Greetings from Our Chief Fire Starter
Greetings! My name is Og, Idea Champions' CFS (Chief Fire Starter). I'm in charge of helping our clients ignite new possibilities.
I just wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that the economic downturn has not, in any way, affected our business. We are absolutely fine. (The desk furniture we're burning for heat makes our office quite toasty).
We realize, of course, that YOUR business may be struggling -- with the market being as volatile as it is and consumer confidence way down.
If so, feel free to call me at 800-755-IDEA. (Now that I have use of both my opposable thumbs, answering the phone has become quite a positive experience). At that time, I'll be happy to explain how we can help your organization raise the bar for innovation.
Or, if you want to get started today, buy our Founder's award-winning book (which is the only book I've seen that gives me the credit I so richly deserve as the inventor of the wheel.) Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I'm available for keynote grunting, bar mitzvahs, and webinars.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:46 AM | Comments (0)
July 31, 2011The Write Stuff
I don't usually use this space to promote my friends, but today I'm going to make an exception. My good buddy, Carl Frankel (Princeton graduate, Kingston, NY resident, journalist/writer extraordinaire) has just decided to offer his services as a ghostwriter to movers and shakers and I want you to know that.
Carl has written extensively on a number of subjects and is the author of two books -- Out of the Labyrinth and In Earth's Company -- a book, that according to one reviewer, "took the literature on sustainable development to a new level."
As an editor, Carl played a major role in shaping a book that won a national book award.
If you have a story to tell or ideas to share, Carl's your man. He brings more than three decades' experience to the table as a journalist, writer, and entrepreneur, provides great value, is easy to work with, and cuts to the chase with elegance.
I strongly encourage you to consider working with Carl to share your story with the world.
CONTACT: carlfrankel@gmail.com
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2011It's Never Too Late to Create
I sometimes run into people who tell me that their best creative days are behind them -- that they could have accomplished great things if only they had started sooner and that they are "too old" to take on a big, hairy project.
Really?
Think again.
If you have any doubt, click on the link below to get a whiff of what some extraordinary people accomplished late in life.
You may not be a Michelangelo or Stradivarius, but so what? You can still accomplish miracles. All you need to do is begin (and let go of the bogus thought that "it's too late.")
It's not.
1. Grandma Moses started painting when she was 64.
2. Michelangelo designed the dome in St. Peter's Basilica between the ages of 72-88.
3. Stradivarius fashioned his two most famous violins when he was in his early 90's.
4. Mary Baker Eddy established the Christian Science Monitor when she was 87.
5. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Guggenheim Museum when he was 91.
6. Mahatma Ghandi successfully completed negotiations for Britain to grant India's independence at the age of 77.
7. Golda Meir serviced as Prime Minister of Israel from the ages of 70-76.
8. Peter Drucker wrote "Management Changes for Turbulent Times" when he was 89.
9. P.T. Barnum joined forces with his arch rival, James Baily, when he was 71.
10. Nelson Mandela was inaugerated as the President of South Africa at the age of 75.
11. Noah Webster published "An America Dictionary of the English Language" at the age of 70.
12. Giuseppe Verdi composed his operatic masterpiece, Falstaff, at the age of 80.
13. Pablo Picasso produced a remarkable sereis of 347 etchings at the age of 86.
All examples excerpted from The Creative Age by Gene Cohen. Great book.
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Idea Champions
First Breath, Last Breath
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)
Beer and the Invention of the WheelYou may not know it, but I wrote an award-winning book in 2008, Awake at the Wheel. It's a business fable about the creative process. Easy to read. Fun. A real support for aspiring innovators.
I'm guessing the caveman in the Bud Lite ad below would have found a better way of getting their beer to the party if they had read it.
But enough about me. Let's talk about YOU.
Do you have a creative venture that needs an infusion of mojo, inspiration, and clarity?
Yes? Good. Click. Buy.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2010Americans Obsession With Numbers
Here is a wonderful article by Rupert Cornwell on American's obsession with statistics -- or what Charles Seife, NYU Professor, has deftly named "proofiness" -- "the art of using bogus mathematical arguments to prove something that you know in your heart is true -- even when it's not."
Charles and Rupert are in good company. Approximately 9 out of 10 innovation consultants would agree.
So did Albert Einstein several years ago when he proclaimed: "Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted counts."
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:35 PM | Comments (1)
July 21, 2010Top 100 Amazon Reviewer Favorably Compares "Awake at the Wheel" to "Who Moved My Cheese?"
Nice review of my book from Thomas Duff, Top 100 Amazon reviewer:
Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an Uphill World) can, in my opinion, be compared to the classic "Who Moved My Cheese?".
Ditkoff does for creativity what Johnson and Blanchard did for living with change... It gives the reader a short, humorous story loaded with meaning and concepts that hit the reader right where they live.
Ditkoff explores the world of ideas and creativity though the story of Og. Og is a caveman who spends more time thinking than the average Neanderthal.
He stumbles upon the concept of a circle, and becomes obsessed with what it could mean to the group. Of course, most of his fellow cavemen are more concerned about maintaining the status quo... hunting, eating, staying warm.
Og takes a journey to talk with a wise one, and from that trip the wheel is born.
But even then, others in his clan are more interested in shooting it down as something that will never work. But one person does figure out the practical application, and pretty soon everyone is "rolling along" with the greatest thing since dried mammoth...
I really did like this book.
Taking the concept of ideas and putting them in caveman terms freshens up what could be just another book on creativity.
At the end of the book are 35 "tools" you can use to spur your own idea machine, as well as how best to make sure these fleeting thoughts don't disappear like smoke from a campfire.
Like many companies have done with "Cheese", this should be a mass purchase, handed out to all employees, and then discussed in team meetings.
Those who are into this genre will love it, and the Neanderthals who are cynical will likely spend the 30 minutes or so it should take to read it.
And they might even come out of that experience as the new Og of your organization.
What others are saying about it.
Winner of Axiom Business Book Award: (scroll to category #22)
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)
Top 100 Amazon Reviewer Favorably Compares "Awake at the Wheel" to "Who Moved My Cheese?"
Nice review of my book from Thomas Duff, Top 100 Amazon reviewer:
Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an Uphill World) can, in my opinion, be compared to the classic "Who Moved My Cheese?".
Ditkoff does for creativity what Johnson and Blanchard did for living with change... It gives the reader a short, humorous story loaded with meaning and concepts that hit the reader right where they live.
Ditkoff explores the world of ideas and creativity though the story of Og. Og is a caveman who spends more time thinking than the average Neanderthal.
He stumbles upon the concept of a circle, and becomes obsessed with what it could mean to the group. Of course, most of his fellow cavemen are more concerned about maintaining the status quo... hunting, eating, staying warm.
Og takes a journey to talk with a wise one, and from that trip the wheel is born.
But even then, others in his clan are more interested in shooting it down as something that will never work. But one person does figure out the practical application, and pretty soon everyone is "rolling along" with the greatest thing since dried mammoth...
I really did like this book.
Taking the concept of ideas and putting them in caveman terms freshens up what could be just another book on creativity.
At the end of the book are 35 "tools" you can use to spur your own idea machine, as well as how best to make sure these fleeting thoughts don't disappear like smoke from a campfire.
Like many companies have done with "Cheese", this should be a mass purchase, handed out to all employees, and then discussed in team meetings.
Those who are into this genre will love it, and the Neanderthals who are cynical will likely spend the 30 minutes or so it should take to read it.
And they might even come out of that experience as the new Og of your organization.
What others are saying about it.
Winner of Axiom Business Book Award: (scroll to category #22)
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)
July 02, 2010innovation from the inside out with Fascination
I own a huge library of books on innovation. Mostly hardcover. The $27.95 variety with big indexes and forwards by people who make more money than I do.
Some of these books are actually good. Most of them bore me. (I must confess I have a secret desire, whenever I enter a bookstore, to put glue between pages 187 & 188 in all of the new releases just to see if the publishers get any complaints).
The books attempt to describe the origins of innovation. You know, stuff like "the innate human impulse to find a better way" and "the imperative to find a competitive edge." That sort of thing.
Corporate-speak, in other words.
In my experience, the origin of innovation is fascination -- the state of being intensely interested in something. Enchanted. Captivated. Spellbound. Absorbed.
What kids are naturally good at.
Kids and those mavericks at work who make everyone nervous and running for their spreadsheets at the drop of a hat.
A person who is fascinated does not need to be motivated... or managed... or "incentivized."
All that person needs is time, some resources, meaningful collaboration, and periodic reality checks from someone who understands what fascination is all about.
That's why Google gives its workforce 20% of their time to explore projects on their own. That's why 3M and W.L. Gore do something similar. They know that the root of innovation is fascination.
If you, or the people who report to you, are not currently in a state of fascination it's time to turn things around. That is, IF you want to spark some innovation.
How do you do this?
For starters, here's one way, excerpted from Awake at the Wheel.
THE SEED OF FASCINATION
1. On a piece of paper, create three parallel headlines -- "What Fascinates Me," "People I Admire," and "What I Would Do If I Knew I Couldn't Fail."
2. Jot down at least five responses beneath each headline.
3. Look for intriguing, new connections between your responses. Any insights? Ahas?
4. Jot down your new ideas.
5. Circle your favorite idea and brainstorm it with a friend. Then pitch anyone who's influence can help you launch your ideas for how to bring more fascinating projects into your work life.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:24 PM | Comments (7)
March 21, 2010Honor Thy Father and Mother
I am an innovation consultant. But I am also a son -- or at least was a son.
My last remaining parent, my father, died on July 14th, at 94. During the last days of his life, it became clear to me that there was a lot about his life I had no clue about. Not just information about our ancestors, but what really made him tick -- his dreams, his fondest memories, and what wisdom he was leaving behind for the next generation.
As a professional facilitator of "human process," I thought it would be easy to get him to talk about this stuff. It wasn't. My questions drew blank stares or a quick change of topic. Then my sister handed me the book she'd been writing, Window to My World, and everything changed.
What she had done was create a very accessible "fill in the blanks" book for seniors -- a way for them to reflect on their life and capture the essence for those of us they were leaving behind.
I spent hours sitting with him, asking him questions I had never had the courage -- or opening -- to ask -- everything from the names of his favorite teachers to his reflections on the meaning of life. He spoke. I wrote. And we both laughed and marveled.
The time I spent with him doing this served another valuable purpose. It shifted his attention from fear, doubt, and worry to insight, wisdom, and love -- a BIG shift for a 94-year old man afraid of dying.
If your parents are still alive, I know they're aging. And I also know there will be a time when you will be sitting with them in a room, surrounded by pills and creams, and all the other flora and fauna of a person's last days. There will be a moment when you want to shift the conversation to something deeper, but want to do it in a way that's user friendly.
Window to My World is that way.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2009The Man Who Invented the Wheel
Since 1986, I've asked more than 5,000 people where and when they get their best ideas. The answers have been all over the place -- everything from "in the shower" to "ironing" to "in my dreams."
But no matter how diverse the answers are, 98% of all respondents say the same thing -- their best ideas happen OUTSIDE of the workplace. I find this fascinating -- especially when you consider how much time we spend at work -- and how much brilliance is expected of us.
That's one of the reasons why I wrote Awake at the Wheel. I wanted to give people a more dependable way to conjure up (and commit to) the kind of meaningful ideas that make a difference in the world.
Listen to a three-minute intro. Watch a nine-minute video. Read what others have to say about it. Buy one for your boss, spouse, kids, chiropractor, CEO, mother, friend, team, accountant, neighbor, numerologist, or business partner.
PS: The book was a Silver Medalist in the 2009 Axiom Business Books Awards competition (scroll down to category #22).
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:23 AM | Comments (0)
January 21, 2009Humanizing the Workplace
It's really not my nature to be this effusive about other people's books, but Gary Hamel's newest offering, The Future of Management, is a 15 on a scale of 1-10. Lucid. Authentic. Compelling. And very well-written.
Gary and his co-author, Bill Breen, have built a very compelling case for WHY management needs to change its stripes if they expect their organizations to grow or, more specifically, establish the kind of corporate culture that is conducive to real innovation. Here's an example of Hamel's straight talk:
"As human beings, we are amazingly adaptable and creative, yet most of us work for companies that are not. In other words, we work for companies that aren't very human."
"There seems to be something in modern organizations that depletes the natural resilience and creativity of human beings, something that literally leaches these qualities out of employees during daylight hours.
"The culprit? Management principles and processes that foster discipline, punctuality, economy, rationality, and order, yet place very little value on artistry, non-conformity, originality, audacity, and elan.
"To put it simply, most companies are only fractionally human because they make room for only a fraction of the qualities and capabilities that make us human. Billions of people show up for work every day, but way too many of them are sleepwalking. The result: organizations that systematically underperform their potential."
Exactly.
Innovative organizations know how to elicit a creative response from their workforce, not a reactive response. They know how to establish the kind of conditions that nurture growth, instead of mechanically extracting it. They choose to water the root of the plant, not tug on the stalk or harangue the leaves.
And they choose this approach because somewhere, deep, down inside, they respect the innate creativity and integrity of each and every employee.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)
December 31, 2008Welcome to the Ogosphere!
Greetings! My name is Og, hero of Mitch Ditkoff's book about what it really takes to get a big idea out of your head and into the world.
Back in my day, there was no such thing as an internet. Not even a fishing net. Sticks and stones are what we had. And some wooly mammoths. When we wanted to send a message we pounded on our chests or sent smoke signals.
That's why I'm so pumped about the blogosphere. I mean, seven months after Mitch's book came out, bloggers are still getting the word out. Here's the latest from Christine Jalleh of Malaysia.
She is welcomed around our fire anytime.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:01 PM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2008Forget About the Box, Get Out of the Cave!
See the caveman to your left? That's Og. He's the protagonist of my new book, Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world). The word "protagonist" is not in Og's vocabulary. Even I don't use the word "protagonist" all that much -- though I have used it three times in this paragraph.
Hmmm... That's pretty odd.
Then again, the experience of inventing the wheel was pretty odd, too. Which is what Og did. 24,000 years ago. Long before Game Boy, i-Pod, or Starbucks. And yes, long before the Mesopotamians -- the people who usually get all the credit for the wheel -- some 20,300 years after my main man, Og.
(Hey, when was the last time you used the word "Mesopotamian?" That's another word not in Og's vocabulary.)
Actually, Og didn't need a big vocabulary. He had something else going for him: Neanderthalic genius. Stone age brilliance. Originality. Og, you see, was the first innovator. Intrinsically motivated, he was. Fascinated. Inspired. Mojo-driven. And while he was not without imperfections, he needed no attaboys, cash awards, or stock options to follow his muse.
Back in Og's time, when men were men, and stones were stones, even the idea of an idea was unthinkable. And yet... somehow, he had one -- an IDEA, that is -- and not just your dime a dozen variety. Nope. A GREAT idea, a BIG idea, or what I like to call an "out of the cave" idea: The wheel.
Ah... but I go on too long. If Og were here, he'd be frowning by now, shrugging his stooped shoulders, wondering in his delightfully pre-verbal way what other new ideas and discoveries awaited his wonderfully hairy touch.
Want to order the book now? (Og gets 10% of every sale). Go ahead. Help him put bear meat on the table.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:37 AM | Comments (1)
Forget About the Box, Get Out of the Cave!
See the caveman to your left? That's Og. He's the protagonist of my new book, Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world). The word "protagonist" is not in Og's vocabulary. Even I don't use the word "protagonist" all that much -- though I have used it three times in this paragraph.
Hmmm... That's pretty odd.
Then again, the experience of inventing the wheel was pretty odd, too. Which is what Og did. 24,000 years ago. Long before Game Boy, i-Pod, or Starbucks. And yes, long before the Mesopotamians -- the people who usually get all the credit for the wheel -- some 20,300 years after my main man, Og.
(Hey, when was the last time you used the word "Mesopotamian?" That's another word not in Og's vocabulary.)
Actually, Og didn't need a big vocabulary. He had something else going for him: Neanderthalic genius. Stone age brilliance. Originality. Og, you see, was the first innovator. Intrinsically motivated, he was. Fascinated. Inspired. Mojo-driven. And while he was not without imperfections, he needed no attaboys, cash awards, or stock options to follow his muse.
Back in Og's time, when men were men, and stones were stones, even the idea of an idea was unthinkable. And yet... somehow, he had one -- an IDEA, that is -- and not just your dime a dozen variety. Nope. A GREAT idea, a BIG idea, or what I like to call an "out of the cave" idea: The wheel.
Ah... but I go on too long. If Og were here, he'd be frowning by now, shrugging his stooped shoulders, wondering in his delightfully pre-verbal way what other new ideas and discoveries awaited his wonderfully hairy touch.
Want to order the book now? (Og gets 10% of every sale). Go ahead. Help him put bear meat on the table.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:37 AM | Comments (1)
September 15, 2008A Wonderfully Refreshing Review of Awake at the Wheel
As you probably know by now, my book about the creative process -- Awake at the Wheel -- was published in May.
Like most new authors, it's appearance on the scene was a big deal for me. I checked my Amazon ranking five times a day. I did a bunch of interviews. I forwarded the good reviews to all my friends and family.
But after four months, a new book is no longer new.
Which is why yesterday was such a nice surprise. That's when I stumbled across the September 12th review of my book by someone I'd never heard of before, never sent a review copy to, never played the "you scratch my blog, I'll scratch yours" game.
There was something about the review that really touched me. Made me feel that all my howling at the moon was worth it.
So, thank you, Cristina Favreau, for your heartfelt, authentic, and very positive review of Awake at the Wheel.
I thank you. My publisher thanks you. And my fabulous publicist thanks you.
Like Og, you rock.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2008HEAR AND NOW: Small Business Big Ideas Show: 6/29/08
If you're looking for some inspiration and insight to help you grow your business and radically increase your ability to manifest BIG IDEAS, tune into the Small Business Big Ideas Show out of Toronto this Sunday, 7/29, at 9:00 am (www.ckdo.ca).
The delightfully open-minded Lissa Bergin-Boles will be interviewing me from 9:02 -- 9:15 am. We'll explore the fabulous world of creative thinking and what it takes to foster a culture of innovation within yourself and your business.
We'll also be talking about how my new book, Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world), can help you turn your top-of-the-line ideas into bottom-line results.
If you want to call in and ask me a question, the number is 888-511-2436. Hope to hear you then.
PS: If you're interested in the results of Idea Champions' recently released "Where and When Do People Get Their Best Ideas?" poll, click here.)
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:57 PM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2008New Blog Critics Magazine Review of Awake at the Wheel
OK. These two cavemen walk into a bar. The first one burps, pounds his hairy chest, and lets out a primal scream. The second mumbles something about Nietzche and thumbs through a recently purchased copy of Awake at the Wheel.
OK, so the first paragraph isn't exactly a joke (despite it's promising beginning), but it does technically qualify as a segue to the most recent review of my new book.
Sure, as far as segues go, the opening paragraph is not what I would call a "fantastic segue" or even a "good segue," but it IS a segue, which is all I was really going for here.
Violet Nesdoly is the reviewer. (Thank you, Violet!) BlogCritics Magazine is the website.
These two blog critics walk into a bar...
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:04 PM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2008The Inner Game
If you missed Tim Gallwey's classic Inner Game of Tennis the first time around, now's your chance to get it. Tim's book, the best selling sports psychology book in U.S. publishing history, is about as good as it gets. Using tennis as a metaphor, Tim has found an impeccable way to help athletes and non-athletes alike go beyond their inner obstacles and tap into their innate potential as human beings.
I'm speaking from experience, folks, because I worked with Tim for two years in the mid 1980's as part of his Inner Game corporation in LA. Tim doesn't just walk his talk, he lobs it, slams it, and puts just enough back spin on it to tease out the very best of his reader's and client's abilities.
Oh... he also gave me a wonderful testimonial about my new book, Awake at the Wheel: "A superb catalyst for anyone with the urge to bring their best ideas to reality."
Thanks, Tim! And thank all of you for making your effort to wake up and play the inner game of life.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:43 PM | Comments (1)
May 15, 2008BOOK REVIEW: Growing Great Employees
I love this management development book by Erika Andersen. It's simple. It's beautifully written. And it's very useful.
It's clear that Erika is talking from her real-world experience and not the jive zone of wannabee consultants. It's rare to find a business book devoid of gobbledygook. This book is that rare book.
I thoroughly enjoyed the various ways in which Andersen coaches the reader through real-time challenges in the corporate workplace -- especially the art of hiring and listening.
Growing Great Employees reminds me of what Michelangelo said when asked how he made the David. "I just took away everything that wasn't."
It sure seems to me that the very talented Ms. Andersen has found that secret formula, taking away everything that didn't need to be in this book and leaving the reader with everything they need in order to understand what it means to manage people skillfully and with great humanity.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:42 PM | Comments (1)
BOOK REVIEW: Growing Great Employees
I love this management development book by Erika Andersen. It's simple. It's beautifully written. And it's very useful.
It's clear that Erika is talking from her real-world experience and not the jive zone of wannabee consultants. It's rare to find a business book devoid of gobbledygook. This book is that rare book.
I thoroughly enjoyed the various ways in which Andersen coaches the reader through real-time challenges in the corporate workplace -- especially the art of hiring and listening.
Growing Great Employees reminds me of what Michelangelo said when asked how he made the David. "I just took away everything that wasn't."
It sure seems to me that the very talented Ms. Andersen has found that secret formula, taking away everything that didn't need to be in this book and leaving the reader with everything they need in order to understand what it means to manage people skillfully and with great humanity.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:42 PM | Comments (1)
