The Creativity Cull

The word “cull” is possibly a bit extreme; it conjures up thoughts of killing and death.  So often ideas are killed off before they even have time to take their first breath.  We are excellent at telling anyone who comes up with an idea what is wrong with it, but we rarely stop to think what the benefits and values of the idea might be.  This can be overcome using the Six Thinking Hats®, which encourages parallel thinking and ensures that all ideas can get a “fair hearing”.

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EU Year of Creativity

Edward de Bono

I believe the year 2009 has been announced as the EU Year of Creativity. I hope this is going to include creative thinking and not just the arts. Read more

Leaders in London

We were asked to support Edward de Bono as he was invited to speak at the Leaders in London main conference. He also held a Masterclass for over 200 eager delegates. 

The line-up was a mixture of household names (Al Gore, Kofi Annan, David Cameron etc) and business keynote speakers (Allan Leighton, Banjamin Zander, Marcus Buckingham). What surprised me the most was the quality of each and every speaker. 

At most conferences you get a range of quality but this really was special. I should point out that I’m not being paid to say this! If you want some free snippets of last years speakers go here.

I am attending again this year and thoroughly recommend the conference.

Barack Obama and You

If ever the importance of good communication skills has been demonstrated it is in Barack Obama.  People have raised major questions over his background, experience, the impact of racial discrimination etc.  However, his ability as a communicator, has transcended all of these. 

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How to implement new ideas when people are reluctant to change?

Six Thinking Hats® is tremendously powerful in addressing this issue.  The parallel thinking nature of Six Thinking Hats® controls those who would normally dominate discussions. It also encourages those who typically would not contribute to a discussion/debate.

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Change is not the only constant

Let me recommend an extraordinary book THE SHOCK OF THE OLD by David Edgerton a professor at Imperial College, London. He reviews technology and global history since c1900 and comprehensively overturns the often used phrase ‘change is the only constant’.

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