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Further
Reading ...
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The Do's and Dont's of Creating Business Partnerships - Andrea Pellettiere
The Art of Strategic Alliance I run a small meeting, event and conference planning company based in the New York City area. As an entrepeneur and small business owner with a limited advertising and marketing budget, developing business partnerships...
To Have Your Own Product or Not To Have Your Own Product? That is the Question! - Denise Hall
If you've been working online very long you've probably noticed different people will give you different advice for earning money and building your business. Some will say you have to have your own product to sell. Others will claim you...
The Top Five Reasons For Posting In Online Guestbooks - Keith P Stieneke
An online guest book is a log for people to sign and sometimes leave brief messages when they visit someone’s website. Possibly you’ve posted to, or “signed” one of these guest books at one time when you’ve visited someone’s website. Maybe...
Making Good Use Of Local Banks And Credit Unions For Low Loan Rate Bargains - Mark Askew
With the average 30 year and 15 year fixed-rate mortgages jumping up to several basis points over recent days, consumers who have been holding out hoping to catch the best level of the refinance wave may wonder if they have missed the boat. Not...
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Stimulate Creativity and Learning
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Written By:
Wendy Hearn
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What does cultivating creativity add to the workplace and
your business? The benefits are huge but are often
underestimated by most people. Companies who wish to
progress quickly and stay ahead need to stimulate
creativity and learning among their employees. This goes
beyond just being a desirable thing to do; it's imperative
to the success of your business.
"In a two-year study for the Economic and Social Research
Council, Professor Richard Scase of Kent University
concluded that straitjacketed management attitudes were
'the major barrier to Britain becoming a high-performing
creative economy'. Corporate Britain is still in the grip
of low-trust, low-commitment, command-and-control
management styles that kill innovation and creativity, says
Scase" - Management Today, November, 2000.
Lack of creativity costs companies their leading place in
the market. It inhibits invention and innovation, which
form the backbone of a thriving business. Companies which
fail to develop a culture of creativity will soon find
themselves left behind. People now realise that working
for a company which cultivates creativity is much more
rewarding and as employees are becoming more discerning in
their choice of employers, this may be one factor they
insist upon.
Cultivating an environment of creativity allows you to get
more out of your employees, instead of stifling their
ideas or vision for the company. Creativity encourages
them to ask questions and give feedback on how things can
be improved or changed. It develops their desire for
improvement and their risk-taking ability. It enables
employees to enjoy the process and be rewarded for their
efforts.
Creativity engenders new ideas, which lead to innovation.
The critical part is to put these ideas into action.
Coaching cultivates creativity and encourages people to
act. It stretches employees to go beyond their usual way
of going things, preventing them from becoming stuck in a
rut. In today's economy it isn't enough to say you
believe in creativity; you must prove it by putting it
into practice.
Benefits for the company:
· Being at the forefront of your - continued below ...
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continued ...
profession or
industry
· New products, new services, new ways of doing
things
· Flexibility to change
· The conversion of new ideas into actions
· New markets and improved processes
· Retained workforce
· Effective use of all resources available
When creativity is lacking in a company, the inevitable
consequence is that employees rely on management for
continuous direction and do not benefit from a structured
system of feedback. Possibly there are no regular staff
meetings to allow for sharing of ideas, or perhaps
management don't use coaches to encourage their employees
to reach their full potential.
Companies which don't encourage creativity are often
unaware of what this is costing them. They may have no
vision, mission or purpose which are well communicated to
all their employees. Perhaps you've always operated your
company this way, so you feel there's no need to change.
However, the world economy is changing rapidly and you
need to either keep up with this or get ahead of the game.
A look at the chain of communication in a company gives a
good idea of its creativity level. A structured system of
feedback is necessary to implement ideas fully. Remember
some of the best ideas, even money-savers, originate at
the foot of the ladder.
What can companies do to cultivate creativity? A
combination of things are needed. Time and space to
develop ideas, a structure for those ideas to be acted
upon, full two-way communication throughout the company,
regular meetings, employees being heard, coaching for
individual employees, teams and management. Creativity,
like coaching, is a springboard for action and this is
where the real results lie, not just by talking.
About the Author
Wendy Hearn
Personal and Professional Coach
She works with business owners, professionals, executives and
managers who are ready to enrich their lives. . . finding more
success, fun, balance, joy and time. She coaches one-to-one
with individuals and groups by telephone and email.
http://www.Business-Personal-Coaching.com
wendy@Business-Personal-Coaching.com
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| _Additional Resources ... |
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Creativity Myths - Kal Bishop
Sustained myths about Creativity and Innovation lead to confusion, bad practice and bad decision-making. Some of them include: 1. Creativity requires Creative Types While some theorists assert that there are creativity traits such as tolerance for...
Emotions: A Trader's Worst Enemy; Get Rid of Fear and Greed - You'll be Glad You Did - Jonathan van Clute
Copyright 2005 Jonathan van Clute You hear it over and over and over in books, forums, and chatrooms. Fear and greed, fear and greed, fear and greed. Emotions are a trader’s worst enemy. What are we supposed to do about it? We are human after all....
Tie In With Non-Profits - Kevin Nunley
When the World Trade Center in New York was attacked, many business people didn't know quite how to react. Sadly, we had never seen a disaster on this level. How should we respond? Should we close our doors in mourning? Or should we put our heads...
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