Creative/Innovative Thinking

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Creative/Innovative Thinking

• ? 2001 AlexanderHancock Associates

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Do You Value Creativity?

• In the music industry, the recording medium for
  songs didnt progress from vinyl LPs to better
  vinyl LPs.
• Creativity lead to the innovations of 8-track
  technology, cassette tapes, and, today, CDs.
• What will tomorrow bring?

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Dont Become a Dinosaur!

• Are you still manufacturing 8-track tapes when
  the rest of the world uses CDs?
• Are you still using Swiss-movement watches, when
  the world has moved to quartz?
• Do you still think that the Internet is a passing
  fad?

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Costs of Not Embracing Creativity

• If youre not using creative processes, youre
  missing out on opportunities in...
• Strategy
• Marketing
• Product Development
• Employee Retention

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Thinking Creatively

• Companies with highly standardized operations,
  procedures, and policies can still foster
  creativity.
• Once companies realize how creativity works, they
  can take specific, practical actions that will
  dramatically improve their creative performance.

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Embracing Creativity

• Embracing creativity means
• Employees arent afraid to ask dumb questions.
• Charles Land was asked by his four-year-old
  daughter why she couldnt immediately see
  pictures she had just taken with her camera.
• Result The Polaroid Land camera.

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Embracing Creativity
Embracing Creativity

• Embracing creativity means
• Employees are rewarded for creative thinking,
  e.g., recognition programs, cash incentives
• Employees are encouraged to think out of the
  box

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Embracing Creativity

• Embracing creativity means
• Innovative thinking becomes a standard management
  tool such as determining the marketing mix and
  plotting long-term strategy

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Thinking Creatively

• When employees are given practical tools to think
  creatively
• they can eliminate entire work processes
• they can create new ways of doing things
• they feel valued, which translates into low
  absenteeism and high retention
• they are happier, more productive employees

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Are You Using Creativity?

• Its the reverse of...
• Ill believe it when I see it.
• Its...
• Ill see it when I believe it.

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How To Foster Creativity

• You cannot manage your employees creativity.
• You simply teach employees the tools to think
  creatively, then reward the resulting
  innovations.

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Famous Last Words

• There is no reason for an individual to have a
  computer in their home.  
• Ken Olson, President of Digital Equipment
  (1977)

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Why AlexanderHancock?

• Clients choose AlexanderHancock Associates
  because of our...
• proven success in enabling clients to capture
  their employees creativity and translate that
  into bottom line results
• creative program designs
• 25 years experience in performance improvement.