As a result of a series of photos I’ve been posting on Facebook, I recently received several e-mails asking about our creativity seminars and keynote presentations. I must admit that I’m a bit surprised at the number of people who claim that they’re NOT creative in the least. I would have to disagree with them, pointing out that creativity is an inherent human phenomenon! This is a critical message that we’ve been sharing for years now.
We not only share the message but also provide tips, tools, and strategies designed to reveal this hidden asset to those attending our seminars. Let me take just a moment to explain why this is such a critical message for so many in today’s chaotic environment.
Creativity Is Seldom Taught
There will soon be a day, in the very near future, when one MUST demonstrate his/her creativity and innovation in order to compete in the workplace — and yet we’re not sharing that message in our schools. High school teachers don’t have time to do so and feel the kids will get that message in college as they are prepped for a career.
College instructors feel the kids should have been exposed to creativity and innovation in high school — they have more important subject matter to deal with on the college/university level. Really? As a result, these college graduates suddenly find themselves in the workplace where they are expected to know how to be creative and innovative.
Today’s business owners and/or CEOs don’t have the time, desire, or sometimes the knowledge to teach new employees how to be creative and innovative. They fully expect them to have attained these skills prior to applying for work.
Creativity in Business Is a Competitive Strategy
I remember spending the day with 150 CEOs while speaking at a leadership conference. The subject of creativity came up as a potential competitive strategy.
I shared a quote from Tony Buzan’s book, Use Both Sides of Your Brain
“The average business executive has spent between 1,000 and 10,000 hours formally learning economics, history, languages, literature, mathematics, and political science. Ironically, those same executives have spent less than 10 hours learning about creative thinking!”
During a table activity following that comment, a good number of those CEOs agreed that they hadn’t even experienced 10 hours learning about creative thinking!
So how do you gain that creative-thinking competitive edge if no one in the organization has been taught how to do so? Today, successful organizations in every industry recognize this challenge and are doing something about it by training their employees at every level. Call it what you want — creativity, innovation, or thinking out of the box — you’d better be focusing on how best to take advantage of the untapped potential of your current staff.
It doesn’t matter if you have 3 employees, 300 or 3000 … you can increase your productivity and profitability by providing your people with those critical creative-thinking skills.
Call us today at 1-800-886-2629 for further details on scheduling a creativity seminar that could be the decisive factor in attaining the success you seek.
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.
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