The Art of Business - Creativity, Communication & Collaboration

The Art of BusinessKeith De La Rue

SupportPoint User Conference

“Sharing the Experience”March 2009

Are you creative?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/komatsu/

“I don’t have a creative bone in my body!”“I don’t have a creative bone in my body!”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpockele/

How do you view creativity?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moriza/

Understanding creativity

A family of artists…

… Age 67

… Age 75

… but there are many ways to be creative…

Memory test…

• Have you seen this picture?

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Geometric-Extraction-1983-Posters_i915480_.htm

CreativityCreativity

• Why it is important forcollaboration

• How to use it whencommunicating

• Why it is important forcollaboration

• How to use it whencommunicating

Why creativity?

I believe that a focus on creativity is absolutely essential for current business success…

I maintain that creativity is possible and desirable in all forms of work, no matter what people are doing. In particular, knowledge workers require

creativity.– Teresa Amabile, Harvard Business School

The myths of creativity

• The genius myth– Everyone with normal human capacities can

produce creative work in the right circumstances

• The trade-off myth– There is no trade-off between creativity and

productivity, efficiency or work quality

http://www.flickr.com/photos/krisdecurtis/

Creativity for leaders

• Support people emotionally• Monitor people’s work positively –

give positive feedback, or givethe information they need to dotheir work better

• Recognise good performance, particularly in public• Consult with people - ask for views, respect opinions

and act on their needs and wishes• Collaborate - spend time working with team members

on specific tasks

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fncll/

There is no monopoly on ideas!There is no monopoly on ideas!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaetanlee/

Key principles of effective collaboration

• Trust• Openness• Recognition• Individual respect• Positive encouragement

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hroslyn/

The iVelocity experience

• Sharing Product knowledge with Sales• Everyone contributed• Recognition and rewards• A completely open system• Trust was honoured

Knowledge, communication and learning

It makes no sense whatsoever to have different people in charge of learning on the one hand and the dissemination and sharing of information on

the other. It’s time that knowledge management … and e-learning got together. The same systems. The same people. The same goals - employees

who can perform because they have the information, knowledge and skills that their jobs

demand.– Clive Shepherd, Fastrak Consulting

A knowledge transfer toolkit

Growth modelsGrowth models

• “Top down” can be frustrated• “Grass roots” can wither and die

The “middle-out” model

• Start small• Think big• Get endorsement• “If we could save…”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stopdown/

Communicating a message needs creativity

SupportPoint is a ‘disruptive’ technology in that it challenges many of the traditional notions about the importance of training… Adults learn best by

doing.– Ted Gannan

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomsaint/

Do you have a story to tell?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeevveez/

The natural way to communicate

• Anecdotes• Story fragments• Narrative

– This is how the human brain takes in information

http://www.flickr.com/photos/poldavo/

Gem hunting

• Telecoms consultancy project• Interview process• Fragment mentioned in passing:

– “This is a quality company.We need quality communications.”

• Became by-line of report

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjoe/

The mind is nota vesselto befilled

The mind is nota vesselto befilled

but a fire to be kindledbut a fire to be kindledhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/94693506@N00/

– Plutarch– Plutarch

Does your story have impact?Does your story have impact?

• Clarity• Emotional• Believable• Transport• Surprising• Relevant

• Clarity• Emotional• Believable• Transport• Surprising• Relevant

Text: http://anecdote.com.au/

The one-armed boy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/devcentre/

You each have a story to tellYou have the ability to createCreate your future…

The creative is the place where no-one else has ever been.

You have to leave the city of your comfortand go into the wilderness of your intuition.

What you'll discover will be wonderful.What you'll discover is yourself.

– Alan Alda

The creative is the place where no-one else has ever been.

You have to leave the city of your comfortand go into the wilderness of your intuition.

What you'll discover will be wonderful.What you'll discover is yourself.

– Alan Alda

Thank you!

keith@delarue.net +61 418 51 7676http://acknowledgeconsulting.com/Twitter: @kdelarue