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Window for action loving professionals
Dear Readers
#1 #14 May 1, 2013
When was the last time you were creative? Today, Yesterday, the day before…last year…last to last…??? Look at all the problems around us at an individual or organizational or the national level. Can’t they just be solved through aligning the creative juices God has gifted us? If we want, we can easily find a resolute way to prevent 5 year old kids being tormented for life and bring in high level of dignity and respect for women all across. If we want, the climate issues and resolving international conflicts would look all so easy. The starting point is, if we want… Creativity deals with raising the whY. CreativitY deals with the How, the what and much more. Lets move from the starting point. Time for the Y. Start MAG – My Actions Game to remain a true creativitY explorer.
In this issue…
I love blocking ideas Top20 innovative organizations
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Cheers, Rajiv Khurana Editor
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A2Z self actions that stifle CREATIVITY
5-6
Nurturing CREATIVITY
7-9
Time-less words
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PS – Please don’t forget to send your feedback at rajivkhurana@vsnl.com. You may even call me at 9810211256.
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#14 May 1, 2013
I love blocking ideas…
Rajiv Khurana is a
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transformationist through co-creative energy of people for individual and organizational impact. An International Management Consultant, Trainer and Executive Coach by description, he is a well published writer, author and digital expressionist.
Alvin Toffler had once said, “Change is like a Knife, one can grasp the blade or the handle – view it as a threat or an opportunity”. Scary Toffler. He is too fond of giving shocks for the future. Who likes a change? The only person who likes a change is a wet baby. I don’t. It’s too cumbersome. Even the government does not look at the antiquated laws. The GOI has not even looked at the money order form. It has not changed so far. Why should I change? Someone said, “Apply creativity and you can make your work life more comfortable”. Why take all the trouble when the life can be comfortable with the status quo. Sooner or later, if any creativity is ever adopted at the workplace, the benefit will come to you too. Why earn the dirty looks of colleagues for generating ideas after ideas? Don’t we have better things to do in the offices? To accept any creative idea as a last resort, one must test it out properly and thoroughly. After all it is going to affect your work life. The discomfort is far too great to ignore. How should you do it? Follow my experiences. Colleagues think that I have killer instincts whenever any creative idea floats around the department. I am a sharp-shooting -ruthless -ideas -hunter in company meetings. People around are really scared of me. How should you kill the idea? Fire the volley of bullets in the right direction. Something is surely going to hit the correct spot.
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#14 May 1, 2013
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Your effective arsenal statements should include: • That’s too radical • It’s contrary to our policy • We must follow the precedence • That’s beyond our area • It did not work before • This is too ambitious • Be practical • Be realistic • We have been doing it this way for twenty five years • Nobody else has ever done it • It won't work in a small company • It won't work in a large company • It won't work in our company • Why change? It's working okay • The boss will never buy it • It needs further investigation I don’t know who F. Scott Fitzgerald • Our competitors are not doing it was but he said something truly • It's too much trouble to change superb, “No grand idea was ever born • Our company is different in a conference, but a lot of foolish • We don't have the money ideas have died there”. How true. Let • We don't have the personnel your board room be the cemetery of • We don’t have the equipment untried creativity. It will save your • The union will scream. company a lot of precious resources. • We don't have the time There is of course, one face saving • It will make other procedures device easily available and obsolete successfully implementable. • Customers won't buy it Recommend the ideas, that cannot be • It's contrary to policy shot down, to be referred to a • It will increase overhead committee. Have people who travel a • We're not ready for it lot or do not like each other to be a • It needs more thought part of this committee. If murdering • We'd lose money on it idea is a foul, starving it to death is • It needs sleeping on the name of the game. • It's still impossible.
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#14 May 1, 2013
Innovative Companies
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1 Apple For walking the talk 2 Facebook For 800 million reasons to share 3 Google For expanding its hit line up 4 Amazon For playing the long game 5 Square For making magic out of the mercantile 6 Twitter For amplifying the global dialogue 7 Occupy Movement For embodying all the traits that make a Fast Company 8 Tencent For fueling China’s Internet boom--and boldly moving West 9 Life Technologies For speeding up genetic sequencing 10 SolarCity For brightening up the sun-power business
11 HBO For being the only TV network to delight with digital 12 Southern New Hampshire University For relentlessly reinventing higher ed, online and off 13 Tesla Motors For boosting the art and technology of electric vehicles 14 Patagonia For selling more by encouraging customers to buy less 15 NFL For stoking insatiable, year-round demand for professional football 16 National Marrow Donor Program For matching technology with critical transplant needs 17 Greenbox For inventing the next-generation Chinese fashion brand 18 Jawbone For rocking the mobile lifestyle 19 Airbnb For turning spare rooms into the world’s hottest hotel chain 20 72andSunny For winning at the intersection of Hollywood and Madison Avenue
http://www.fastcompany.com/ most-innovative-companies/2012
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#14 May 1, 2013 A age--fearing that you are too young, too old, not young or old enough or were not born in the right age (too soon or too late) B background--you don't have the background to work on the problem or to generate ideas for the topic area C culture--you live in the wrong culture, a dull culture or you are not cultured enough to be creative
hard work--you don't want to accept that creative problem solving is hard work or that you don't want to work hard enough I
intelligence--creative thinking requires more or less intelligence than you possess J
dull--you are feeling dull or are in a dull environment.
jealousy--you are always jealous of creative people or you fear others will be jealous of you if you are creative
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education--you don't have enough or the wrong education to be creative (no degrees, too many degrees, wrong degree-right school or wrong school)
killed--your ideas are always being killed by others
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foolish--you are too foolish to be creative or not foolish enough G
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gamble--people see your ideas as too much of a gamble before you work out the pitfalls and turn them into viable solutions and workable plans.
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laughter--other people just laugh at you when you are creative and they never take you seriously M money--you don't have the money to be creative or you have too much money and don't need to be creative.
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#14 May 1, 2013 N
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narrow--others are too narrowminded to accept your creative ideas
unappreciated--you always feel unappreciated therefore you have quit trying to be creative for others
O opportunities--you never have any great opportunities--these can be limited by your location, profession, age, etc. P paradigms--yours, mine and ours always get in the way of creativeness Q quitters--you are surrounded by people who quit trying too soon, once they have a workable, acceptable solution they stop trying. R radical--your ideas are constantly being called "too radical" and because you prefer to be creative most of the time you are labelled as a "radical".
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V vultures--you are surrounded by "vultures", people who steal your ideas and take credit for your ideas as their. W wisecracks--people respond to your creative ideas with wisecracks, put-downs and putoffs. X xerographic--people are always copying your ideas without giving you credit--similar to "vultures" Y yield--you stop or yield to others criticisms too easily and too often.
stress--you are under too much stress to be creative
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zipped out--you have no energy to be creative.
time--you don't have the time to spend on being creative you must get your work done now.
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Rajiv Khurana
Window for action loving professionals
CMC, FIMC www.thepersonnellab.com www.rajivkhurana.com
#1 #14 May 1, 2013
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Creativity is all around You are reading this Ymag on a PC, Laptop, Tablet, Phablet or a smart phone. Brilliant creativity has invented these for you. Now look around and you will find each and everything has been an outcome of creative thinking. Start thinking. People, processes, products…are demanding your attention to innovate!
Remove bureaucracy Don’t search for the old circular on creativity. Don’t even think of creating one for others to follow. Destroy hierarchies that demand ideas to move from bottom upwards for approvals and permissions. Let the free flow begin. Will it create confusion? It may but remember, the best of fusion comes out of confusion. Don’t just tell people to think outside the box. Exit the box first!
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Excite and enthuse people
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Alleviate fear of risk and failure
Why do people love week-ends and dread Mondays? Add excitement to their personal goals and align it with company goals. Find reasons to appreciate them. Publicly!
Encourage people to take risks. Avoid reprimanding them on failures. That’s the price of learning you pay. Promote the practice, “Always commit a new mistake”!
7 CREATIVITY acronym is the Intellectual property of Rajiv Khurana
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#1 #14 May 1, 2013
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Treat TRENDSETTING as an organizational value Why should you always follow other people or organizations? Leave best practices behind. Try next practices. Reach a stage where others like to follow you. Enjoy setting trends!
Involve customers and other stake holders Perceptions matters. Expectations matter. Perspective matters. Get plenty of them. Ask customers more and more. Listen to them with rapt attention. Note the right cues and clues. Be dazzled with the ideas that will come your way. Be open to accept, amend, modify and even delete your actions. Keep re-inventing!
Value creativity in non-connected domains Avoid your fixation with your own industry. It may be traditional or conservative. But your customer is not. He experiences other industries too as a customer. Understand how other and better industries are using creativity. Challenge yourself!
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Increase pace Days of ‘slow and steady wins the race’ are over. This is the era of ‘the fastest and the steadiest wins the race’. Dramatically improve the cycle of creativity – Stop, Sustain and Start. Even small improvements matter if they keep coming at an increasing pace. Accelerate!
8 CREATIVITY acronym is the Intellectual property of Rajiv Khurana
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#1 #14 May 1, 2013
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Try simplicity
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Yearn consistently, grow beyond rhetoric
Confucius said, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated”. Leonardo da Vinci said it differently, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. A straight line is always the shorter distance between two points. Why beat around the bush? Magnify results, simplify actions!
Each meeting, each review and each ideation should focus on “How to produce better results by doing things better, faster, differently…?” Skip the displays on wall. Get into the skin. Grow beyond words. Propagate creative ideas, creative teams and creative individuals. Reward and recognize ambitiously. Ignite fire in people!
It's easy to come up with new ideas; the hard part is letting go of what worked for you two years ago, but will soon be out of date." - Roger von Oech
“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” Lao Tzu 9 CREATIVITY acronym is the Intellectual property of Rajiv Khurana
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#14 May 1, 2013
Time-less words‌
Everything you can imagine is real. Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.
Pablo Picasso 1881-1973 Painter, Poet, Sculptor
Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone. It takes a very long time to become young. The urge to destroy is also a creative urge. The world doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?
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readers say Yes and whY-not to positive action
When I was a child my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk, you'll be the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.
Ymag is an initiative of YPROSINDIA, a social enterprise founded by Rajiv Khurana