Creative Archives - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

Being Creative in Business

We have all been hearing about this “new depression” a lot lately. How can we not? We are flooded daily with it. No matter where we turn; TV, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines….even the corner market, it is all people are talking about.

Many companies, especially small businesses are having to close their doors due to rising expenses of day to day operations, this tax, that fee…it can be maddening! Owners are trying to think of more and more ways to cut corners so they can survive while keeping as many employees as possible. Methods used today, were not even a consideration five years ago. That would be to go “virtual” or locally outsourcing some of the work. When you consider the expense an in-house employee costs the company, its well worth considering.

The age of technology has never been stronger, or more advanced than today. Many positions companies handle in-house could be easily outsourced, saving the company money while at the same time allowing owners to not only focus on more important tasks at hand, but in keeping their doors open saving many employee’s only source of income.

It’s very simple really…think of the overhead expenses of in-house employees; supplies, office equipment, furniture, liability insurance, workmen’s comp, taxes, SS, benefit packages (the list goes on and on and on). All of this on top of the employee’s salary. Outsourcing to a “Virtual Assistant” for administrative support, marketing, copywriting, time/schedule management and other various duties they take off your plate, you no longer have all of those expenses. This allows not only the business owner, but their in-house employees to have more time to focus on other, more import things. Businesses “contract” out to Virtual Assistants to do the work, paying only the rate and expenses for duties actually performed. No longer having to worry about someone out sick, time wasted at the coffee machine today, smoke breaks or most importantly…the added expenses. Virtual Assistants are finally coming to the forefront of business even though we have been around since the early 90s.

Employers often think of the negative side. They worry if work is being completed…or most often, they are not quite ready to turn any control over to an outside source. The thing you must remember when working with a VA is this: the Virtual Assistant is also in business and as such, not an employee but more of a partner. If you look good, we look good! It is that simple. It is wise to always select someone willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement, as this is what protects both parties. Also, make sure they have a legit business license, showing they are as serious about their reputation as they will be yours. Ask for references and follow up with them.

The key issue is to choose someone you can trust and would be willing to hand over some of the decision making to. It truly ties their hands if they have to be constantly asking for your approval. It also is very frustrating for the VA. You hire us to save you time, not make it one more person you have to watch over. Trust us to do our jobs so you only have to worry about yours. We ARE competent and experienced…that is why you chose us, right? Once you decide to take that plunge, you will not regret it. My clients wonder why they didn’t do it long ago.

Virtual Assistants are contracted nationwide to help alleviate some of the pressures. We have allowed businesses, who otherwise would have had to close their doors, to remain open. You can find articles and discussions on “VAs” from Entrepreneur.com to Good Morning America. All of which agree, is the newest method of doing business that makes practical sense. Especially now when so many are having to downsize or risk going under, this method can help save in-house positions as they are now able to focus on bringing in the money.

Consider any position or duty you may currently have that is online or via phone as a “virtual” opportunity to save money! Whether it is the entire position, or removing the daily mundane tasks that tie you up so much, it will save you time and money that can be better spent on more important issues you need to focus on yet never seem to have the time. Bookkeepers, accountants, administrative assistants, personal assistants…you name it. Technology has never been better, utilize it do not fear it!

You can chose your new VA from anywhere in the country considering everything is done through other mediums. It will take time to get used to the idea of being able to pick up the phone, email, or fax your instructions. It will also take a little time for you and your new VA to get used to one another. You will need to convey what procedures you prefer or how you would compose correspondence. Once you settle in, you will have peace of mind knowing things are being completed in a manner in which you would yourself. While watching others close their doors, you will find comfort in that your business is secure and money is being spent wisely.

If you are curious, do some online research yourself and you will understand the true value a VA would add to, not only your business but your personal life as well.

Master A-Z of Creative Thinking Soft Skills

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have” – Maya Angelou.

Let me start by asking you a question. Choose the correct alternative from the options given below:-

What kind of example of creativity can be found at work?

Conducting successful content brainstorming sessions for/with your team/s.
Embracing challenges by taking risk of trying a new way of doing things or developing new ideas.
Asking questions rather than making assumptions to explore new possibilities results in growth.
Accepting constructive criticism/feedback to foster your ideas, work fairly and continue to learn.
Interacting with individuals having diverse thoughts, ideas, backgrounds, and mindsets.
None of the above.
All of the above.

If you select option ‘G‘ your answer is correct. You understand the true meaning of creativity but if your answer is incorrect ‘Don’t worry about it’ like any other soft skill creativity skill can be learned, developed, nurtured, and cultivated. Creativity at work is the potential to exhibit dynamic, innovativeness. It is defined as the ability to see existing objects or processes and combine them in different ways for new purposes or to solve existing issues.

Trivia: – Adobe conducted a global survey on creativity where they interviewed 5,000 adults across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. The study discovered that 75% of respondents were under growing pressure to be prolific rather than inventive; ironically, they are simultaneously expected to think imaginatively on the job. The respondents also revealed that they spend only 25% of their time at work creating and the biggest barrier to ingenuity was lack of time. Another research performed by LinkedIn found that Creativity is the most In-Demand Soft Skill companies need in 2020.

It is not an overstatement to say that, “You don’t have to be a genius to be creative.” If you want to unleash creativity at work with the best potential hard work, these tips can help: –

Tips for LEADERS-

Encourage honest brainstorming to unlock team’s originality. Reverse brainstorming, Stop-and-go brainstorming, Philips 66 brainstorming, and Brainwriting are the four most effective methods of brainstorming.
Celebrate individualism that builds a sense of belonging in the enterprise. Recognizing human assets for their unique accomplishments, appreciating their contribution, allowing opportunities to share their honest opinions and ideas are a few major components of belongings.
Create a positive work environment to increase employee engagement. Leading with vision motivates workforces to act with passion, and purpose, thereby inspiring human resources toward a common goal.
Share staff member/s positive suggestions with top management and act on the proposal to boost employee/s motivation to contribute. Reward staff members with monetary or non-monetary rewards for the ideas.
Apprehend risk-takers who are creators, not observers. Define agile audacity to create a secure environment for risk-taking. Classify the best risk taker and reward not success but failure too.
Give them the required tools and techniques to come up with innovative thoughts.
Promote workplace flexibility by encouraging work-life balance, embracing the right two-way communication tools, engaging breaks, providing space for resourceful thinking/ written work/ brainstorming at work to reduce absenteeism, turnover, and retardation.
Make office space more vivacious, lively, and bright. Choosing proper colour schemes, light sources, room temperature, cubical space creates an environment in which jobholders feel more relaxed and ingenious.
Engage manpower in the psychological process of identifying, accessing, determining challenges, and developing problem-solving techniques to nurture a team environment, and persuade collaboration within the team.
Hearten innovational office team building games like Lego quest, Marshmallow challenge, Reverse drawing, Clap-clap, and Circle drawing to keep staff engaged, and connected. It also improves interpersonal relationships and promotes diversity in the organisation.
Stay committed to organizational values, mission, and goals but allow flexibility to forces to bend in the way they need, change their work approach and try different ways to achieve the objective.
Build a continuous learning culture that helps cadre to adapt to new skill sets, acclimatize unexpected changes, and develop the habit of acquiring dexterity, knowledge, and abilities.
Finally, while recruiting and selecting human capital make sure you hire a diverse team with different adroitness and bring fresh perspectives into the business.

Tips for EMPLOYEES-

n. To come up with relevant practical ideas knowing your company’s goals, products and services are essential.

o. Stay away from toxic people to remove negativity in your work. Jumpy, nervous energy, negative views, bad-mouthing, criticism are all traits of a toxic person.

p. Take a mental break from day-to-day responsibilities to explore new ideas and prevent burnout. Set aside a time in a day for thinking about different ideas. During breaks watch/listen/read some industry-related topics to flesh out new thoughts.

q. Stand out by seeking inspiration from other sectors, industries, and markets to get an effective blend of imagination and strategic thinking.

r. While watching/ listening/ reading keep a notebook with you or use a notepad on your computer or phone to note all the propositions (even the weirdest ones), examine them, and grow them.

s. Look for several possible alternatives to address critical issues, think over each solution before making a decision.

t. Be curious and ask more questions. To drive your creative thinking and to connect with the world around you gain deep insights, develop more innovative solutions, be broadminded, ask for clarifications, and don’t accept blindly whatever is told to you.

u. Attend training sessions/ seminars/ webinars in methods such as lateral thinking, brainstorming, and mind mapping.

v. Take a risk to face to fear of uncertainty to achieve something despite the possibility of failure. Risk-taking and creative thinking goes hand in hand. If you make any mistake, admit it, take ownership of it, learn from it and avoid repeating them.

w. Exercise, yoga, and meditation can open creative doors for you and make you feel less stressed, more calm/ relaxed, keep the mind sharp, and alleviate anxiety.

x. Do what delights you to be more stimulated and fervent for critical thinking and conceptualizing ingenuity.

y. Use the 6 Thinking Hats technique by dividing up the different styles of thinking into 6 ‘hats’- logic, emotion, caution, optimism, originative, and control.

z. The influence of intrinsic motivation is phenomenal as an individual performs an activity for their inherent satisfaction rather than for external rewards or pressure. It pushes us to go above and beyond our obligations in our work. Stay internally stimulated, stay innovative.

I would conclude with the thoughts of Steve Jobs, “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.

Innovation and Creative Competency

School teaches that there is one right answer. As students we are supposed to figure out that answer. It’s the one that matches what it says in the answer key at the back of the book or for the test.

But business and life isn’t like that. There isn’t just one right answer for most of the problems and situations we encounter. In business and in life we need to be creative, to explore many options, to be able to discover something or a process that is innovative.

It is too easy, too comfortable, and usually a mistake to think that we are searching for the one right answer. Instead, in business we are looking for as many options as possible and then be able to make a choice or choices among them. If we think there is only one right answer we will jump on the first answer that comes up that would work. Usually the first idea is one that comes up fast because it is common and over-used. You are better off making your choice because it won the comparison discussion, not just because it was the first and only idea expressed.

Innovation means something new to the world or at least new to the situation. To come up with something new it is necessary to tap into the creativity of as many options as possible. That will work best when you open up to other viewpoints, brainstorm to bring out all types of responses, and include multiple ideas and multiple versions of similar ideas.

Creativity. Without open minds embracing many ideas and options, the road to innovation will be completely fogged in. With the openness for creativity, the road will have many dead ends but will also have plenty of room for u-turns, start-overs, and what-ifs.

What is creative competency? It does not require that you be an artist or writer or any of the ‘creativity’ occupations. Instead, all that is required is that your mind be open to possibilities and you share and keep sharing the hundreds of ideas you have, rather than squashing them by saying, ‘No one would think it is a good idea,’ or ‘That’s silly.’

The ideas shared with others often form the germ of an idea to expand and share back.

If I share an idea I have with you and you share one with me, we both now have two ideas, or many more as we explore how to mix and match and build on those ideas. Ideas multiply like rabbits if only you have an open mind and let them.

New Creative Business Ideas for Interested Entrepreneurs

Young and interested wannabe entrepreneurs are looking for new creative business ideas to help them create a successful business. There are millions of businesses out there and if you’re planning to start your own, you better come up with something new and unique. Being creative in this competitive market is a must. You can only survive if you are spirited enough to stand out and be different from the rest of your competitors. There’s a huge market out there, that’s true. But the problem is how can you attract all those customers and create a profitable business?

New creative business ideas are just around the corner. You only need to be unique and go beyond simple ideas. A lot of people desire to make money from their own homes and look for ways to use their abilities in developing a business with a good earning potential.

For example, in a burger stand business, instead of serving common burgers, you need to come up with something people have not tried before. You need to make calculated risk to be unique and be remembered by your clients, in other words, you have to find your niche. Once you find it then that is the time you can focus on creating ground-breaking ideas for your business to succeed. You need to be creative as far as business branding and marketing is concerned. People are thirsty for fresh ideas and extraordinary things. Creativity makes brands and profiles stand out in the crowd.

Consumers are different today. They not only buy what they need, they patronize things that they can leave without. Businesses nowadays, are not only offering the basic necessities of the consumers. For your business to succeed, you have to make your target market think that they need your products and services. Have you heard about the guy who made money out of video game coaching? How about the website that was created to come up with the best excuses for being absent at work? Yes, these ideas are out of this world. You may even think you don’t need services like these but because of the creative minds behind these businesses, people are using these services.

New creative business ideas are essential in developing a successful business. Think out of the box, as they say. Creativity is important in making sure that you are a different and that you stand out above everyone else. There’s nothing wrong with being typical. But if you are talking about making money and establishing a well-recognized brand, you need to have new creative business ideas to be successful.

Creative Marketing Ideas For Shoe Stores

During an economic recession, the retail industry has taken a big hit as customers simply don’t have as much discretionary income as they used to. Whether your shoe store is part of a large chain or is just a small independent retailer, you should always be on the lookout for new, interesting marketing ideas that can stimulate business. Here are some great ways to put your best foot forward.

In-store events– Customers need to know the benefits of your shoes, be it that they are edgy and fashionable or that they provide a comfortable walking experience. Hosting an in-store event like a fashion show or a teaching session will not only generate buzz and awareness for your store, but also sell a lot of shoes! Have your featured products fully-visible using a vertical banner or even a window cling so customers know which shoes they’re going to learn about.

Loyalty cards– Most women have a shoe fetish, so create a loyalty program that keeps her coming back for more shoes. This could be a punch card or you could even use a computer-tracking system. After a certain amount of pairs purchased, your customer will receive a free (or at least discounted) pair. Not only do you sell more shoes, but you also retain loyal customers.

Shoe care– A great way to make your store more marketable is by offering shoe care services such as shining, stretching, and even minor repair. If you really want to offer a first-class experience, offer complimentary shoe repair services. You probably won’t be able to do this in-store, but set-up an agreement with a local shoe hospital or cobbler. Your client will appreciate the VIP treatment, and this ensures they’ll visit your store at least twice (once to drop off the shoes and again to pick them up). Odds are they’ll find a new pair in at least one of those visits. Display vinyl decals at your cash wraps letting customers know these special services you offer, and make sure your sales team is mentioning it as well.

Sponsorship/donation– Sponsoring local events is a great way to build a positive business reputation. In exchange, you’re usually able to advertise at these events with a vinyl banner or in the program. Another unique idea is to create a shoe-donation program. Work with charity groups such as the Salvation Army to donate a pair of shoes for every X amount you sell. This is a huge PR boost and makes your business socially-responsible. It has certainly worked for TOMS.

Family bundles– If you are a shoe store that caters to all customers (men, women, and children), create a family bundle package. Offer a special discount when customers buy a pair of shoes for every member of the family, or even have a buy one-get one special. You’re a one-stop shop for the family, but it may take a special deal for customers to realize that.

Creativity & Entrepreneurship: The Creative Evolution of an Intellectual Property(c)

In each of us, there is a creative spark – a unique purpose and destiny for which we are born. Most of us have forgotten what that special gift is, or we are afraid to live it. My successful secret formula as outlined in my seminars, e-book and CD’s will help you unlock your creative potential and discover your purpose in life. Passion, right-action, hard work and a commitment to excellence will create the quantum leap you desire in your life today!

I have been involved in entrepreneurship, creative endeavors and public speaking for many, many years. First of all, I would like to say that I incorporate a unique blend of lessons and concepts that I have researched, studied, learned and experienced over the years to access my own creativity, to develop my ideas and launch my own intellectual properties and entrepreneurial ideas into successful business ventures.

In my seminars I incorporate ancient secret wisdom, creative lessons and exercises to open you up to the deeper parts of your mind, heart and soul, where creativity is born and nurtured. After that we get down to the business aspects which will include how to protect your intellectual property, strategic business planning, funding your idea/business, developing prototypes, marketing, advertising, promotions and sales, and others important steps to launch or expand your ideas and business–and some of the challenges you may face and pitfalls to avoid.

As most of you know, I have created a unique life for myself. I am an entrepreneur, executive producer, writer and motivational speaker. I have many, many interest. I am writing my autobiography: The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword, polishing up the first book of my mystery series: Prince D’Arcy de Montebello, writing another book on entrepreneurship and I do consulting and public speaking. I also love to teach. I would have to say that my top three passions are: creating, writing and helping others any way I can.

There is an imminent need for love, and light, and personal empowerment in the world today as never before. Many of you may also know I ran for the presidency in 2004 as a true-democrat and write-in candidate in the eleventh-hour to “right the wrongs of America!” So I know first hand about the need to bring about truth, peace, love and compassion in this very disturbing and violent world. And the key begins within each of us. That’s why I have decided to focus a lot of my energies on teaching others about creativity and how to put your creative ideas to work to make you money through entrepreneurial ventures. There is an huge need for this, especially now.

My philosophy is that if each of us are lifting our own light up, in our own way, through positive thinking, positive ideas and creative thinking then we can focus on building or growing or expanding our own businesses and entrepreneurial ventures. This is something each of us can do right now. We can choose to focus on the light within and bring it forth and share with others, instead of focusing on all the fear and negativity in the world…I call it “drowning in the illusion”. So you can chose, right now to either sink or swim! And that is where I come in. To help you swim, to help you soar, to help you fly!

We all know that Light is the first element of creation! So, let there be light! Light is the creative force, the life-giving force in the entire universe, and in each of us. Don’t you feel your heart lifting right now. I do. Every time I think about this, or hear this, or am reminded of this, my spirit soars! Isn’t that beautiful? So I hope your mind and heart are opening right now, because this is light! This is Truth! And from this truth, this pure light, comes creativity. That’s why I call my book and workshop: “The Creative Evolution of an Intellectual Property”, because it is an evolution, but it begins with light–a thought, a bright idea–a light bulb goes off!

I draw from my own real-life experiences and knowledge that I have acquired over my lifetime thus far. I have learned from the masters and many experts in a variety of important fields and industries. Many have helped me to achieve harmony, balance and creativity in my inner-personal life and others have guided me in business, legal, marketing, advertising, promotions and sales. But there is nothing like hands-on experience–trial and error–learning from your own successes and mistakes.

I encourage all of you to DREAM & THINK BIG! But take realistic steps to achieve your desired goals.

Join one of JJK’s dynamic tele-seminars–see website below.

“Creativity is coloring outside the lines, and entrepreneurship is living outside the box!” JJK

Creative Use of KPI-SWOT Strategic Planning

A key performance indicator SWOT is an assessment tool of crucial outcomes of the performance of a particular company or an essential indicator of exact health status of an institution. Key performance indicators are procedures that stakeholders and managers use to determine their firm’s achievements. SWOT analysis an approach to planning which involves the checking and measuring of performance against expectations. This type of strategic planning is known as performance-driven planning. Strategic planning key objective is to instigate and agree on effective strategic planning processes.

This article focuses on how the SWOT analysis creates, classifies and prioritizes key performance indicators and identifies internal potential and weaknesses and external opportunities by conducting an environmental assessment. The swot analysis strategy is a tool used to conducts brainstorming to come up with ways to improve the performance of an institution and minimize the weaknesses and threats and augmenting strengths. There are several procedure involved in strategic planning engine: the performance of kip SWOT-idea cross impact analysis, formulating of plans, objectives, missions and goals.

After selecting the proposed plan, strategic planning engine performs a cross-impact analysis to establish the impact of the proposed plan on the firm’s ability to accomplish its kip-SWOT. It is also the role of strategic planning to finalize and implement, monitor and evaluate plans and their influence on strategies and goals of the institutional kip-SWOT. For an institution to come up with an effective working set of kip’s SWOT, the organizing committee must create a scheme of prioritizing the company’s activities and events. The main aim is to develop a feasible plan that represents the long-term survival and development plan of the organization.

It is advisable for the company to formulate a number of prospective plans so as to be in a position of trying out some of them to come up with the best and most effective plan that is compatible with the company’s objectives and goals. For a performance driven plan to be effective, valuable measures must be implemented and its value ascertained. Identification of SWOTs is crucial because successive steps in the course of planning for accomplishments of the chosen objective may result from the SWOTs. First, the committee members must make certain whether the objective is achievable, given the SWOTs. If it is not attainable, the organization must come up with different objectives and the process should be repeated again.

Once an appropriate SWOT has been established, the strategies should be sufficiently defined and correctly categorized. As they plan this data, organizers should also create a kpi update calendar that shows each data cycle and knows when new numbers will be there, who will gather the data, who will be in charge of the reports, calculations and giving out the outcome. All members of the company should agree upon a certain plan and should work together to ensure that their business achieves its long-term objectives and becomes successful. SWOT analysis is an effectual development tool that companies should use to assess their performance and identify various situations that will assist them to attain their objective goals.

Naming a Business – Ideas to Be Creative

Naming a business is more than just a title or description of your business, it is the initial representation of what you produce/supply/offer. So, with this in mind, you’ll want to name your business something memorable / catchy / funny / unusual.

What are your options when naming a business?

Your first and easiest option would be to pay a specialist branding company to come up with a name for you. This may or may not be the perfect name for your business, but I can tell you it will certainly be expensive!

Second option would be to throw some names around between friends and family and pick the one that seems to stand out the most. This is a very hit and miss option and you are relying on people who may not be the most objective.

The third option (and in my opinion the best) would be to do some serious targeted research on the internet and find out exactly what people on the internet search for. If people are searching for specific words/terms, then surely it would make sense to adopt those words when naming a business.

I use a free tool from Google called the ‘Keyword Selector Tool’. It allows you to put in your main keyword or phrase, and it will then generate a list of keywords that are directly related.

The best way to use the tool is to try and look for synonyms (similar words that mean the same) for your keyword. e.g. ‘Dog’/’Canine’.

Make a list of as many words as you can and put them into a text document. You can then add/mix/sort all the keywords until you come up with a great business name.

The keyword selector tool will also tell you how many times per month that word or phrase has been searched for (a great indicator of popularity). It’s obvious that the more times the keyword is searched for, the public must relate more to that keyword than others.

Now is the time to ask family and friends their opinion. Now the real research has been done and naming a business is not just a stab in the dark.

Once you have decided on a few names, then you need to go and see if they have already been taken. If not, get it registered as soon as possible and then get yourself a domain name. Even if you have no intention of using the internet for promotion just yet, don’t dismiss it out of hand, the way things are going, the internet will be an important part of many businesses in the future.

Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky – 6 Elements of a Successful Creative Team-Business Book

Generating ideas is easy. It’s executing them once they’re exposed that’s challenging. For six years, Scott Belsky, creative industry guru and entrepreneur, studied prolific creative professionals. He found that those most successful followed similar procedures; which seems counter-productive for creatives. He details his findings in his new book entitled, “Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming The Obstacles Between Vision & Reality.” Following is the sixth article in a series highlighting Belsky’s message. Here, the focus is building your creative team. Successful team leaders must strike a balance between flexibility and expectations, idea generation and execution and helpful disagreements and consensus.

Engage Initiators in Your Creative Pursuits. Effective managers measure a prospective employee’s ability to take initiative, rather than exclusively focusing on their experience. Productive teams are powered by people who pursue whatever interests them, even if sometimes prematurely. The best indicator of future initiative is past initiative. “Initiators ” attach themselves to an interest and then relentlessly advance it. When assembling creative teams, probe candidates for their true interests. Measure the extent to which the candidate has pursued those interests. Ask for specific examples and seek to understand lapses of time between interests and activity. Nothing will assist your ideas more than a team who possesses real initiative.

Cultivate Complementary Skill Sets. Some designers use the letter “T” as a model. The letter’s top, long, horizontal line represents an individual’s breadth of experience. The tall, vertical line represents a depth of experience in one particular area. Each team member should have both a general breadth of skills that supports collaboration and good chemistry, and a deep expertise in a single area, such as graphic design or business.

Provide Flexibility for Productivity. Realistically, ideas are made to happen in spurts. Rather than measuring work by time spent working, creative teams should embrace transparency; and strive to build trust between colleagues. Create rules and norms for the sake of efficiency, rather than as a result of mistrust. Some companies have implemented programs, including ROWE (Results Only Work Environment).A ROWE environment compensates employees based on their achievement of specified goals, vs. the number of hours worked. The ultimate goal is to empower employees to make their own decisions about when and where they work as long as mutually agreed upon goals are accomplished. People thrive when their judgment and autonomy are respected. ROWE and other attempts at hands-off management require establishment of concrete goals that are constantly revisited.

Foster an Immune System That Kills Ideas. A cohesive team develops new ideas and helps eliminate bad ones. Ongoing projects face risks when new ideas arise during the process. The ability to extinguish new ideas is critical to productivity and the capacity to scale existing projects. Team skeptics are always questioning ideas first rather than falling in love with them. They keep the group functioning and on track. Differentiate between skeptics and critics. Critics cling to their doubts and are often unwilling to abandon their convictions. Skeptics contrarily, are receptive to new ideas; they’re just initially wary and critical. The challenge is to balance idea generation and relentless focus. It requires allocating time for open idea exchange along with a healthy level of intolerance for idea generation during execution.

Fight Your Way to Breakthroughs. Conflict commonly occurs in any creative process. It’s a good sign and powerful opportunity to refine your ideas and methods. Successful creative team leaders value the friction that results when opinions vary among passionate creative minds. Despite the opportunities that conflict provides, we tend to shy away from it. Conflict is a by-product of different viewpoints, but don’t let it become a source of apathy. Imagine that a problem’s answer lies somewhere on a spectrum between A and B. The more arguing that takes place at both ends of the spectrum, the more likely it is that the complete terrain of adequate possibilities will be explored. The more individuals involved as the team brainstorms the solution, the better. As creative team leader, promote healthy debate between people with different levels of influence and experience. When you sense shortness or impatience, ask, ” How can we keep all options on the table?” or “Since we’re all trying to find the best solution, why are we getting impatient with each other?” Many successful creative teams share the tenet that they’re comfortable fighting out their disagreements and diverse point of view. But they always share conviction after the meeting. Your team is more likely to conceive breakthroughs if its chemistry is strong enough to capitalize on conflict.

Don’t Become Burdened by Consensus. The ultimate challenge in collaborative projects is understanding how to draw on the best input of all without settling on the lowest common denominator. Consensus can often lead to a lackluster outcome. When working with an extended team of stakeholders, listen to their stories, gather knowledge about all their viewpoints and identify the “extremes” that will differentiate the project. Hold these extremes sacred. Incorporating two extremely different viewpoints into a project might signal an “either/or” decision. But, consensus can often be achieved by taking an “and/and” approach. Teams should not strive for complete consensus at a project’s outset. Preserve the extremes and seek common ground on the rest, otherwise, risk mediocre creations. Choose a process that engages all, while preserving the extremes that make an idea extraordinary.

To build a high-performing creative team, look beyond technical skills. Develop a chemistry that will transform ideas into remarkable accomplishments. To learn more about Making Ideas Happen, visit http://the99percent.com/book.