http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/ What this blog is all about en-us Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:08:38 GMT Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:10:47 GMT CF Blogger by DayDream Inc http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss marknunney@thinkingmanagers.com marknunney@thinkingmanagers.com http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=A503FED9-1185-BAC1-E9A03C48372FA4F7 When it comes to leadership, incentive schemes and bonuses can be counterproductive. Rather than management, leadership is the flavour of the times and it is a vital component in optimising the effectiveness of an organisation. But effectiveness may no longer be the ultimate quest of the top manager. There has been a switch to maximisation - the maximisation of personal reward. Today’s super-bosses are not only rewarded by very large salaries, but also by massive ‘performance-related’ bonuses, as well as stock options, sizeable pensions and other perks. This shift in values has been in the making for some time. Top managers started paying themselves larger and larger sums year by year a long time ago. The more the misuse of corporate funds for personal enrichment becomes the norm, the more damage there will be to the health of a business as successful long-term, all-round leadership is sacrificed for short-term gain. For more on leadership, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/business-management/leadership.php leadership Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:10:47 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=A503FED9-1185-BAC1-E9A03C48372FA4F7 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=7BDB2F85-1185-BAC1-E9A772C9EE822EC9 Sustained creativity on demand can be achieved by using the deliberate tools of lateral thinking. Our own minds can trigger new ideas at will if we train them to do so with formal skills. Try the following exercise: See if you can think of five different ways of running a car park in 20 minutes. This is a simple test that shows the difference between deliberate ideas and simply waiting for inspiration. As part of the lateral thinking exercise, the use of a random word can assist in the search for new ideas. If the word really is random, then it can be applied to any situation. If I arrive at the word ‘coin’, I can use it to stimulate new ideas on running a car park. The car park could be coin operated. Coins are round; you could have a circular car park in a spiral design. Coins have two faces; you could have a short-term car park and a longer-term car park. Coins are a transportable store of value; petrol stations could give tokens as a means of payment in car parks. Small coins can be added together to equal the value of a bigger coin; there could be ‘free’ car parks run on a points system, where a certain number of points would be required for entry. The exercise shows that we no longer need to see creativity as a special gift someone is born with. Lateral thinking can be taught to stimulate creativity. See here for more on <a href="http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/business-management/lateral-thinking.php">lateral thinking</a> lateral thinking Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:21:46 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=7BDB2F85-1185-BAC1-E9A772C9EE822EC9 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=66CA04FE-1185-BAC1-E9E27D429324714C The trauma that has seized world credit markets should have been entirely predictable and came about through a disregard of tried and tested management theories and the basic rules of finance. The shock that spread so fast from Wall Street was a result of some basic, simple but ignored financial management theories - most notably, what goes up must come down. The very aspect that makes equity investment so appealing – that there’s no ceiling – also works in the opposite direction: there's a long way down. The source of all the anxiety was a specific area of suspicious quality – the ‘sub-prime’ mortgage market in the US. The securities in question were ‘sub-secure’, mortgages extended to borrowers with poor credit ratings. The theory was that by pooling all these poor quality investments, by the law of averages, the truly bad mortgages would be more than offset by the stronger ones, leaving the happy investors to enjoy the higher yields that invariably accompany a lower credit rating. But the higher the interest, the greater the risk. What's more, there are other the simple rules that apply: the higher the yield, the greater the risk; and if you think you’re making much more money than somebody in the very same business, you’re not. Whenever someone says they have eliminated risk from an inherently risky transaction, take no notice and walk away. For more on management theories see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/business-management/management-theories.php management theories Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:11:00 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=66CA04FE-1185-BAC1-E9E27D429324714C http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=29485D07-1185-BAC1-E9FAEFB893125061 Motivation is an essential aspect of creativity. Lateral thinking can boost creativity. It is traditionally considered that creativity is present in some people and not others. 'Creative' people seem to have a lot of ideas but the truth is that they are motivated towards creativity. Lateral thinking is a powerful tool for creating new ideas. There is no mystery to it. Anyone can learn the techniques of lateral thinking and practise them systematically. You do not have to wait for new ideas to happen. You can make them happen. Creativity can be learnt and taught in the same way as any other subject, such as French or maths. Using just one of the lateral thinking techniques, some workshops generated 21,000 new ideas for a steel company. We need to escape from the tramlines of routine to produce new ideas. That is the key to creativity. For more on creativity and lateral thinking, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com lateral thinking Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:32:33 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=29485D07-1185-BAC1-E9FAEFB893125061 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=EFC3B297-1185-BAC1-E9E212B9F95A12E0 The title Chief Executive Officer is misleading. A much better description for the tasks faced by CEOs would be Chief Growth Officer, with an emphasis on business development. Although the boss is indeed chief and an executive director, he or she should have a wider view of the business rather than heading up all day-to-day ‘executing’, taking direct responsibility for putting all the plans in motion, taking charge of all the product lines and productive apparatus and driving all the other people into performing their assigned tasks. That's why I believe CGO, or Chief Growth Officer, is a better, more accurate title for what the CEO should be doing. But he or she also needs to double up as CIO – the I here stands for 'Ideas' rather than 'Information' - which again shifts the emphasis towards business development. There are too many voices calling for the CEO's attention, both inside and outside the company. The emphasis of the title CEO is wrong. The incumbent should also be the CSO, the Chief Supervisory Officer, responsible for ensuring everybody else is on the right track. However, that responsibility has to be structured and delegated. All top managers must be comfortable with the people who, in turn, are responsible for those below them. As the CISO, or Chief Internal Systems Officer, the CEO has to work towards developing a business that is a living organism that bypasses bureaucracy and puts in its place a fast and effective chain of command. As for the CEO's role as Chief Ideas Officer, it might not necessarily mean that the incumbent has all or even most of the ideas. They have the essential job of making all their people feel and act like key members of a really creative team. For more on business development, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/business-management/business-development.php business development Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:29:17 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=EFC3B297-1185-BAC1-E9E212B9F95A12E0 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=C26806B5-1185-BAC1-E940E86D3E3E55C1 The creative tool of Random Input can open up new avenues of creative thought. Random Input is one of the basic tools of lateral thinking and can be a very effective catalyst of creativity. You clearly define a focus of where and why you want new creative ideas. Then you obtain a Random Word to stimulate new thought for the defined focus. If you begin at the edge, you can find new paths that you would not see from the centre. The Random Word puts you at the edge. As you think your way back to the focus, new thought and ideas are opened up. However, there are traps to avoid. Don’t just try to seek some sort of connection between the Random Word and the focus. The idea is not to join the two, but to use the Random Word to stimulate thought. Also, never reject a random word and choose a preferable one. You have to force yourself to use the first Random Word or you will be looking for an easy route instead of stimulating thought and ideas. For more on thought, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/business-management/creativity.php creativity Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:06:14 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=C26806B5-1185-BAC1-E940E86D3E3E55C1 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=7F36B92A-1185-BAC1-E9C8DEBCF3F27106 Spotting opportunity is the key to entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur might not necessarily be more skilled than those less successful but the difference in entrepreneurship is spotting opportunities and seizing the chance. You have to balance your adventurous opportunism with sensible accounting based on sound cash flow and the continuous application of a trading formula that maximises sales profit. Broadly speaking, there are three types of entrepreneur: type A create new concepts; type B obtain new concepts and go further with them through good management; and type C can create new concepts and go further with them too. However, not all would-be entrepreneurs fit into these categories. You need to prove you are not the type of entrepreneur who cannot create a concept or obtain one, and cannot manage a concept’s development. For more on entrepreneurship, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com entrepreneurship Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:57:50 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=7F36B92A-1185-BAC1-E9C8DEBCF3F27106 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=551619D2-1185-BAC1-E992497D29AC4798 Simply understanding creativity isn’t enough, as practice is needed for managers to raise the level of their creative game. There are the specific and formal skills of lateral thinking, and these can be very powerful. There are also the basic  skills of creativity. When these basic skills are in place, using the deliberate tools of lateral thinking produces more powerful and effective results. But these skills do not come naturally. They need to be honed and practised. After some time they become natural habits of the mind. Creativity is a matter of opening up possibilities. Creativity is a matter of playing with possibilities. Creativity is a matter of designing possible ideas. Without possibility there is no creativity. Possibility is a very important part of doing the exercises in the book. You may arrive at a certain answer, but what other 'possible' answers might there be? With creativity, good is never good enough. You can always develop the thinking skills involved even further. As you practise the skills, you pick up not only the ability but also confidence. Confidence is a very key part in creativity. If you have confidence in your creativity, you will indeed be more creative. For more on creativity and lateral thinking, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com lateral thinking Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:38:09 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=551619D2-1185-BAC1-E992497D29AC4798 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=2B92CB36-1185-BAC1-E9F14F9630A8E4A3 Mavericks often make the best managers. Sometimes success can be gained from putting aside conventional wisdom and adopting a more indiosycratic management style. Without the best maverick managers many of the great companies and industries simply would not exist. When it comes to management styles, you could argue that all great managers, and certainly all the best entrepreneurs, are mavericks who disregard both the rules and the herd and listen to their own instincts and intellect. You could hardly describe the movers and shakers as conformist. To illustrate his point, there's the example of John D. Rockefeller I, who became the richest manager in the world because of his eccentricities. The maverick management styles of the magnates is they key to their success. Instead of following the herd, they follow the money. An individual streak is needed to transform a company, rather than those who adopt conformist management styles. Maverick tendencies are often repressed by the dead weight of an organisation but experimentation should be encouraged. For more on management styles, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/business-management/management-styles.php management styles Tue, 27 May 2008 18:10:18 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=2B92CB36-1185-BAC1-E9F14F9630A8E4A3 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=F3828EB6-1185-BAC1-E9995456729A45F0 The formal skills of lateral thinking can increase creativity within an organisation. Some people seem to have a natural curiosity and motivation towards creativity. But to be creative, you need to go far beyond this general motivation. Creative people could do much more if they also learned the formal tools of lateral thinking. Lateral thinking is formal creativity based on the logic of asymmetric systems. It can be learned, practised and developed. Some companies might be reluctant to use lateral thinking because it is difficult to demonstrate direct results. It is possible to show a greatly increased output of ideas but unless there is a willingness to try them, you can’t measure their effect. Sometimes, the more powerful an idea, the less the willingness there is to try it. We base our natural thinking habits on analysis and judgment. We analyse a situation in order to identify any standard element, and then apply the standard answer. While this is excellent, it is not sufficient. For more on creativity and lateral thinking, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com lateral thinking Fri, 16 May 2008 20:53:49 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=F3828EB6-1185-BAC1-E9995456729A45F0 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=CDFB5670-1185-BAC1-E9E5C6F4A711CBA4 Business management skills can originate from the left side of the brain or the right side. The left side deals with numbers, analysis, logic and so on, while the right side is much more romantic, dealing with imagination and creativity. Take the model of a left-brained company, British Risk Aversion plc, or BRA, where: * New ideas are often dismissed; * The organisation isn’t always driven by external needs; * The emphasis within the organisation is on problem solving; * The most valued attributes of the organisation are stability and experience; * The success of the company is put before the good of the individual; * The dominant processes are command and control; * Changing the corporate mind-set is almost impossible. Whereas in ACE – Adventure Corporation of Europe: * New and creative ideas are welcomed and encouraged; * The focus is mainly on the customer’s needs; * Taking advantage of new opportunities is the corporate emphasis; * Among the most valued characteristics are motivation and innovation; * The aims of the corporation and the individual are largely aligned; * All staff are afforded autonomy and they can show their initiative; * Minds and policies are often changed, depending on circumstance. Freer, easier and mostly right-brained, ACE is a far more enjoyable and better place to work than BRA, and much likelier to embrace the new – in fact, that’s what the whole organisation is geared towards. Business management skills should be honed to produce a combination of the measured prudence of BRA with the dynamic adventurism of ACE. Long-lasting success will result from that left-right combination. Read more on business management skills at http://www.thinkingmanagers.com business management Fri, 09 May 2008 14:00:11 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=CDFB5670-1185-BAC1-E9E5C6F4A711CBA4 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=9718490B-1185-BAC1-E9B45B7AB280D9EC Creativity requires more than just trying something different.   There are many misguided people who think that ‘being different’ constitutes a creative strategy.   While making something different might act as a ‘provocation’ upon which you can build and find something of value, unless the ‘different thing’ delivers that value then being different does not represent creativity.   There are actually two kinds of value. ‘Functional value’ is the first type. Will the idea work? Will it carry out the needed function?   Functional value is an operational value. For instance, if a new idea for traffic lights fails to control traffic flow, then there is no operational value in the idea.   The second type of value involves the ‘benefits’ which the new idea offers.   For instance, a new idea in supermarkets might benefit the customer, but that could be at the expense of the operator - or it might work the other way round.   Therefore, you must consider the functional value and benefit value of any strategy. For more on creative strategy, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/business-management/strategy.php strategy Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:12:41 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=9718490B-1185-BAC1-E9B45B7AB280D9EC http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=5179BC00-1185-BAC1-E9E172956351E037 The constant battle between sales and marketing reflects a grave failure to manage effectively. It is often the case that managers need to be reminded that, while the bottom line might well be the end-all of business activity, the top line, quite literally, comes first. You can forget about business development unless you have somebody making the crucial decision to purchase from you, because otherwise there won’t be any profit, only expense. When this is considered, it seems ironic that the vital process of sales has long been ranked behind the younger business discipline of marketing. It is true that some people are out-and-out sellers who are uncomfortable with ‘soft’ issues like planning, strategy and branding. However, it is also true that planners, strategists and brand managers are well behind the front line. The sales person is a crucial contact because the customer is outside the company’s control. For successful business development, sales and marketing must pull together or the bottom line will be destroyed by the mistakes at the top. For more on business development, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/business-management/business-development.php business development Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:45:42 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=5179BC00-1185-BAC1-E9E172956351E037 http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=1B146C8A-1185-BAC1-E9B880CF6745496F It’s true that there is such a thing as a creative temperament. People inclined towards creativity have new ideas and spend more time than others in seeking such ideas. They enjoy using creativity and take pleasure in their creative successes. But these talented people don’t have a monopoly on creativity. The formal techniques of lateral thinking can be learned and used deliberately by all in the same way mathematics can be learned and applied. Some people will be better than others, but that applies with any skill. Creative thinking doesn’t guarantee that you are going to get a great idea. But improving your creative skills will make it more likely to get interesting ideas. There are pitfalls, however. You could be deterred from using an adequate and routine solution because you are hoping for a better one. This is a matter of time pressure and strategy. If your creativity has not been successful, you allocate some time to creative effort and then revert to the routine solution. It comes down to judgment and decision making and is not a reason to shy away from creativity. Trying out a creative new idea might be costly. You must assess the costs against the possible rewards. You must decide which ideas are likely to work and assess the potential rewards from them. As a strategy it is a good idea to devote some fixed time to creativity – but make sure this is not the only time creative thinking is employed. Creative habits and techniques are easier to develop when a deliberate time is set aside. decision making Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:15:33 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=1B146C8A-1185-BAC1-E9B880CF6745496F http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=E8CF40DB-1185-BAC1-E9BCA6F582BF9A5F To presume that superior financial performance relates to better business management and superior leadership is a mistake. Management has always been difficult to classify. The management gurus and managers themselves disagree over whether management is an art, science or craft – or whether it is mathematical or inspirational. In truth, business management is a many-faceted discipline which is constantly changing, so an ultimate answer as to what defines a good manager is never arrived at. But this doesn’t stop people from trying to find that elusive definition and attempting the impossible. An example is the enthusiasm for leadership that currently abounds. But what precisely is leadership - and how can you say exactly whose is better or best? The very same conundrum also applies to management. People play the game of trying to find the answers to the impossible questions time and again. Peter Drucker, the ultimate management guru, provided a definition of good management that is better than any other because it deals with processes, rather than platitudes. Drucker said that the expert manager knows what to do, how to do it, and – most important of all – does it. That last one is the most difficult part. For more on business management, see http://www.thinkingmanagers.com business management Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:58:59 GMT http://www.creativematch.co.uk/blogs/ThinkingManagers/front.cfm?action=display_blog&bid=E8CF40DB-1185-BAC1-E9BCA6F582BF9A5F