Sparking Innovation and Creativity
SkillPath Seminars

Delivery Method

Seminar

Target Audience
Anyone who would benefit from greater creativity

Summary
With this idea-sparking seminar, you’ll learn to overcome negative beliefs and thinking habits that stifle creativity and replace "old" thinking with new and powerful ways to unleash your creative potential.

Description/Agenda

You’ll learn …

• How to spark innovative thinking that results in new products, new processes and new services
• Ways to tap your creative side to come up with fresh ideas when you need them
• To open your eyes to possibilities and opportunities never before thought of
• How to be a catalyst for creativity in your organization
• And much more!

People who are able to step outside the boundaries of traditional thinking generate new ideas … solve nagging problems … make better decisions … get bottom-line results. With this idea-sparking seminar, you’ll learn to overcome negative beliefs and thinking habits that stifle creativity and replace “old” thinking with new and powerful ways to unleash your creative potential. When you do, you’ll see how your new skills lead to innovations that lower costs, streamline procedures, increase productivity and power up job satisfaction. Register now—and be on your way to a more productive, more innovative workplace.

Program hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Where new ideas come from

• What innovative thought really is—and the 3 keys to unlocking it and putting its power to work for you
• How to foster a creative and innovative workplace environment
• The steps in the creative process that give your ideas meaning
• The 2 critical phases in the development of every idea—and the role your thinking style plays in the process
• The characteristics of innovative thinkers—and what you can do to develop them in yourself and others
• The “Triple H” model of innovation: 3 ingredients necessary for seeing every new idea through, from conception to implementation

How your thinking habits inhibit your effectiveness and affect results

• What your natural thinking style says about the way you make decisions and solve problems—and how it affects your overall effectiveness and success
• Tuning into the signals that you’re practicing “straight-line” thinking
• A tool for assessing your current “creative-thinking quotient”
• You can’t come up with the right solution unless you’re focusing on the right problem: How to make sure you’re working on the real problem
• Traditional approaches to problem solving that signal trouble—and how to avoid them
• The 8 steps to effective problem solving embraced by America’s most innovative and successful companies
• An overview of decision-making styles

Overcoming negativity and other obstacles to an open mind

• Understanding how your perception of a problem or situation influences the way you think about it
• How to change your mindset to see problems as opportunities
• How to make your emotions—both positive and negative—work for you to achieve successful results
• How to turn “I can’t” messages into action-producing “I can” statements
• How to overcome mental blocks, self-defeating habits and other barriers that stifle innovation and keep you from thinking in new ways

Techniques for generating new ideas, solving problems and making decisions

• Mind mapping, clustering and other techniques for uncovering relationships and making associations
• Brainstorming alone or with others to encourage free thinking and idea generation
• How to develop a “What if?” perspective to change or improve entrenched organizational practices and other “sacred cows”
• Flexing your creative muscle: Proven exercises for pumping up your brain and breaking through thinking gridlocks
• Innovative exercises and techniques that will jolt your habitual ways of thinking and challenge you to see problems in ways that reveal hidden solutions
• Techniques for stimulating innovative thinking in a group setting
• How to storyboard to solve complex problems
• How to use lateral thinking to become receptive to new ways of exploring ideas
• How to develop your concentration skills to focus on the “creativity clues” all around you and hone your memory skills to rediscover things you didn’t think you knew
• What you see isn’t necessarily what’s there: The role your senses play in shaping your perceptions and your thinking
• Specific techniques and strategies the world’s most innovative companies use to brainstorm for new products and product improvements

Keeping your ideas focused and on target

• How to stay focused and direct your creative efforts once you find you’re moving in the right direction
• 3 models of strategic thinking—and how to decide which one to use for a particular problem-solving or decision-making situation
• 3 steps for making the best decision when you’re faced with several alternatives
• How to use PMI thinking to judge the merit of an idea
• A simple tool for focusing your energy and evaluating which problem needs your most immediate attention, when several decisions must be made

Putting your ideas into action—with successful results

• A straightforward plan for moving your idea from the thinking stage to successful reality
• Nontraditional tools for accurately predicting the results you planned for
• How to perform a “success analysis” and other techniques for weighing the risk involved in implementing a new idea
• How to ask for and use feedback to fine-tune your ideas
• How to be a catalyst for innovation in your workplace and teach others to think creatively
• How to overcome resistance to change when selling your ideas to others
• How to win allies, resolve conflicts and build a consensus for implementing your ideas

All Date/Location Information