Blog
Here you find longer writings where ideas from articles are drawn into larger concepts and frameworks.
You are invited to comment on them or just send an email to discuss them further in private.
January 12, 2019
Intimate Inspirations: Breaking free from the meeting and workshop cult
We humans are social creatures. From the very moment we are born we begin to develop deep connections with the people around us. As we grow we thrive on our connections with others and we love to call them our friends. Most of us can agree that we look for friends who are genuine, fun and likable; they challenge us to be better people with their intelligence, positive vibes and balanced opinions.
Science has shown that as social creatures, social interactions with these people can make us feel less stressed and anxious while reducing depressive symptoms and boosting feelings of calm and happiness.
These genuine human connections can also be a powerful tool to help us harness our creativity and push our thoughts to new boundaries. As Peter Lindbergh, one of the most iconic photographers of our time, said:
“A lot of people have creativity but they don’t know how to access it.”
Here’s an exploration of how we can harness human connection to unlock our creativity and really get the most possible from our workshops which are, after all, built upon human connection. Read More
December 18, 2018
Setup for Success: Whom to involve in innovation workshops
Don’t you just love a great workshop? There’s nothing like it to freshen up an organization’s ideas. Participants are free to explore novel concepts together, discuss working methods, and feed off one another’s energy and contributions. But none of this happens by accident, as you will know if you organize workshops yourself.
The best workshops are painstakingly developed and organized meticulously way in advance. There has to be strict method to the madness and a great manager can harness a team’s creativity. In fact, some of the most important contributions which are made by managers involve the intelligent and considerate organization of workshops.
- How will you do that?
- Whom do you involve and how to prepare yourself?
- Does this make sense sending comprehensive notes and a detailed agenda to your attendees? Read More
November 24, 2018
The Six-Step Innovation Workshop that Delivers Results
Smart innovation can save businesses and help to re-invent industries. Just look at the music industry:
The rise of the internet sparked the demise of the CD market and this threw the music industry into chaos. This transformed the dynamics of the music industry and threatened to spell trouble for key players like Sony, EMI and Universal. Tumbling physical sales left the music industry scrambling to find new ways to provide value to music fans that would keep their industry healthy.
Industry leaders drilled down on how music fans were in touch with music and they understood that these people didn’t just listen to music but attended concerts, bought merchandise and followed the trends set by the musicians that they admired. Music labels had been thinking only about a small part of the experience. This realisation sparked the emergence of 360° music deals. These comprehensive deals took the place of traditional record deals and saw the music industry boosts its revenue but, more importantly, give a consistent consumer experience.
This innovation revitalised the music industry and shaped it into the industry we all know today. That type of innovation isn’t easy and countless workshops won’t do the trick: they have to be effective and provide results. Here’s how you can make sure your workshops achieve that:
Step 1: Identify what makes your customers tick
The workshop process needs to begin with an investigation into who your customers are and their world of experiences. There are a range of approaches and techniques that you could use here, depending on your preferences and what you’re comfortable with. Buyer personas and fictional characters are one way, for example, that people develop an understanding of the various customers that are out there. Read More