!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> Streamline Training & Documentation: How to Leverage Creativity

Friday, August 04, 2006

How to Leverage Creativity

The pile of books waiting to be read here at the home office is pretty high, so I know it will take me awhile to get to a promising new publication that I found mentioned in the August issue of Optimize magazine.

The brief Optimize item by Paula Klein makes Juicing the Orange: How to Turn Creativity into a Powerful Business Advantage by Pat Fallon and Fred Senn (founding partners of the ad agency Fallon Worldwide) sound like a keeper.

Fallon and Senn advocate seven steps for leveraging creativity — and thereby building competitive advantage. Here in somewhat edited form is Klein's summary of these steps:
  • Always start from scratch and find fresh ways to look at a problem.


  • "Demand a ruthlessly simple definition of the business problem."


  • Connect emotionally. Be rational, but find a way to communicate fervor about a project.


  • Focus on the size of the idea, not the budget.


  • Seek out [and then manage] strategic risks.


  • Collaborate with others inside and outside your organization to enable the best solution.


  • Listen to your customers — internal and external — and then listen some more.
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