to consider using this approach to make your dreams a reality. Even though the majority of us in the creative fields are visual learners and have limited difficulty visualizing creative concepts, at times we can get bogged down when it comes to our future.

What does it look like?
What is my plan?
How do I get from A – E?
What does the journey look like?

A vision board might be just the thing you need. For example, over the next seven years, I will be executing my business plan to go into business for myself—again. I know where I want to be and what I’d like to be doing, but I don’t have it all mapped out; nor do I know what the journey might look like.

Do you know where you’re going and what the journey looks like? If not, maybe you need a vision board. Here’s what you’ll need:

Represent the Inner Eye: Rather than looking for standard/everyday images of what you want to succeed, look for images that represent the inner thoughts. For example, if you want to have a corner office, you don’t want an image of someone in a corner office, but rather images of the smells of that office, the plants or items you would have in that office, things you’d be working on, etc. Find images that make the heart thump, make you do a double take, or conjure a gasp or similar reaction. According to Beck, “these images resonate in your heart, lungs, and stomach—anywhere but your head.”
Now lose it: Once the images are collected and put into a collage, you want to relax your mind. So, put the board away. Recycle it. Stop thinking about it. This will be the hardest part of the process. By doing this, you will stop pushing at something that you’ve already set in motion. Think of it this way, once the image is set in your mind’s eye, you no longer need to stare at it. You’ve got it and will begin setting the other items you need in motion. If you continue to stare at the collage, you will obsess over the images rather than focusing on the next steps. Rather than focusing on the desperation to make it happen, begin to make it happen.
Rather than buying fish, look for the fisherman: One of the biggest challenges, I think, for creative professionals and leaders is to seek out those who can help you attain your goals, whether in business or in your career. Remember, in order to reach your goals you may need help from others. So while you’re working on your plan, also be making those connections that will help you attain your goal. As T.S. Elliot said, “be still and still moving”.

As you consider your career and what you “want to be when you grow up” why not map it out in a fun way—a way that we creative’s love—in pictures or words that speak to us?

If you’re a leader of a creative staff, maybe you encourage your staff to represent their corporate goals through the use of vision boards. After all, corporate goals can be a bit boring; so, why not make them more exciting using a creative exercise to demonstrate how the creative team will impact your organization’s bottom line?

Tell us more about your vision, and how you plan to get there. Is a vision board right for you? It just might be.

Ciao!
Becky

Rule of Thumb—Recognize the Danger Signs

2010-06-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

This morning, in the hours just before dawn, as I listened to the low, throaty howl of my domestic dog’s ancestor—the wolf, I contemplated all that I have learned from nature during my visit to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Over the past two weeks, there has been so much to see, hear, smell, and witness. I have felt more connected to nature than I have in a very long time. I was very mindful that I was more creative during this window of time as well. Not just in the writing sense, but also in the think-outside-the-box sense with colors, images, shapes, and words.

In my moments of extreme desire to create, I stumbled upon some lovely cards by Sherry McTee—“The Journey Matters” in one of the many gift shops. I’ve jotted down a few quotes from her cards. I also learned about a rule of thumb I think creative professionals can use in their day-to-day activities.

Let’s start with Sherry. Her words are inspirational and when I read them I just knew I had to share them with my creative friends and readers. Please take a moment to read her words and let them sink into that place you go to when you’re looking for creative inspiration. I plan to write them down and place them next to a wildflower photo I have from the Parks.

“Spend no time wondering what lies ahead…After all, the only certainty you have is this precious moment.”

“Find a place which speaks to your soul…which calls you back.”

“Spend your days as joyfully as the wildflowers lifting their faces to the morning sun.”

“It is often the unexpected that take your breath away.”

“Seek moments as pure and gentle as snow falling onto the Earth.”

“Listen to the Earth…How softly it speaks in the misty, quiet woods.”

“Remember this…Your life will flow in whatever direction you choose.” –This is my personal favorite.

“The Earth spreads beauty at our feet, and asks us to remember we walk on sacred ground.”

The last bit from the park that I will share with you is called the Rule of Thumb. In the Parks there are many species of wild animals, including bear, elk, moose, coyote, fox, big horn sheep, and so many others. The Rule of Thumb is this. If you see a wild animal, extend your arm to its fullest length. Then hold up your thumb. If your thumb covers the animal in full, then you are a “safe” distance from it. However, if you can still see the animal around your thumb, you are too close, which means you are in danger.

So, my Rule of Thumb to you is to remember that when projects get too close for comfort, take a step back and put things into perspective. Think about it. Are you potentially jeopardizing your personal creativity with the project? Maybe you feel you are sacrificing a personal moral or ethical code by producing the material(s) needed? Maybe you’re spending too much time on the project and losing sight of the greater danger, another predator perhaps, or possibly precious time with your family.

Put your figurative arm and thumb out there and check your project distance from time to time. If you find yourself getting sucked into the danger zone, take a moment, check the figurative surrounding area, and be certain you’re not getting into more than you can handle.

What Rule of Thumb or morsel of wisdom would you like to share with creative professionals? Please comment below.

Ciao!

Becky

Nobody’s Going to Eat You Alive

2010-06-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks, I have been traveling through Yellowstone National Park. If you have ever been, you know how majestic the scenery is. How magnificent the animal sightings can be. And, how amazingly breathtaking the sky, mountains, and clouds appear. All of those things really get the creative juices flowing.

All those things considered, however, that’s not what I’m going to write about today. Today I’m going to share a story about a horse, a boy, and the ability to get back up and try again.

The other evening, after dinner, my husband and I were watching a horse trail ride. You could tell the city folks and those who’ve never ridden before from the more experienced riders. First of all, most of the less experienced people were wearing sneakers. Anyway, not 10 minutes into the ride, as the parade of horses traversed along the roadside, one horse got a bit frisky. He ran toward the front of the pack. Then he took a few glorious leaps into the air. Mind you, he’s not bucking by any means, but he was dancing around a bit.

As I watched, wondering what was going to happen to the young, mid-teen rider, the horse broke from the pack and dashed toward the side; having a gay old time it seemed. The poor boy was bouncing around, hands and arms flailing about. He started to lean—a huge no-no—and slid right off the side of his saddle and landed quite hard on the ground. The horse quickly bolted toward the front of the pack—riderless.

As I watched the whole thing unfold, I knew there was a story I could share with all of you about when you’re down, get right back up and brush the dirt off. That poor young lad lay on the ground for about 10 minutes. Grant it, he could have struck his head on a rock. But didn’t. The horse came over to him, looked down as if to offer an apology. The boy would have nothing to do with the horse. I swear I could almost see a smile on the creature’s face.

So, what does this story have to do with corporate creatives? Well, during the span of about 30 minutes, I identified several things we can all learn from this episode, such as:

Never wear sneakers when boots are better: Be sure to have the appropriate tools with you to do the job at hand. Second-best tools result in second-best efforts.
When things start to get away from you, rein them in: When you feel just the slightest hint that you’re losing control, take a breath, calm yourself, and ask yourself “What will it take to put things back into perspective?”
If the ride seems a bit bumpy, don’t let go of the reins: As you move through your projects, sometimes scope creep sets in. Rather than throwing your hands up in disgust, hold on, take control, and bring the presence of mind to the situation. If you let go, things could turn out badly.
When you fall—no matter how hard—get back onto the saddle right away: There will be times when you may not present the best work due to a multitude of reasons. When that happens, get up, brush off the dirt, take a deep breath, and get right back into the game. Don’t look back. One thing I know about animals, it’s extremely hard to teach them to back up. Humans on the other hand backtrack all the time. Keep moving forward, chaulk up mistakes and missteps to experience, and move forward.

This trip out west has taught me so many things. As I watch the animals live their lives each day, avoiding the terrible chance of being eaten alive by something higher up on the food chain, I have learned that as long as I stay true to myself, keep my wits about me, and stay present in the moment I am likely to make it through even the toughest days.

After all, nobody is going to eat me alive.

Tell us about your experiences in nature that have helped you to learn more about life, yourself, and how you can apply those lessons to being a corporate creative professional.

Ciao!

Becky

The Tortoise or the Hare—“Slow” Minds Lead to Greater Creativity

2010-06-01T18:39:00.001-07:00

A few days ago I wrote a blog about the potential linkage between creative minds and schizophrenia. Today, I would like to talk about another article I read a few months ago discussing how a “slow mind may nurture more creative ideas.”

After all, we creative types are never satisfied with one truth…are we? There are so many ways to look at things.

Anyway, this new article focused on research by Rex Jung, Ph. D., from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and his colleagues. They found that “creativity correlates with low levels of the chemical N-acetylaspartate, which is found in neurons and seems to promote natural health and metabolism.”

So, does this mean I’ll be able to lose weight quicker because I’m creative? Hardly.

Jung and his colleagues concluded that, “creative people had lower white-matter integrity in the region connecting the prefrontal cortex to a deeper structure called the thalamus as compared to their less creative peers.” Thus, having slower communication between some parts of the brain resulting in more disparate ideas, novelty, and creativity, he claimed.

In fact, Paul Thompson, Ph. D., from the University of California, Los Angeles, acknowledged that, “sheer mental speed might be good for things like chess...but, you don’t necessarily think of writing novels or creating art as being something that requires sheet mental speed.”

Based on all this research I’ve read over the past few weeks, I’d like to make a conclusion of my own. From my perspective, creative professionals don’t have anything to worry about as far as being slow-minded or challenged mentally. Rather, we provide a great intellectual service to the industries we serve and to the organizations and clients we support.

We offer solid and thoughtful reflection when considering our projects that may take days, weeks, or even years to complete. We are dedicated in our passion and drive and yes, we think outside the realm of traditional reason at times; but honestly, that is what makes us, and what we do, so special.

I encourage you to embrace your creative side and celebrate your ability to see things from multiple perspectives. After all, we as artists bring the exceptional moments to life each and every day through our work, mentoring, patience, and ability to embrace the “left-of-center” thinking we so naturally call our “normal.”

Fast or slow…tortoise or the hare…when it all comes down to it, I love being a creative professional. How about you?

Ciao!

Are Creative People Considered Borderline Schizophrenics?

2010-05-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I was reading one of the many newsletters I receive and this headline caught my eye, “Creativity, Schizophrenia Share Similarities in the Brain.”

Of course, this got me to thinking—and wondering if maybe I should stop thinking.

According to a recently released study from Sweden, both creative people and schizophrenics share a common amount of dopamine in the brain. It stated that dopamine, along with serotonin, is a powerful neurotransmitter, which sends messages via the nerve cells in the brain.

Many problem-solving tests were conducted in order to find highly creative “specimens” to compare the D2 receptors of their brains to those of schizophrenics. In both cases, D2 receptors were low.

Researchers then pointed out that highly creative people in general have a higher likelihood of mental illness in their family. Further, it went on to say, “Creativity itself has also been associated with modestly higher risk for both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.”

Lastly, researchers concluded that both groups shared a talent of “drawing unusual, sometimes bizarre links between thoughts and concepts.” And that this might explain why creative—and mentally handicapped—people provide less obvious solutions to problems.

Well, at least researchers said we were talented.

I, however, take this research with a grain of salt. I am thankful that I draw atypical conclusions and provide “out-of-the-box” thinking. If I didn’t, my world may be filled with too much grey and not enough color.

Please read the article, and then share with us what you have to say about the research and it’s meaning.

Caution: Atypical thinking and problem solving may be required. Are you up for the challenge?

Ciao!

Becky

Be True to Yourself and Let Your Inner Style Shine

2010-05-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks I have been traveling to the Caribbean and to conferences within the U.S. And I must say, the experience has been eye-opening.

While in the Caribbean I noticed so many colors, fashions, and architectural styles that I had forgotten about when I was being surrounded by traditional American home architecture day-in and day-out. So I took note of the stucco finishes, the intricate, iron window treatments, the boisterous flower colors, and the amazing blue of the ocean.

Men wore colorful shirts with prints ranging from flowers to flying fish. I don’t see that every day in New York. The men I see are in button down shirts in solids or plaids usually in blue, white, or maybe…wait for it…pink. The Caribbean men chose color in their lives ranging from bright, saturated color to soft pastels.

This past weekend I also attended a conference called “Live Your Best Life,” hosted by Oprah in celebration of her “O Magazine’s” tenth anniversary. Needless to say, there was color everywhere. Gigantic posters of flowers, womens' clothing, and the presentations themselves were all a burst of springtime color. It was a feast for the eyes. I attended Nate Berkus’ presentation because as an interior designer, he has an eye for color, style, creativity, and best of all the things that make us feel good. One of his comments that resonated with me was “if you touch it every day, then it should be beautiful.”

As a creative professional, we sometimes lose sight of the things that help to make us happy. We generally have items in our office space or cube that we love or that bring us moments of joy.

Nate recommends to help keep things fresh that we move things around so you’re seeing them again for the first time. “It helps to generate a new-found sense of creativity,” he said. He was, of course, talking about moving things around in the home, but why not do the same thing at your office? You spend a tremendous amount of time there, so why not surround yourself with beautiful things? They don’t have to be expensive, just beautiful to you.

For example, he talked about his toothbrush holder. I know...too much information! But his point was, he bought a cut glass goblet at a flea market for $3 and that is now is toothbrush holder. He enjoys looking at it each day and it represents something of beauty to him. He also suggested that following trends may not be best for everyone because trends may not be representative of your personal style. Go with what makes you happy rather than what the industry tells you is the most important, hot trend. One of the comments from this conference that resonated with me the most was something Oprah said a few times over the three days. It was, “I don’t know what the future holds. But, I know who holds the future.”

So as creative professionals, let’s look to our lives for inspiration and to those things around us for a fresh perspective, a renewed sense of self, and a reflective moment on why we love being creative.

Remember, trends come and go. And our personal style may even change at times. But, by being true to ourselves only we can know for sure what the future holds; and if that future is reflected in your design you are already ahead of the game.

Ciao!
Becky

Your Right Brain Missed You. It’s Time for Some Spring Cleaning!

2010-04-01T06:04:00.001-07:00

Moody March is finally over—thank goodness! And following in the footsteps of the American tradition, it’s time for a bit of spring cleaning wouldn’t you say?

Even my dog, Abby, has gotten into the spirit of things. She’s shedding her old, worn winter coat, and is growing in her new, shiny, spring coat. Maybe that’s what we all should do to infuse our creativity in the springtime, shed the old and sprout the new—just like the trees, flowers, grass, birds, and animals.

Take a moment to think about how you could start the spring cleaning process. Try not to overwhelm yourself with the mountain, but rather take one small piece of the hill and climb it. And be sure to have some fun doing it.

Daniel Pink, author of “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,” talks about something called FedEx Days, founded by an Australian software company. FedEx Days are days when employees get to work on any non-work-related project and must complete it within 24 hours. Now I think these folks are on to something. There is nothing I can think of to get the creative juices flowing more than to do something completely outside your “work” zone.

Take this scenario for instance. If you’re an in-house designer, you probably use PhotoShop, InDesign, Flash, and a few other software applications to do your job. Well, in your spring cleaning mode, maybe you pick up a pencil and paper and draw something, or get outside with your camera, or go see a play.

Take another scenario, if you’re a copywriter or editor, maybe you want to shut down your work projects and complete a short creative writing project—maybe the first chapter of that book you’ve always wanted to write—while sitting in a sunny room filled with color and spring fragrances.

If you’re a painter, put the brushes down and go to a museum, visit a beautiful building for architectural inspiration, or just sift through a few colorful coffee table books at your favorite bookstore.

The goal with your spring cleaning molehill project is not to be perfect, but to give your much-strained right brain a chance to bounce back and be creative.

You get the picture.

What are you going to do for your spring cleaning project, to step out of your winter dole drums, and to leap into the sunshine of creativity?

We were born to create so get out there and engage the right side of your brain. It’s missed you.

Ciao!

Becky

Getting Creative Juices Flowing When You’ve Got No Juice

2010-03-19T05:48:00.000-07:00

March has certainly come in like a lion for me. I live in the northeast, specifically northern New Jersey. And this month we've seen our fair share of Mother Nature's wrath. The first weekend of the month, we lost power for two days due to heavy snowfall. The second weekend of the month, we lost power for four days due to the "storm with no name," or the "daylight savings time storm," a.k.a. low-level hurricane. Whatever you want to call it; it was pretty devastating.

I grew up in an agricultural community. We had acres and acres of land around our home. We had a well for drinking water. And inevitably, each winter we'd lose power for a few days to a week at a time. So, I knew what to do when the power went out.

When we lost power this month, however, I had to quickly adjust to not having my computer, the Internet, television--not that that bothered me much, a fridge, and heat. My husband said something very profound at the time, "Adversity breeds creativity." Well, to me, that was genius.

So, here's my thought.

When you've found yourself running low on creative juice, try to do something you haven't had to do in a while. Go without power, or at least pretend that you don't have power. It forces you to go outside more, to see nature in all its glory. We had to find a way to entertain ourselves. We had to "think outside the box," which as a creative person I'm certain you've heard that more than once. We had to look adversity in the eye and say, "Hmm. I am strong enough to overcome. Just you watch me." And we did!

After it was all over, I felt more energized than I had been in the past few weeks. It was refreshing to be able to jump back into life with a fresh perspective.

So, when you're challenged with an adverse situation, take a step back. Take a breather. Go outside and see what there is to see. I mean really look at things. Sit for a while and be still, silent. Close your eyes if you feel like it. Lay on the floor or ground with your arms and legs outstretched. Take the time to let the creative juices flow. You might just surprise yourself on what you end up channeling.

What do you do to get the creative juices flowing in times of adversity?

Share your thoughts below.

Ciao!
Becky

How are you fostering innovation in 2010?

2010-03-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

As the first quarter of the new decade comes to a close, I have seen a couple articles about innovation lately, particularly about Google and how its “angle’s” spread their wings. In the March 8 edition of Business Week, Spencer Ante and Kimberly Weisul wrote about how Google’s past employees have networked and invested in 200 fledging companies since 2005. They like to swap investment ideas and back startups together. They have taken an opportunity, put it through the innovation machine and come out on top with a new and improved model, shaping the wave of innovation.

Why not do the same thing in your organization and your life in 2010?

Below are some tips on how you, as creative professionals, might consider bringing innovation into the workplace. It’s not a comprehensive list, but one to help you get started and thinking about ways to empower yourself, your staff, and all those around you to think outside the “pizza box.”

Guidelines—Innovation is not about hard fast rules, but rather is about guidelines and principles. Foster the loose barriers and allow people to have some wiggle room. Rigidness only leads to breakage.
Fearlessness—Drive fear out of your organization. People working in an environment where they fear making mistakes or not “fitting in” will reserve their best work for outsiders. Consider keeping the workplace filled with enlightenment where creative ideas are rewarded and blame storming is replaced with brainstorming.
Mistakes—Yes making mistakes are a way of learning new things. Many inventors created new products by making mistakes with their original idea. Look at how the microwave was invented. Truly by accident. I’m not saying reward people for their mistakes, but look at ways in which mistakes can help lead you in a new direction.
Physical Stimuli—Are the walls in your office drab, grey, or plain in color? Infuse some new color into the workplace, even if it’s your own home. Paint one wall a striking, bold color that makes you want to create and want to be there. Add some colorful artwork or sculpture, whatever turns your mind into an innovation machine.
Tolerate Ambiguity—Einstein once said, “Not everything that counts can be counted. Not everything that can be counted counts.” Embrace the soft skills and way of thinking. There is much to be said about the creative thinking process and how it enhances even the most mundane tasks.
Partners—Make clients and customers your partners in innovation. Listen to what they have to say. Often times, their complaints lead to the innovation of a new product line or revenue stream.
Informal and Spontaneous Effort—In many instances, people you work with are innovative because of their activities outside the organization. Embrace this and encourage it. Resist making the innovation process so rigid that it hinders the fluidity and flexibility needed to be truly creative.
Analysis Paralysis—Avoid analysis paralysis at all costs. Overanalyzing causes over-engineering.
Buy-In—Always get leadership buying, even though you know a revolt doesn’t start with the king. It just makes it easier if they are on board with the idea.
Resource Attractors—Rather than assigning people—or resource allocation—let those who are attracted to the cause be involved. If you invite those who don’t want to be there, they more than likely will not want to contribute and may not be capable of embracing the innovation concept.

Innovation is something creative people take for granted. We are always looking at things in different ways. What if we changed the color here? What if that angle were just a little different over there? What impact would we create if the lighting were little lower? You know how it goes. We tweak and try and test things out until eureka! We have it. Something that sings to us and makes others sigh with wonder.

What tips do you have for innovation in the workplace? How have you been successful at creating an environment that embraces innovation and fosters creativity as part of the normal, everyday workflow?

Please share your comments, suggestions, and innovative ideas here.

Ciao!

~Becky