Idea Champions is thrilled to announce the launch of an exciting new offering -- an elegant way for its time-crunched, innovation-leaning clients to upgrade the impact of their (on-site) brainstorming sessions -- just in time, as some of our clients, post-pandemic, begin gathering together, in the flesh, again. Oh boy!

We call it Conducting Genius -- the simplest, most time-efficient way we can think of to help our clients become masterful brainstorm facilitators.

Bottom line, we've distilled down the best of what we've learned during the past 30 years of facilitating creative thinking sessions for these organizations, and translated it into a series of live, online 60-minute modules. No off-sites required. No two-day training sessions. No bad hotel muffins.

And because we know our clients have different needs, we offer four different options:

BRONZE: 5 modules ($2,500)
SILVER: 10 modules ($4,500)
GOLD: 15 modules ($6,000)
PLATINUM: 20 modules ($7,000)

THE PROCESS FROM HERE:

1. A 30-minute phone conversation with you to explore the possibilities
2. You decide on how many modules you want (5, 10, 15, or 20)
3. We agree on a schedule of trainings (1-2 times per week)
4. We email you a Letter of Engagement for your signature
5. We conduct a needs assessment to further tune into your needs
6. We custom design the training (from this curriculum)

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CONTACT US:
info@ideachampions.com

Illustration: Sidney Perry, Unsplash

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)

The word "innovate" can be traced all the way back to 1440. It comes from the Middle French word "innovacyon," meaning "renewal" or "new way of doing things".

Exactly what innovations actually happened in 1440 (rounder oxcart wheels?) is anybody's guess, but whatever they were, it's likely they improved the quality of life for more than a few people.

These days, the "innovation thing" is something of a no-brainer. Every company worth its low-salt lunch has identified innovation as a core competency needing to be developed.

Who in their right mind (or is it right brain?) can deny the value of improving things? Isn't this what human beings, those grand inventors of the microchip and the chocolate chip, are supposed to do?

True. But who has time?

And so begins the search for the magic pill -- the system, formula, or blueprint that will make innovation a done deal.

Innovation, unfortunately -- unlike audits, re-engineering, or your high school penmanship teacher -- is not given to systems, formulas, and blueprints. It is given to people -- restless, inspired, fascinated people with an almost cellular need to change things for the better.

And while it can certainly be supported by systems, it can never be reduced to systems.

If you want to ignite innovation in your organization, forget about slick formulas for a minute and pay attention to what's happening on the inside. Because that's where innovation starts. With the innovator -- the inspired individual, compelled to make a difference.

And the key to the innovator? The special blend of qualities that allows him or her to succeed while their co-workers are bitching and moaning on their way to their next unnecessary meeting.

Is it tools? Techniques? Metrics?

Sure, they're useful. But without the user of them having the right stuff, they're merely decoration -- like having a shiny set of new jumper cables, but no car.

And so... if you are one of the self-chosen few who are willing to stop blaming your organization, the economy, your boss, your industry, the government, HR, your mother, your astrological sign, the Board, and the bored, now's the time to start taking personal responsibility for innovating.

Now's your chance to kick things in high gear.

Now's the time to get the lead out -- to lead the revolution wherever you happen to be working at the time and make some magic.

Yes, it begins with you. But where does it begin with you?

With awareness.

In the words of the great psychologist, Fritz Perls, "awareness cures." Yes, it does. Still with me?

If so, take a few minutes now to try the following exercise to get the party started.

All you need to do is rate yourself, on a scale of 1-10, for how much you manifest the following qualities in the workplace. Note which ones are your strengths -- and how can you build on them. Then note which ones are your weaknesses -- and how can you strengthen them.

You might even give them to your team and ask them to rate themselves. Then get together and talk about what you've all come up with.

And don't forget to floss.

20 Qualities of an Innovator

1. Challenges the status quo

2. Curious

3. Self-motivated

4. Visionary

5. Entertains the fantastic

6. Takes risks

7. Peripatetic (moves about)

8. Playful/humorous

9. Self-accepting

10. Flexible/adaptive

11. Makes new connections

12. Reflective

13. Recognizes patterns

14. Tolerates ambiguity

15. Committed to learning

16. Balances intuition and analysis

17. Situationally collaborative

18. Formally articulate

19. Resilient

20. Persevering

This posting is excerpted from It's AHAppening, a series of five, 16-page creative thinking guidebooks.

Idea Champions

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:38 PM | Comments (1)

Covid-19 hasn't just disrupted businesses around the world, it has also disrupted their ability to innovate. And one of the biggest reasons WHY can be traced to one simple factor: isolation.

With most people working from home and scrambling to survive, the opportunities for "thought partners" to connect with each other in meaningful ways have radically declined -- and along with it opportunities to ideate, problem solve, and think out of the box.

Pre-Covid, this was the main thrust of Idea Champions' work. We designed and facilitated a wide range of creative thinking sessions for our clients -- opportunities for them to unleash their collective brilliance and make significant progress on a specific goal, initiative, or opportunity.

Those days, at least for now, are over. Everything is virtual. Zoomified. And that is precisely why we have reinvented HOW we deliver services to our clients.

Enter Free the Genie -- the distillation of 34 years of sparking innovation for organizations in 11 different countries.

Free the Genie, quite simply, is a facilitated online brainstorming session -- a way for our clients to get a fresh look at what they do and how they do it -- a way to generate the kind of game changing ideas, mindset, and commitment required to make a quantum leap.

TAKEAWAYS FROM A FREE THE GENIE SESSION:

- Increased clarity re: the problem you're trying to solve
- A much clearer vision of the outcomes you're looking for
- A wide variety of actionable ideas
- At least one breakthrough insight or AHA
- Deeper access to your own untapped brilliance
- A dependable way to enter into a creative mindset
- Tons of positive momentum
- New tactics to use in brainstorming sessions
- Techniques to "free the genie" on your team
- Increased collaboration

Sessions are 60-90 minutes long, preceded by a 30-minute needs assessment call and 15 minutes of pre-work. Includes a free deck of Free the Genie cards.

To schedule a Free the Genie session: office@ideachampions.com

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)