Blue Sky Thinking & Webinar
Blue Sky Thinking (Courtesy of Pixabay)New Webinar!
Be sure to check out the details below for our upcoming webinar, “Systematic Inspiration” on March 31 2021. The webinar will also introduce our new online subscription program “Leadership Lab: Creative Problem-Solving at Work”. Want to sign up for the webinar right now? Click here to register.
The Paradoxes of Blue Sky Thinking
It may sound improbable, but constraints and paradoxes form an important part of creative problem-solving and innovation.
Constraints & Paradoxes
A fundamental paradox for leaders is, on one hand, unleashing creativity by supporting diverse thinking in individuals; on the other, managing team decision-making which means ensuring everyone is open to each others’ ideas and being willing to passionately debate and disagree. I touch on some of this in my upcoming webinar (see below).
Setting goals – part of the leadership territory – can be problematic when it comes to innovation. Other than having an overarching goal (e.g. keep our customers loyal for 10 years), the nature of the creative problem-solving process means that it’s not always possible to set milestone goals… you cannot predict that you will have a winning idea or working prototype by a given date.
Which leads to another constraint: being comfortable with the creative problem-solving process requires patience (and managing stakeholder expectations). However, you also need to know when to chivvy people along so they don’t get stuck in the quagmire of repeatedly going back to the drawing board. Sometimes you just need to kick an idea out of the nest to see if it will fly.
A contradiction question for blue sky thinking
Have you thought about how to plan in the context of creatively solving problems? What about the constraints you’ll set for your team? This doesn’t exactly sound like blue sky thinking, does it? If you bear in mind the concepts of constraints and paradoxes, though, I think you’ll find that you’ll create the conditions for systematic blue sky thinking. Speaking of which…
Systematic Inspiration Webinar
Join us for the webinar “Systematic Inspiration for Leaders” to learn about the fundamentals of creative problem-solving and innovation – constraints and all! – on March 31st, 10am (PST). Sign up at http://eepurl.com/hsK8CX.)
Attending this webinar could give you a head start in helping your team become better problem-solvers. The webinar is designed for leaders and business owners who want to improve productivity, revenue, team-working, staff retention, processes… and inspired problem-solving. As a result of attending the webinar you’ll:
Have a simple framework that you and your team can apply for creatively resolving problems
Learn a brainstorming exercise that you can use in any work situation
Have important insights into the important role that leaders play in creative problem-solving and innovation
Potentially experience benefits such as an improved bottom line, a stronger team, a higher level of staff engagement and retention, and an increase in good ideas
Hear about the new online program “Leadership Lab: Creative Problem-Solving at Work”
Qualify for the prize draw – one lucky attendee will win a month’s access to the Leadership Lab, valued at $100
Click here to claim your seat at the webinar!
With the right support any individual, team, and organization can learn creative ways to solve problems. I'm hired by visionary organizations to help their teams think in new ways together, and to guide leaders in designing a kickass culture of innovation. Let's have a conversation if you want to see what tapping into creative potential could look like at your place of work. Contact me at Ellia@ThePotentialCenter.com to arrange a call.
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