Create your vision with a storyboard
Many organisations talk about creating a vision for their future. However what many do is to create a vision statement. This just doesn’t work for me. Visions need to be inspirational and for this to happen they really need to soar above the limitations of words. For...
How to be creative – learning from creative writing
I hear many people make statements like, 'I am not creative'. Well, I believe we are all capable of being creative. This blog offers a overview of how to be creative, tapping into my learning from creative writing. To be creative, we need to allow our imagination to...
The importance of raising energy in a meeting
In January I wrote about icebreakers and their value in setting the scene for an event. Today, to follow on from this, I will focus on the importance of raising energy in a meeting and how to do it. What are energisers? These are exercises, or some form of activity...
Creative Problem Solving when working alone
We are living in extraordinary times, and it is even more important not to shut down our minds to new ideas. When we do, we often leap into solutions for our problems. Creative problem solving (CPS) is an approach which encourages fresh and open thinking. However,...
The Dangers of Groupthink
Groupthink is a collective mindset which can develop within cohesive groups. So what are the dangers of groupthink? It results in a group view being established and decisions being taken without assumptions being checked. This can happen for many reasons; a lack of...
What are icebreakers and why are they important?
What are Icebreakers? I am sure that many of you, like me, will have had that sinking feeling as we enter a new meeting. Especially when we don't know anyone. However confident we are, it's a difficult time. This is when facilitators can really help to ensure their...
Habits and how to change them
What are habits? Habits are behaviours we perform almost automatically. They are not usually something we have to spend any time thinking about, we just do them, for example cleaning our teeth regularly. Bad habits can become destructive, and these kinds of habits...
Creativity and age- the evidence
The myths of creativity and age There are a lot of myths around concerning creativity and age. Not least the myth that older people are stuck in their ways and that this is a barrier to creativity. Creativity is a wide-ranging word and can be defined in many ways. We...
Testing Ideas with the Disney Strategy
When working with the three stage creative problem solving (CPS) process, the third stage is to test possible solutions before they are put into practice. As with the previous stages, this stage requires both a divergent and convergent phase. In the divergent phase,...
Better Brainstorming and how to achieve it
Last month I wrote about stage 1 of the creative problem solving process (CPS). Today's post is about the second stage, exploring options to resolve the problem. The first part of this stage 2 is to open up to all possible approaches to resolving the problem. There...
Create your vision with a storyboard
Many organisations talk about creating a vision for their future. However what many do is to create a vision statement. This just doesn’t work for me. Visions need to be inspirational and for this to happen they really need to soar above the limitations of words. For...
How to be creative – learning from creative writing
I hear many people make statements like, 'I am not creative'. Well, I believe we are all capable of being creative. This blog offers a overview of how to be creative, tapping into my learning from creative writing. To be creative, we need to allow our imagination to...
The importance of raising energy in a meeting
In January I wrote about icebreakers and their value in setting the scene for an event. Today, to follow on from this, I will focus on the importance of raising energy in a meeting and how to do it. What are energisers? These are exercises, or some form of activity...
Creative Problem Solving when working alone
We are living in extraordinary times, and it is even more important not to shut down our minds to new ideas. When we do, we often leap into solutions for our problems. Creative problem solving (CPS) is an approach which encourages fresh and open thinking. However,...
The Dangers of Groupthink
Groupthink is a collective mindset which can develop within cohesive groups. So what are the dangers of groupthink? It results in a group view being established and decisions being taken without assumptions being checked. This can happen for many reasons; a lack of...
What are icebreakers and why are they important?
What are Icebreakers? I am sure that many of you, like me, will have had that sinking feeling as we enter a new meeting. Especially when we don't know anyone. However confident we are, it's a difficult time. This is when facilitators can really help to ensure their...
Habits and how to change them
What are habits? Habits are behaviours we perform almost automatically. They are not usually something we have to spend any time thinking about, we just do them, for example cleaning our teeth regularly. Bad habits can become destructive, and these kinds of habits...
Creativity and age- the evidence
The myths of creativity and age There are a lot of myths around concerning creativity and age. Not least the myth that older people are stuck in their ways and that this is a barrier to creativity. Creativity is a wide-ranging word and can be defined in many ways. We...
Testing Ideas with the Disney Strategy
When working with the three stage creative problem solving (CPS) process, the third stage is to test possible solutions before they are put into practice. As with the previous stages, this stage requires both a divergent and convergent phase. In the divergent phase,...
Better Brainstorming and how to achieve it
Last month I wrote about stage 1 of the creative problem solving process (CPS). Today's post is about the second stage, exploring options to resolve the problem. The first part of this stage 2 is to open up to all possible approaches to resolving the problem. There...
About Me
Barbara is an Executive Coach, leadership, and creativity facilitator with a passion for creative tools and writing about creativity and leadership.