Here is a nice Introduction to Creative Thinking, which lists various Creative Methods like Evolution (incremental improvement), Revolution (dramatic change), Reapplication and Changing Direction. Here is another good resource: Critical and Creative Thinking.

From another perspective, Dr. Amantha Imber conducted a study and discovered “The top 6 predictors of creative performance in the workplace“:

1. Openness to experience
2. Creative self-efficacy
3. Resilience
4. Confidence in intuition
5. Tolerance of ambiguity
6. Cross application of experiences

So, if your work involves heavy “Creative Thinking” then these are attributes that your team members must have!

For Respect, he says:

When you create a presentation, think about what your status will be as you begin the presentation. What can you do to prewire, to earn more respect from the start? How can you be introduced? Lit? Miked? What can you wear? If your reputation doesn’t precede you, how do you earn it?

A Great Tip is:

Don’t apologize at the beginning of the talk. For anything. Don’t hide in the dark. Don’t hide behind a wall of bullet points.

His Final Words:

And then, as the talk (pitch/presentation/interview) begins, don’t focus your energy or concern on yourself. It’s not about you. It’s about them. The presenter who loves his audience the most, wins.

Tips from Chris King:

A great place to see such presentations/talks is http://www.ted.com/, where “the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers” are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Ready to tell the story of your life?

Deepak Chopra writes:

“A”  stands for All Possibilities, Absolute, Authority, Affluence and Abundance.

The true nature of our ground state and that of of the universe is that it is a field of all possibilities.

In our most primordial form, we are a field of all possibilities.

From this level, it is possible to create anything. This field is our own essential nature. It is our inner self.

It is also called the absolute, and it is the ultimate authority. It is intrisically affluent becuase it gives rise to the infinite diversity and abundance of the universe.

Ready to CREATE it ALL, freely?

FOR the first alphabet, A, my award goes to ACCEPTANCE!

To start with, this word may look passive, but it is there RIGHT AT THE TOP.

1. Acceptance of your weaknesses, ALLOWS you to FOCUS on your STRENGTHS.

2. Acceptance of other people’s behavior, OPENS UP new channels of communication. With near and dear ones, this opens up new levels of INTIMACY.

3. Acceptance of a FAILURE, releases negative emotions and PROVIDES NEW BEGINNINGS.

4. Acceptance of OBSTACLES, reduces their impact and leads you to TRANSCEND them.

5. ACCEPTANCE of any situation in your life, UNTANGLES you out of whatever conflict you were embroiled in! You get a FREE SPACE to THINK AFRESH CREATIVELY!

Accept your LIFE, whichever way it is AND whichever way it is NOT!

LET GO OF RESISTANCE to rejuvenate yourself and LIVE A LIFE YOU TRULY WISH TO LIVE!

Now, which are YOUR favorite words for the alphabet ‘A’?

How authentic is your connection with your audience?

It is said that to overcome fear of public speaking, embrace the “Three P’s” of public speaking:

1. Preparation: Prepare 10 ten times more than what you would actually use!
2. Practice: Practice! Till you drop dead!
3. Passion: Speak with passion!

Presentation Gurus say without these steps, you may crash to abominable depths during your presentation.

In fact, it is often put up as “Seven P’s” of Public Speaking:

Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Pathetic Poor Performance

So, how does one gain mastery in Powerful Stage Presence!

StageFrightHelp offers the “Practice what you PREACH” formula:

Practice, Relax, (take) Expert help, (use) Audience, (visualize) Confidence, (stay) Healthy.

Sandra Zimmer offers “Top Ten Ways to Transform Stage Fright Into Captivating Connecting”:

1. Ground yourself
2. Warm up your body.
3. Let others see your real self rather than projecting an image you want them to see.
4. Find out where you tense up and block the free flow of energy in your body when you become the center of attention.
5. Breathe. I mean really breathe.
6. Receive your “audience”.
7. Let go of perfectionism.
8. Be there for them.
9. Choose to like them rather than worrying if they will like you.
10. Talk one-on-one, even in a large group.

For more strategies checkout Advanced Public Speaking Institute.

For a quick check you can use a list of “Key Questions for Measuring if Your Customer Service Measures Up” by Bob Prosen, author of Kiss Theory Good Bye:

Do we:
1. Consistently under promise and over deliver?
2. Resolve customer problems quickly?
3. Take all customer feedback seriously?
4. Have a process in place to reduce problem recurrence?
5. Consistently measure customer loyalty and improve results?
6. Know what each person at the company must do to maintain a loyal customer base?
7. Continually explain ongoing value to existing customers?

Companies are laying out the “red-carpet” for their customers with mantras like “Create Customer Delight”, “Exceed Customer Expectations”, “Total Satisfaction”, “Wowing the customer”.

Yet, Customer Dissatisfaction is at an all time high!

Customer Service Excellence is the de-facto standard now. But, depending on your Current Customer Service Levels, it is may NOT be a differentiating factor, any longer!

In such a scenario, what does one do!

Well, take it to the next level…. then next and then the next level!

And, what do you get in the process?

Nigel May Barlow says, ‘Legendary Service!‘ (in his book Batteries Included! – Creating Legendary Service). He urges organizations to go beyond “mere customer satisfaction” in today’s insanely competitive markets:

1. Become famous for providing exceptional experiences that customers would want to retell to others: let your customers do the marketing for you.
2. Set stunning new standards for service. Redefine the customer’s expectation of your industry or sector as for example, McDonald, Virgin Atlantic, Southwest Airlines…
3. Create a positive emotional connection with your customers. Customer Relationship is all. The only real asset you have is the quality of your relationship with your customers.
4. Provide Service with a big ‘S’ – legendary for service to the community and environment. Come from a higher sense of purpose for than merely making profits. Enable a culture where your employees find a real sense of meaning through doing a superb job for your customers.

Nigel helpfully suggests an Action Point: STOP NOW and evaluate how your organization matches up, however subjectively, because only then will you really ‘get’ the size of the GAP between where you are now and where you would like to be::

• The Inner Source of Service: Evaluate your employees’ beliefs
• The Customer’s Experience: Evaluate your customers’ feelings: the current Customer Intimacy levels
• Service with a Big ‘S’: Evaluate your contribution to community.

All The Best!

Look for ENERGY at your workplace!

Your people and organizations are bubbling with energy!

But, what is the quality of that energy? Can this be measured? The answer is yes, but, we shall come back to that later.

Let us explore energy a bit further. Who all are working on this? Center for Organizational Energy states:

• People that are coordinated & aligned can create incredible energy
  and powerful business results.
• Organizations are complex, with many interacting factors.
• Misdirected energy leads to conflict, uncertainty, and inflexibility.
• Focus your people’s energy!

An MIT Sloan Management Review article says:

Long-term research conducted with companies such as ABB and Lufthansa has helped the authors identify four organizational energy zones that, harnessed properly, can provide a powerful boost for achieving strategic goals.

First, they show that companies operating in what they call the aggression zone (responding to a threat) or the passion zone (responding to an exciting goal) are more likely to be successful.

Companies in the low-energy comfort zone coast dangerously on past success, and those in the resignation zone have nearly given up.

Without a high level of energy, the authors contend, a company cannot achieve radical productivity improvements, grow fast or create major innovations.

One wonders, which are the ‘right’ first steps!

Martin Luther King Jr. nudges us, “Take the first step in faith. You do not have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

OK, we have taken the first step! How far should one go?

Henry Ford, helpfully whispers, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t — you are right!”

But, aren’t there obstacles?

Mr. Ford is back, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals!”

Finally, we let go! We allow Goethe to have the last word!

Until you release your gifts into the world, the world will never reflect the safe place you have been waiting for! You see the creative force of the universe is non-judgmental and reflects back exactly what you share with the world.

So if we only share part of ourselves, we will only manifest part of our destiny; the rest will be illusion. If we break free from our fears and release our complete special light, wisdom and love, the universe will surround us with the same.

This means the quality of life we experience will equally reflect the quality of light which we share. The experiences, people and events in our lives will expand, become richer and offer more opportunities. The more we expose our true selves, the more the universe reflects this perfection back to us.

If we want to manifest our life’s destiny, we must first put ourselves on the edge, break free and give that which is inside of us.

Understand that this takes courage and a willingness to bare our soul.

If you bring forth what is within you, what is within you will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what is within you will destroy you~ A Gospel

Wherever you are is always the right place. There is never a need to fix anything, to hitch up the bootstraps of the soul and start at some higher place. Start right where you are.
~Julia Cameron

You don’t have to become a better person or develop a different attitude to have a life you love. As you are, you are good enough. In fact, the smartest thing you can do is to go ahead and get what you want before you do anything to improve yourself. Getting your life on track will do wonders for your “bad” attitude.
~Barbara Sher