Business Seminars

Inspiring Innovation

Purpose: To imporove and enhance each participant's creative thinking skills and problem solving skills. Participants will experience an improvement in their innovative thinking skills and see the power and efficiency of using common problem solving process in a group setting. Problem solving efficiency and meeting effectiveness will improve. Indivduals and groups will be able to discover root causes of problems as well as a wider range of solutions. Trial and error can be a slow and costly way to solve problems. Each participant's creative awareness is ignited and fueled. Participants leave this workshop motivated to think creatively when approaching problems. This is a fun and experimental learning workshop which will be applied to real world problems.

Expected Benefits

  • Increased awareness and understanding of innovation resulting in an ability to apply various problem solving tools to improve effectiveness
  • An improvement in creative attitude
    • increased curiosity and sensitivity to problems and opportunities for improvement.
    • increased awareness of one's own creative potenial and skills.
    • receptivity to other's ideas and input.
    • more tolerance for ambiguity and unstructured problems.
    • increased desire to initiate new ideas and commitment to act on them.
  • The ability to use a common problem solving process in work requiring interaction with other to make positive change.
  • Improved utilizatioin of time while valuing the individual diversity of participants in a problem solving meeting.

Leadership Development

Purpose: To educate, enhance awareness, and build skills in mid to upper level managers. During this course, each participant's leadership skills will be identified and confronted enabling the participant to utilize their strengths more effectively and change habits, quirks, and behaviors that lead to organizational and career derailment. Participants will be able to see how their personal styles and behaviors effect and impact organizational needs such as managing change, empowering employees, facilitating growth and effectively managing up in the organization.

Expected Benefits As a result of successfully completing this course, participants will:

  • Understand how their creativity style, motivational style, ability to handle stress and relating style impact the people they work with.
  • Understand how a strength can become a weakness when overused.
  • Get personal feedback from expert observers on how they handle a variety of situations.
  • Be able to manage and deal more effectively with employees in a rapidly changing environment.
  • Complete Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Kirton Adaptive-Innovative Profile, Strength Deployment Inventory, and a Values profile.
  • Participants will develop a detailed improvement plan based on their unique skills, strengths, weaknesses, styles and interests.

Creative Problem Solving Profile (CPSP)

Using a profile or inventory helps individuals and teams learn their "personal style" and is effective intervention. The CPSP targets individual preferences in problem solving. Individuals gain insights into their creative strengths and also learn about some problem solving danger zones.
Duration: 4 hours

  

Principles of Creative Thinking

This session is an introduction to the key principles, which underlie most creative thinking techniques. This is an experiential "hands-on" session for both individuals and groups. Participant's practice deferred judgement, looking at different points of view, and forcing relationships amongst their thoughts. They will also explore their habits, assumptions, and different peoples' maps of the world. Participants will learn the difference between adaptive and innovative creativity. This is a fun and active session filled with AHA's.
Duration: 4 hours to 2 days

Unleashing Your Creative Potential

This session is a highly motivational and energetic session, which helps people to move beyond their current personal beliefs to a whole new understanding of what is possible in their lives. If you are looking to motivate people, this is the session. Participants have fun and learn skills to lead change at home and at work. This is by far the most popular session and receives outstanding reviews from all attendees.
Duration: 1 to 2 days

  

Visions, Missions, and Mission Statements

This session helps individuals, groups, and organizations develop their future path designing and clarifying their destination. With the rapidly accelerating rate of change that individuals and organizations are currently facing, it's easy to become sidetracked or lose focus of goals. Clearly defined goals create tension, which pulls the creator toward the future. Individuals can become aligned with this vision and move the organization quicker to a future state. This session may be tailored for individuals or groups depending upon the duration.
Duration: 4 hours to 2 days

Strategies for Implementing Innovation within an Organization

This session involves an open discussion of some major innovation efforts implemented at three fortune 50 companies. One company tracked the effort over an eight-year period and it resulted in over $500 million in savings. Participants learn about the dangers of implementing and maintaining of this type of program. Learn from an expert insider who participated in both inception and long-term management. Find out what closed down one company's innovation effort in less than six months.
Duration: 1 day