Entrepreneur the Arts » Lisa Canning

210 Social Innovation Funding Sources

Lisa Canning — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:15:37 +0000

Social Entrepreneur, Social Enterprise and Social Innovation Sources of Funding

Here is a list of 210 social entrepreneur, social enterprise and social innovation funding sources (#socent) that a group member in Impact Entrepreneur posted on Linkedin. This is the most comprehensive list anywhere as far as I know. If you see something missing, you can go to ned.com, join, and then be able to edit the page.

Venture philanthropy, seed stage investing for social entrepreneurs, early stage investing for social innovation

Crowdsourced Funding, Crowdfunding, and Peer-to-Peer Microfinance

Social Entrepreneur & Innovation Friendly Foundations

Top SE College Programs

Social Entrepreneur & Innovation Prize/Awards

Search Tools for Grant Funding

Crowdsourced Funding for Musicians & Bands

Business Model You

Lisa Canning — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:07:05 +0000

I am sitting here with coffee in hand, writing to you all from the French Quarter in beautiful New Orleans. I am at the U.S Association for. Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference (USASBE). Today my colleague from University of Illinois, Joyce Thomas, and I present a paper on our learning model for The IAE.

One of the underpinnings of The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship’s education model is how we use the Business Model Canvas. The Business Model Canvas is an analytical tool described in Business Model Generation. It is a visual template preformatted with the nine blocks of a business model, allowing users to diagram existing business models or conceive new ones. Check out the Canvas as it is used for organizations and for individuals.

In our model we have adapted the Canvas to be a Personal Canvas specifically designed to intuitively and emotionally address all 9 segments allowing creatives to understand business development from right to left. It is slightly different than the personal canvas that is about to be released in Business Model You.

If you are curious to know more, a 79-page, 9.3 MB preview of Business Model You is now available for download.

DOWNLOAD PREVIEW

CHICAGO: Join the IAE and WBEZ @ Catalyst Ranch to Celebrate Self Employment

Lisa Canning — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:20:00 +0000

On Thursday January 26th The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship (IAE) will be teaming up with WBEZ’s new project Front & Center to host a resource fair for the self employed, small businesses, start-ups, and freelancers.

Mini seminars and presentations will run through out the evening at the fabulous Catalyst Ranch located at 656 W Randolph St # 3W in the Polka Room.

Mini Seminar Topics Include:

Entrepreneurship 101
Presented by Institute For Arts Entrepreneurship

Receiving small loans as an independent worker
Presented Accion Micro Lending

Doing your taxes as a freelancer, small business owner, or independent
Presented by Center for Economic Progress

Create. Innovate. Repeat: featuring 4 fabulous presenters, 7 slides and just 5 minutes each to pitch their most innovative business idea to you.
Presented by Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship.

Partial List of Participants Include:

Co-Lab Evanston providers of shared office spaces.

Northside Freelancers Network who can help you connect to the growing Chicago self-employed community. Make sure to ask them about their weekly “freelancers soup” lunch.

Accion will be on hand to discuss how to get a micro-loans to jump start your own business.

Northside Community Bank can help you find funding for your small, local project.

IndieMade is itself a small business. They create websites for independents, artist, small businesses, and start-up projects.

Rockstar CPA offers CPA services specifically geared towards the self-employed, with a specialty in creative projects.

The Law Project offer affordable legal resources for freelancers, independents, and small businesses, such as creating contracts, negotiating pay, etc.

Chicago! Come on out and celebrate self-employment with us! We hope to see you on January 26th.

Fair begins at 6pm @ Catalyst Ranch 656 W Randolph St # 3W, in the Polka Room

Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts

Lisa Canning — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:06:11 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

I am writing to let you know about an exciting new initiative and to ask that you forward this information to your professional networks. Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts (ISSN 2164-7747), the first ever peer-reviewed research journal in the field of arts entrepreneurship, will be published twice yearly beginning July 2012 in an online format.

The mission of Artivate is to disseminate new thinking and perspectives on arts entrepreneurship theory, practice, and pedagogy. The editors, Linda Essig, director of Arizona State University’s p.a.v.e program in arts entrepreneurship, and Gary Beckman of North Carolina State University’s program in entrepreneurial studies in the arts, are committed to publishing research-based articles and case studies of interest to scholars, artists, and students in the areas of entrepreneurship theory as applied to the arts; arts entrepreneurship education; arts management; arts and creative industries; public policy and the arts; the arts in community and economic development; nonprofit leadership; social entrepreneurship in or using the arts; evaluation and assessment; and public practice in the arts. Artivate’s diverse international editorial board includes Andrew Taylor (UW-Madison), Margaret Wyszomirski (OSU), Bill Gartner (Clemson), Lynn Book (Wake Forest), Christina Hong (Queensland University of Technology) , Ian David Moss (Fractured Atlas), Diane Ragsdale (Erasmus University), Paul van Zuilenberg (University of the Free State), Gordon Shockley (ASU) and others.

I paste below the call for submissions, due February 15. You may also visit the journal site at http://www.artivate.org Please forward this announcement to your professional networks, as appropriate.

Best wishes,

Professor Linda Essig
director, p.a.v.e program in arts entrepreneurship
Co-editor, Artivate.org
ASU School of Theatre and Film
PO Box 872002
Tempe AZ 85287
http://theatrefilm.asu.edu/initiatives/pave/

Call for Submissions

Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts is accepting submissions of articles for publication in its inaugural issue to be published July 2012. The first journal to focus on the emergent field of arts entrepreneurship, Artivate seeks works of original scholarship in the following areas: entrepreneurship theory as applied to the arts; arts entrepreneurship education; arts management; arts and creative industries; public policy and the arts; the arts in community and economic development; nonprofit leadership; social entrepreneurship in or using the arts; evaluation and assessment in and of the field; public practice in the arts. The editors are particularly interested in articles that actively link theory with practice in ways that will be of interest and impact to the broad cross-section of Artivate’s readership. Self-reflective studies from arts entrepreneurs and empirical research from scholars are equally welcome.

Artivate is a peer-reviewed online publication for an academic and practitioner audience. Editorial board members are affiliated with universities, foundations, and arts services organizations on three continents. The co-editors are Linda Essig, director of the p.a.v.e. program in arts entrepreneurship at Arizona State University, and Gary Beckman, director of entrepreneurial studies in the arts at North Carolina State University.
The editors are interested in supporting the growth of our nascent discipline and are committed to publishing at least one debut article from an emerging scholar in each issue. First-time authors are welcome to seek advice from the editors in advance of submission.

Submissions should be between 4,000 and 10,000 words in length. Articles must be submitted in a word format (doc or docx) with any figures or illustrations submitted either within the word document or as separate jpg files. Articles will be evaluated in a blind process so the articles themselves should include no identifying headers, footers, watermarks, or specific content (e.g. “at Jurassic University where I teach arts entrepreneurship”).

Submissions for consideration must be received via email no later than February 15, 2012. Email submissions simultaneously to linda.essig@asu.edu and gdbeckma@ncsu.edu

Happy 2012!

Lisa Canning — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 02:25:04 +0000

Dear Reader,

This blog has been an incredible labor of love. My labor has come from my deep desire to see the world of the arts evolve and change so that artists have a new voice and can develop and be recognized for their entrepreneurial talents by contribute their gifts in new ways.

As we begin our 7th year, I look back and realize that I have persevered relentlessly over the past 6 years because I believe so much in the power of artistry to change the world as we know it. I have invested a significant amount of my time and money into it, as a result, in hopes that the content here can develop shared language, create new meaning and be a useful resource for you to use in your entrepreneurial and creative development. I hope I am achieving my goal.

I wish you all a wonderful 2012 filled with hope, promise and prosperity.

Lisa Canning

Can creativity occupy the hearts and minds of the majority? or Lord hear my prayer.

Lisa Canning — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:49:36 +0000

A friend of mine recently reminded me that there is no need for creative entrepreneurial types like us to apologize for being “egocentric” in saying that creativity and innovation is scarce, while status quo “inside of the box” thinking is the great majority. It is a simple fact.

Unfortunately, “explaining” this to the “majority” is usually not possible or helpful because it requires experiential learning to truly develop ones creative abilities enough for anyone to really understand. What rules the heart can rule the mind but it does not work the other way around. A fundamental shift in the mix of who we highly value learning from, and how we learn, needs to take place for this to occur. It is no wonder societies and humans evolve so slowly despite all the knowledge and tools available to us.

And yet, I believe man was put on this earth to help God make progress on earth. Which, to honor him, requires us to be ethical bound, to morally act and requires tremendous creativity to do. And this single belief has profoundly motivated me through out my life to deepen my intellect, my empathy and my creativity so that I can use my skills to be of service, to the best of my ability, to everyone I know.

As I have grown up, I have increasingly come to recognize that this belief is often isolating and a cause for great misunderstanding. Developing my empathy, intellect and creativity has taught me how to see deeply and profoundly into others- which is not an easy thing, in this broken world, for others to accept as the gift you have to offer. And yet, as an artist, I have come to learn this is our profound gift to share with the world. It is not egocentric at all for me to say it is what artists have to offer and why God graced us all with the gift of life.

And yet, I find myself often in a space where I feel worried that my time on this earth will run out before I have realized this deep vision for the world I have- to occupy the hearts and minds of the majority with more creativity- to reach the tipping point of true change. It is an honest to goodness daily fear of mine. And it has often pushed me to feel the need to try and prove my worth with anyone I encounter in the majority in the hope that they will give me the opportunity to open up a whole new world of meaning to them- one that transcends the empty hunger for power and greed and utilize it for real progress on earth and societal good. And by doing so, for true sustainable prosperity to flow. It is hard not to want this for the world when these principals have profoundly served the development of my own life and my businesses and created so much prosperity and good.

While I have never apologized for my work, in some ways by trying to “prove” to others what deep value as an artist I hold, I think I have. While the majority entertains my beliefs about the ethical values one develops from the flow of heartfelt creativity, like a muse in the moment, it is short lived and not invested into to deepen its impact and to create true sustainable values. Is this really the only role my work can have?

Two years ago I was offered the opportunity of being mentored by a quickly rising entrepreneurial star in Chicago. He had built an amazing company from nothing, was featured on INC’s fastest growing list of companies for several years and glowed in power and money. He also “appeared” to be “a creative”, like me, too.

As my relationship with this individual developed, what I found underneath the veil was far from what the exterior portrayed. He was in an “open marriage”; his life was spiraling out of control. He was also hiring broken-down-trodden individuals to do the heavy lifting inside his business because he could pay them less and work them to death. And in all he did in life, he placed appearances far higher on his list than true happiness and meaning despite all of his soul searching trips to meet spiritual gurus.

While he thought he was mentoring me, it was I who was mentoring him.

Through my mentorship, this individual came to to emotionally understand that true love and intimacy was more important to him than sex with multiple women. He also came to experience that a creative career and business was far more valuable to him than a past-its-sell-date sweat shop that gushed cash. However, I was never given any credit for my work. The profound changes that I witnessed in him, during our professional relationship, were not rewarded with generosity for his newly found flow of heart centered creativity; which my mentorship reinvigorated the hunger within him to have. It certainly also did not make him donate funds to The IAE, or even thank me. Instead he took it freely from me as if it had no intrinsic value or significant economic worth.

And if I had told him upfront the price tag to help him was a donation of $100,000 to my school, he would have laughed and walked away. Why would he pay when all of us artists continue to give our gifts away for free to those who don’t have the skills, but have the resources to pay for what we have to deliver?

Today this individual is happily, for the first time, married to one woman. And he sold his company too and is now working on something truly meaningful to him and which is helping him to build his creative capacity.

Artists can truly help restore the inner lives of the majority not to mention by doing so stop the Penn State’s, Bernie Madoff’s and Enron’s from ever happening. But it is going to require finding the minority of the majority- those financially able and brave enough to invest and act- to step up and give those of us with these gifts a chance to fully integrate our pure heart centered creativity into their world.

Please Lord hear my prayer. I am sure this is the work you put all of us artists on this earth to do. And, finally, I believe our time has come to do your work on your beloved earth. The world is awakening to the real need for promised words and actions to match. Intellectual understanding is not from where we are compelled to act. This is why I dutifully created The IAE- to help artists help others make progress on earth for you.

Please send me the minority who is willing to invest and act. Lord hear my prayer.

Born Like an Artist, Evolve Like an Artist, Bloom Like an Artist

Lisa Canning — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:39:06 +0000

While it is easy to look at this cartoon strip created by Norwegian artist, Ida Eva Margrethe Neverdahl, and see it for its “face” value, I would encourage you to look deeper. Ida shares a great visual story, in my opinion, about how we discover our “emotional” elephant and learn to ride it. ( For more explicate training instructions read How to train your elephant to increase whole brain thinking.)

You see, we all have an elephant inside of us. And none of us has an easy time, at first, getting on its back- as this cartoon strip illustrates. But when you learn how to, your life will magically begin to flow. And you too will be able to “ride your artwave and show off its fun“ quite easily, successfully and profitably.

Growing Starbucks: Extending Brand Uniqueness or Diluting It?

Lisa Canning — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:07:18 +0000

At what point, if any, does extending brand uniqueness create a tipping point that then threatens the very foundation of the brand itself? Lately I have been asking myself this very question about the Starbucks brand.

Starbucks 1st store location in Seattle's Pike Place Market, 1971

As we all know, back in the 90′s Howard Schultz transformed the second most consumed drink after water, and the second most traded commodity after crude oil, coffee, into a unique retail destination for us all between work and home.

Putting people before products, Schultz used intuition more than “brand strategy” in those early days to develop Starbucks into the social place outside of work or home most of us did not even realize how much we needed. Schultz’s vision and intuition allowed Starbucks to leverage a low cost commodity, coffee, and transform it into a “$4.00-human-interactive-experiencial-brand.”

And now with Howard Schultz’s recent return to Starbucks as CEO, after a series of setbacks and financial downturns after his departure, the question is can he add more value to the bottom line while retaining the “human soul”- the uniqueness- he built into the Starbucks brand? Or is he reaching for the tipping point leading to the erosion of it?

According to Merriam-Webster something that is unique is defined as:

1. Being the only one.
2. Being without a like or equal.
3. Distinctively characteristic: peculiar.
4. Unusual.

There is no doubt Starbucks has managed to create a unique retail store environment with their friendly customer oriented staff, great music, comfy chairs and heartfelt emotional connective messaging.

And they have quite successfully been able to extend the feeling you get from their brand outside their stores too spending far less on advertising than other large retailers and consumer products companies to achieve tremendous brand loyalty.

Check out these 2006 comparative stats of what other companies spent on advertising for their brand.

Microsoft – more than 20 percent of their annual revenue or $11.5 billion
Coca-Cola – more than $2.5 billion
Yahoo – more than 20 percent of their annual revenue or $1.3 billion
eBay – 14 percent to 15 percent of its revenue – which was $871 million, much of that to advertise on Google
Google – In the millions rather than billions of dollars – with $188 million
Starbucks – $95 million

In 2006, Starbucks spent just $95 million on advertising with 7.8 billion in sales demonstrating their amazing strength as an “experiential brand”.

But is it possible to continue to expand the human experience of this brand while Starbucks’ transition into what Schultz hopes will be the first company to excel as both a retailer and a purveyor—in supermarkets and other mass-market channels—of consumer packaged goods?

According to Schultz, “This is a unique inflection point for Starbucks; I think we’ve identified a very big opportunity to do something that really has not been done before. And that is the following: there are many, many companies, domestically and around the world, that have built a domestic national footprint around retail stores, just like Starbucks—the Gap, Costco, Wal-Mart, Coach, Zara. And there are many consumer-packaged-goods companies—Pepsi, Coke, Kellogg’s, Campbell’s. There hasn’t been one company I can identify that has been able to build complementary channels of distribution by integrating the retail footprint and the ubiquitous channels of distribution—in our case, grocery stores and drug stores.

So the model is, Starbucks can seed and introduce new products and new brands inside our stores. We introduced VIA instant coffee in our stores. Instant coffee is a $24 billion global category that has not had any innovation in over 50 years. And no growth. If we took VIA and we put it into grocery stores and it sat on a shelf, it would have died. But we can integrate VIA into the emotional connection we have with our customers in our stores. We did that for six to eight months and succeeded well beyond expectations in our stores. And as a result of that, we had a very easy time convincing the trade, because they wanted it so badly.”

And while it’s true Starbucks has tallied up five years of positive earnings and five years of positive free cash flow, again, in part, under Schultz’s leadership, Starbucks stock has only just recently seen a rise above mid 2006 values.

However, food stocks should be on the rise. It makes sense that with unemployment up, the housing market down, and the world economy on shaky ground that food-makers would deliver stable sales.

So the question is can Starbucks continue to introduce produces like VIA into their stores and translate the uniqueness of their brand through them into distribution channels? Will their customers buy into all the products they introduce in their retail environment, bond with them, and then readily buy them from their local grocery store or drug store?

I don’t know about you, but I for one was completely turned off by VIA’s introduction at Starbucks. My sense of embracing the serenity of my “home away from work or home” felt threatened by the through I was being encouraged to take a little packet of dried coffee home as a substitute for the experience of being in their retail environment. I have always bought into Starbucks being an ” escape,” a destination, a home away from home. To add insult to injury, I was told if I liked their dried coffee, which I also perceived as cheapening the brand, I did not even have to come back into the store- I could buy it elsewhere. It almost felt like an invitation to never come back- I felt like I was losing a friend.

Howard Schultz in his 2011 book Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul specifically talks about his mission in a way that’s very different from most CEOs. “Everything we’ve tried to do,” he writes, “is steeped in humanity.” I certainly find Schultz’s new goal as being very problematic for the brand.

Purveyors use distribution channels and have retailers who connect with end users for a reason- because retails act differently than purveyors. I have witnessed this first hand within the music industry. The clarinet company I represent, Buffet Crampon, increasingly in the 90′s adopted some of my best practices working with customers. Increasingly they acted more like a retailer than a distributor, or the purveyor they are, by increasing the attention they paid towards potential end users. They threw private parties and gave potential customers the opportunity, before retailers, to see and experience new products.

In the end, it pissed off retailers who felt side stepped and while left uninformed were expected to close the sale with the majority of the customers anyways. I am not sure how much it really did to help them grow their brand then but they have abandoned most of those practices now. While I realize, Starbucks first and foremost is recognized as an extremely well established retailer- a significant difference from being a purveyor dabbling in retail, placing people over products simultaneously in both distribution channels and retail environments will be challenging. Distributors exist to move product and retailers exist to sell those products to people. The motivation of each is different and as a result using the same messaging for both won’t be easy to effectively manage.

While I think Schultz’s idea is very interesting to try and be the first company to excel at both, how will Starbucks lead me or anyone else to rediscovering why we’re best friends with this as their end game strategy in their retail environment?

I don’t know about you, but I spend time with a best friend. I get to know them. I also frequently see them in the same places and I don’t just spend money on them. While distributors and Schultz alike may hope Starbucks can convincingly sell us many products at the local grocery from an experience or two in their retail environment, it is yet to be seen how well they can translate the uniqueness of their brand into repetitive buying decisions in locations outside their own doors.

Ode to Dr Suess: Ding-Dong, Ring-Ring

Lisa Canning — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 13:00:51 +0000

Well, its that time again…….

I’m dusting off ornaments,

untangling a ball full of metal fishhook hangers from each other

and uncurling ribbons on those (damn) wreath bows.

I think it might be time to go shopping.

Ode to Dr Suess: Ding-Dong, Ring-Ring

Ding- dong, Ring- ring

all the bells are RING-ING!!

People shuffling,

Cash registers opening,

Boy! all those entrepreneurs are “hoping”…

All those folks out there, being ”customers”,

AND BUYING stuff up!

and UP!

AND UP!!

They shop and don’t stop

SAY WHAT?

JUST WHAT??

just what could THEY POSSIBLY BE THINKING???

Inside every customer

is a mind that is

Thinking ….

and THINKING!

AND THINKING!!!

THINKING To fill IT’S own voids,

and center it’s Being.

~~~

Customers buy to be happy, and satisfy

their worth.

AND customers especially treasure artists, for their gifts,

BLESSED at birth.

we love, we laugh, we cry,

WE UNWIND……!!!

We harden, we age, we narrow,

WE WHY????

Ding-Dong, Ring-Ring, Customers nearing!

Take niche to find thrive, hurry up, there’s still time!

GO AHEAD, follow the signs to give your customer a ride–

On the ARTWAVE you know, well.

YOU KNOW? The one YOU CAN RIDE!!

You ride to find niche for your customers, who will buy!!!

And BUY!!

AND BUY!!!!

What they pay for is YOU, to teach them to GLIDE.

To glide on the ride that, YOU KNOW how to ride.

Perfectly.

The one that produces Your OWN version of THRIVE.

We RIDE. We thrive. THEY Ride. They Glide

We all simply enjoy

as we all simply ride.

But do you remember the day, YOUR art called your name????????

It TICKLED your funny bone, calling to YOU, Outloud AND BY NAME!!

Go Dancer and Painter

Go CartoonIST and VisionIST.

Go off in your sleigh with A Plan,

BECOME AN Artistic missionist!!

Your future, it awaits you, its only begun.

Your art wave will take you, anywhere,

quite far and far flung!!

..as long as you ride it, AND SHOW OFF ITS FUN!

To Yonder and Listen and Dreamer and Great VisionISTS;

your patrons, are waiting for you..remember to visit us!

Ding-dong, Ring-ring, my poem is nearly done.

Take the arts into the future, and find life Ohhhh SOOOOoooooo MUCH richer,

Merry Christmas, Dr. Seuss; you’re a missionIST and my hero

from a patron, gliding,

and sent with love.

Wishing all of you patrons and bloggers a

wonderful holiday season!

Lisa Canning

What does it mean to be a servant leader?

Lisa Canning — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:29:25 +0000

In a world where interruption, abruptness and “me first” rules, is it really any wonder we are economically struggling? How can we deepen trust and increase listening to build cohesive teams in this kind of disconnected environment?

2nd shift at work in my father's foundry, Alpha-Cast.

Long ago I watched my father purchase a bankrupt diesel engine foundry business and transform it into a roaring success through his practice of servant leadership.

My father, Theodore Argiris, a Harvard graduate, and before entering the foundry business a prominent criminal attorney in Chicago, pictured here with his hard hat on in the lunchroom with some of his employees. Many days after school, when I would stop by the foundry, I would find him in the lunchroom. We would have something to drink together and I would participate in conversations with him and his employees. I was able to observe how my dad involved them in key decision making and built shared understanding, empathy and as a result, trusted peer relationships with them.

Servant leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership, coined and defined by Robert K. Greenleaf. Servant-leaders are often seen as humble stewards of their organization’s resources: human, financial and physical.

As a young woman, I learned a great deal watching how my father built relationships with his employees through developing shared language and asking for their input with key decision making.

Larry C. Spears, who has served as President and CEO of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership since 1990, has extracted a set of 10 characteristics that are central to the development of a servant leader:

Listening: Traditionally, and also in servant leadership, managers are required to have communication skills as well as the competence to make decisions. A servant leader has the motivation to listen actively to subordinates and support them in decision identification. The servant leader particularly needs to pay attention to what remains unspoken in the management setting. This means relying on his inner voice in order to find out what the body, mind and spirit are communicating.

Empathy: A servant leader attempts to understand and empathize with others. Workers may be considered not only as employees, but also as people who need respect and appreciation for their personal development. As a result, leadership is seen as a special type of human work, which ultimately generates a competitive advantage.

Healing: A great strength of a Servant Leader is the ability for healing one’s self and others. A servant leader tries to help people solve their problems and conflicts in relationships, because he wants to encourage and support the personal development of each individual.This leads to the formation of a business culture, in which the working environment is dynamic, fun and free of the fear of failure.

Awareness: A servant leader needs to gain general awareness and especially self-awareness. He has the ability to view situations from a more integrated, holistic position. As a result, he gets a better understanding about ethics and values.

Persuasion: A Servant Leader does not take advantage of her power and status by coercing compliance; she rather tries to convince those she manages. This element distinguishes servant leadership most clearly from traditional, authoritarian models and can be traced back to the religious views of Robert Greenleaf.

Conceptualization: A servant leader thinks beyond day-to-day realities. That means he has the ability to see beyond the limits of the operating business and also focuses on long term operating goals. A Leader constructs a personal vision that only he can develop by reflecting on the meaning of life. As a result, he derives specific goals and implementation strategies.

Foresight: Foresight is the ability to foresee the likely outcome of a situation. It enables the servant leader to learn about the past and to achieve a better understanding about the current reality. It also enables the servant leader to identify consequences about the future. This characteristic is closely related to conceptualization.

Stewardship: CEOs, staffs and trustees have the task to hold their institution in trust for the greater good of society. In conclusion, servant leadership is seen as an obligation to help and serve others. Openness and persuasion are more important than control.

Commitment to the growth of people: A servant leader is convinced that people have an intrinsic value beyond their contributions as workers. Therefore, she should nurture the personal, professional and spiritual growth of employees. For example, she spends money for the personal and professional development of the people who make up her organization. The servant leader will also encourage the ideas of everyone and involve workers in decision making.

Building community: A servant leader identifies means to build a strong community within his organization and wants to develop a true community among businesses and institutions.
At the foundry, employee's had a great "can do" attitude because they felt like a cohesive community that each individually was understood. Communication flowed, problems were solved and progress was made.

Global Entrepreneurship Week November 14-20, 2011

Lisa Canning — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:11:23 +0000

Unleash your ideas with us this week for Global Entrepreneurship Week! Come on Thur Nov 17th to our idea pitch event called Create. Innovate. Repeat. here in Chicago. There is still room for 2 more presenters if you want to sign up!

Learn more about Global Entrepreneurship 2011.

Richard Branson talks about Global Entrepreneurship Week and why he thinks entrepreneurs really can change the world.

U.S. Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference, January 12-15 New Orleans, LA

Lisa Canning — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:09:57 +0000

In 2012 The United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) will be held from January 12-15th in New Orleans, LA. My colleague from University of Illinois, Joyce Thomas and myself will be attending to present material from a paper we wrote, with another Univ of IL colleague, Deana McDonough, about The IAE and our learning cloud model. I am excited to be presenting my first paper about The IAE at this conference. This will be the 3rd time I have attended USASBE. I think it’s a valuable resource and a great networking opportunity. I hope you will consider attending. You can register here.

About USASBE

USASBE is the largest independent, professional, academic organization in the world dedicated to advancing the discipline of entrepreneurship. With over 1000 members from universities and colleges, for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, and the public sector, USASBE is a diverse mix of professionals that share a common commitment to fostering entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviors.

USASBE is built around four pillars that guide the ongoing development of our organization. The pillars include:

entrepreneurship education
entrepreneurship research
entrepreneurship outreach and
public policy

By fostering advances in each of these areas, we support the development of entrepreneurship educators who in turn will create next generation of entrepreneurs.

The roots of USASBE go back over fifty years to the founding of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) in 1957. The ICSB was founded in the United States as a comprehensive organization of outstanding researchers, scholars, teachers, administrators, and public policy makers interested in entrepreneurship and small business. As the organization grew, members decided to form national affiliates, and the U. S. Affiliate of the ICSB was established in 1981. In 1985, the name was changed to the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). Today, USASBE is an independent academic organization with its own unique mission, while also retaining its affiliation with ICSB.

USASBE is a community of scholars, entrepreneurship program and center directors, government officials, directors of entrepreneurship support organizations and others. It is a community that works to enhance our understanding of the phenomenon of entrepreneurship and to identify best practices in how to teach entrepreneurial principles and facilitate the creation and growth of new for-profit and social ventures. Ours is a culture of exploring, experimenting, innovating, sharing, challenging and giving.

As leaders in the emerging discipline of entrepreneurship, our members are making an impact on how we think about, conduct research on, design public policy around, and interact with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ventures. They are extending the field of knowledge and shaping the discipline to reflect the opportunities and demands of the 21st Century.

Creative Productivity & The Creative Theorists- Part 3, Csíkszentmihályi

Lisa Canning — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:19:46 +0000

How can imagination become creative productivity? How can artists fuse the work of creative theorists to their gifts to help others to innovate? So far both Basadur’s Creative Problem Solving Profile and deBono’s Six Thinking Hat Theory have provided a structure that is relatively easy to understand, adapt and implement. But with our next creative theorist, Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi, quickly that clarity disappears into the murky world of “flow”.

Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi (pronounced “chick-sent-me-high-ee”) is a Hungarian psychology professor, who emigrated to the United States at the age of 22. Now at Claremont Graduate University, Dr. Csíkszentmihályi is a distinguished professor of psychology and management in the school of organizational and behavioral sciences. He is also the Founding Co-Director of the Quality of Life Research Center. The QLRC is a non-profit research institute that studies “positive psychology”; that is, human strengths such as optimism, creativity, intrinsic motivation, and responsibility.” Prior to his work at Claremont, Mihaly, was the head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College.

Flow

Mihaly is known for his work in the study of happiness and creativity, and in particular for his years of research and writing on the ideas around life’s “flow.” He is the author of a number of books on the topic including:

Having devoted 30 years of research to how creative people live and work, in his seminal work, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Csíkszentmihályi outlines his theory that people need to be happy and be in a state of flow— a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation. It is a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter (Csíkszentmihályi,1990). The idea of flow is identical to the feeling of being in the zone or in the groove. The flow state is an optimal state of intrinsic motivation, where the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing. In an interview with Wired magazine, Csíkszentmihályi described flow as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.”

Csikszentmihalyi saw optimal activities in the "flow" channel moving outward as skills are gained. In short, flow can be described as a state where attention, motivation, and the situation meet, resulting in a kind of productive harmony or feedback.

To achieve a flow state, a balance must be struck between the challenge of the task and the skill of the performer. If the task is too easy or too difficult, flow cannot occur. Both skill level and challenge level must be matched and high; if skill and challenge are low and matched, then apathy results. The flow state also implies a kind of focused attention, and indeed, it has been noted that mindfulness, meditation, yoga, the Alexander Technique, and martial arts seem to improve a person’s capacity for flow.

Why is flow essential to creative productivity?

“Creativity is often defined as a parallel construct to intelligence, but it differs from intelligence in that it is not restricted to cognitive or intellectual functioning or behavior. Instead, it is concerned with a complex mix of motivational conditions, personality factors, environmental conditions, chance factors, and even products.” (Feldhusen and Goh, 1995) The concepts of Flow, fit nicely into this construct.

In his book Flow Csíkszentmihályi lists a number of facts (not all of which have to be present) to create an experience of flow.

1. Clear goals (expectations and rules are discernible and goals are attainable and align appropriately with one’s skill set and abilities).

2. Concentrating and focusing, a high degree of concentration on a limited field of attention (a person engaged in the activity will have the opportunity to focus and to delve deeply into it).

3. A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, the merging of action and awareness.

4. Distorted sense of time, one’s subjective experience of time is altered.

5. Direct and immediate feedback (successes and failures in the course of the activity are apparent, so that behavior can be adjusted as needed).

6. Balance between ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult).

7. A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.

8. The activity is intrinsically rewarding, so there is an effortlessness of action.

9. People become absorbed in their activity, and focus of awareness is narrowed down to the activity itself, action awareness merging.

What personality traits do those posses who frequently achieve creative “flow”?

According to Csíkszentmihályi, creative personalities are different from others, because of their complexity. Creative individuals show tendencies of thought and action that in most people are segregated. They contain contradictory extremes; instead of being an “individual,” each of them is a “multitude.”

Here are 10 paradoxical traits Csíkszentmihályi believes are often present in creative people.

1. Creative people have a great deal of physical energy, but they’re also often quiet and at rest.

They work long hours, with great concentration, while projecting an aura of freshness and enthusiasm. Yet it is surprising how often individuals who in their seventies and eighties exude energy and health remember childhoods plagued by illness. It seems that their energy is internally generated, due more to their focused minds than superior genetics. This does not mean that creative people are hyperactive, always “on.” In fact, they rest often and sleep a lot. The important thing is that they control their energy; it’s not ruled by the calendar, the clock, an external schedule. When necessary, they can focus it like a laser beam; when not, creative types immediately recharge their batteries. They consider the rhythm of activity followed by idleness or reflection very important for the success of their work. This is not a bio-rhythm inherited with their genes; it was learned by trial and error as a strategy for achieving their goals.

2. Creative people tend to be smart yet naive at the same time.

How smart they actually are is open to question. It is probably true that what psychologists call the “g factor,” meaning a core of general intelligence, is high among people who make important creative contributions.The earliest longitudinal study of superior mental abilities, initiated at Stanford University by the psychologist Lewis Terman in 1921, shows rather conclusively that children with very high IQs do well in life, but after a certain point IQ does not seem to be correlated any longer with superior performance in real life. Later studies suggest that the cutoff point is around 120; it might be difficult to do creative work with a lower IQ, but an IQ beyond 120 does not necessarily imply higher creativity.Furthermore, people who bring about an acceptable novelty in a domain seem able to use well two opposite ways of thinking: the convergent and the divergent. Convergent thinking is measured by IQ tests, and it involves solving well-defined, rational problems that have one correct answer. Divergent thinking leads to no agreed-upon solution. It involves fluency, or the ability to generate a great quantity of ideas; flexibility, or the ability to switch from one perspective to another; and originality in picking unusual associations of ideas. These are the dimensions of thinking that most creativity tests measure and that most workshops try to enhance.

Another way of expressing this dialectic is the contrasting poles of wisdom and childishness. As Howard Gardner remarked in his study of the major creative geniuses of this century, a certain immaturity, both emotional and mental, can go hand in hand with deepest insights. Mozart comes immediately to mind.

3. Creative people combine playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility.

Creative people combine playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility. There is no question that a playfully light attitude is typical of creative individuals. But this playfulness doesn’t go very far without its antithesis, a quality of doggedness, endurance, perseverance. Nina Holton, whose playfully claims wild germs of ideas are the genesis of her sculpture, is very firm about the importance of hard work: “Tell anybody you’re a sculptor and they’ll say, ‘Oh, how exciting, how wonderful.’ And I tend to say, ‘What’s so wonderful?’ It’s like being a mason, or a carpenter, half the time. But they don’t wish to hear that because they really only imagine the first part, the exciting part.

4. Creative people alternate between imagination and fantasy, and a rooted sense of reality.

Creative people alternate between imagination and fantasy, and a rooted sense of reality. Great art and great science involve a leap of imagination into a world that is different from the present. The rest of society often views these new ideas as fantasies without relevance to current reality. And they are right. But the whole point of art and science is to go beyond what we now consider real and create a new reality. At the same time, this “escape” is not into a never-never land. What makes a novel idea creative is that once we see it, sooner or later we recognize that, strange as it is, it is true. Most of us assume that artists—musicians, writers, poets, painters—are strong on the fantasy side, whereas scientists, politicians, and businesspeople are realists. This may be true in terms of day-to-day routine activities. But when a person begins to work creatively, all bets are off.

5. Creative people trend to be both extroverted and introverted.

Creative people tend to be both extroverted and introverted. We’re usually one or the other, either preferring to be in the thick of crowds or sitting on the sidelines and observing the passing show. In fact, in psychological research, extroversion and introversion are considered the most stable personality traits that differentiate people from each other and that can be reliably measured. Creative individuals, on the other hand, seem to exhibit both traits simultaneously.

6. Creative people are humble and proud at the same time.

Creative people are humble and proud at the same time. It is remarkable to meet a famous person who you expect to be arrogant or supercilious, only to encounter self-deprecation and shyness instead. Yet there are good reasons why this should be so. These individuals are well aware that they stand, in Newton’s words, “on the shoulders of giants.” Their respect for the area in which they work makes them aware of the long line of previous contributions to it, putting their own in perspective. They’re also aware of the role that luck played in their own achievements. And they’re usually so focused on future projects and current challenges that past accomplishments, no matter how outstanding, are no longer very interesting to them. At the same time, they know that in comparison with others, they have accomplished a great deal. And this knowledge provides a sense of security, even pride.

7. Creative people, to an extent, escape rigid gender role stereotyping.

Creative people, to an extent, escape rigid gender role stereotyping. When tests of masculinity/femininity are given to young people, over and over one finds that creative and talented girls are more dominant and tough than other girls, and creative boys are more sensitive and less aggressive than their male peers.This tendency toward androgyny is sometimes understood in purely sexual terms, and therefore it gets confused with homosexuality. But psychological androgyny is a much wider concept referring to a person’s ability to be at the same time aggressive and nurturing, sensitive and rigid, dominant and submissive, regardless of gender. Creative individuals are more likely to have not only the strengths of their own gender but those of the other one, too.

8. Creative people are both rebellious and conservative.

Creative people are both rebellious and conservative. It is impossible to be creative without having first internalized an area of culture. So it’s difficult to see how a person can be creative without being both traditional and conservative and at the same time rebellious and iconoclastic. Being only traditional leaves an area unchanged; constantly taking chances without regard to what has been valued in the past rarely leads to novelty that is accepted as an improvement. The artist Eva Zeisel, who says that the folk tradition in which she works is “her home,” nevertheless produces ceramics that were recognized by the Museum of Modern Art as masterpieces of contemporary design. This is what she says about innovation for its own sake:”This idea to create something is not my aim. To be different is a negative motive, and no creative thought or created thing grows out of a negative impulse. A negative impulse is always frustrating. And to be different means ‘not like this’ and ‘not like that.’ And the ‘not like’—that’s why postmodernism, with the prefix of ‘post,’ couldn’t work. No negative impulse can work, can produce any happy creation. Only a positive one.”

But the willingness to take risks, to break with the safety of tradition, is also necessary. The economist George Stigler is very emphatic in this regard: “I’d say one of the most common failures of able people is a lack of nerve. They’ll play safe games. In innovation, you have to play a less safe game, if it’s going to be interesting. It’s not predictable that it’ll go well.”

9. Most creative people are very passionate about their work, yet they can be extremely objective about it as well.

Most creative people are very passionate about their work, yet they can be extremely objective about it as well. Without the passion, we soon lose interest in a difficult task. Yet without being objective about it, our work is not very good and lacks credibility.

10. Creative people’s openness and sensitivity often exposes them to suffering and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment.

Creative people’s openness and sensitivity often exposes them to suffering and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment. Most would agree with Rabinow’s words: “Inventors have a low threshold of pain. Things bother them.” A badly designed machine causes pain to an inventive engineer, just as the creative writer is hurt when reading bad prose.Being alone at the forefront of a discipline also leaves you exposed and vulnerable. Eminence invites criticism and often vicious attacks. When an artist has invested years in making a sculpture, or a scientist in developing a theory, it is devastating if nobody cares.Deep interest and involvement in obscure subjects often goes unrewarded, or even brings on ridicule. Divergent thinking is often perceived as deviant by the majority, and so the creative person may feel isolated and misunderstood. Perhaps the most difficult thing for creative individuals to bear is the sense of loss and emptiness they experience when, for some reason, they cannot work. This is especially painful when a person feels his or her creativity drying out.Yet when a person is working in the area of his of her expertise, worries and cares fall away, replaced by a sense of bliss. Perhaps the most important quality, the one that is most consistently present in all creative individuals, is the ability to enjoy the process of creation for its own sake. Without this trait, poets would give up striving for perfection and would write commercial jingles, economists would work for banks where they would earn at least twice as much as they do at universities, and physicists would stop doing basic research and join industrial laboratories where the conditions are better and the expectations more predictable.

Csíkszentmihályi’s theory of Flow, and how it is created, certainly builds a clear case for artists to use his or her artistry- in its pure form- to illustrate and teach others Csíkszentmihályi concepts of flow. Csíkszentmihályi’s theoretical constructs provides the necessary framework to communicate how the arts can facilitate creating an environment for creative productivity and innovation to emerge.

More Foundations Using Investment Assets to Achieve Their Missions

Lisa Canning — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:30:58 +0000

This is pretty interesting news for all of you out there with missions that have no funding sources- yet. All we need to do now is find out which foundations have missions clearly inline with our own…

What does the term Mission Investing mean? A growing group of foundations are increasingly thinking about their organizations as stewards of resources that can be applied to address some of the most challenging problems of their unique missions and program areas. The field of mission investing (MI) is making significant strides. Mission investing is another way for foundations to effect transformational change by using their long-term patient capital to invest in under-served markets.

“More Foundations Use Investment Assets to Achieve Their Missions.” Foundation Center Press Release 10/26/11.

The number of community and private foundations using their investment portfolios to help achieve a social benefit is growing, a new report from the Foundation Center finds.

According to Key Facts on Mission Investing (see link below, 4 page PDF), which benchmarks for the first time foundations’ engagement with mission-related investment, one in seven of the foundations surveyed for the report are directing their assets to market-rate mission-related investments or below-market-rate program-related investments (PRIs). The report also finds that more than half the foundations making mission-related investments started doing so within the past five years, while 28 percent started to do so within the past two years.

By investing endowment funds with an eye to advancing their missions, these grantmakers — which together hold some 20 percent of all U.S. foundation assets — are extending the public benefit of their financial resources, the report argues. While all foundations are allowed by law to make PRIs, which generally yield below-market-rate returns and count toward a foundation’s charitable distribution requirement, market-rate investments that support a foundation’s programmatic goals do not count toward the distribution requirement.

In 2010, private foundations in the U.S. awarded approximately $46 billion in grants, while their assets totaled more than $600 billion. “Foundations are striving for greater impact,” said Steven Lawrence, the Foundation Center’s director of research and principal author of the report. “Mission investing puts foundation asset dollars to work in ways that have the potential to go far beyond the social impact of their grantmaking dollars.”

Click Here to Read a 2011 Keyfacts Report on Mission Investing

The Value of One Tiny Tweet

Lisa Canning — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:45:59 +0000

Last night when I sat down to get ready to begin my social media class, I started up my computer and up popped Oprah Winfrey’s face and a Skype request to connect to her. Talk about a surprise. I wrote Oprah about nine months ago. She is the only “celebrity” I have ever written a letter to. Think it’s really her? Doubt it. Scammers are everywhere online.

Anyway, my social media class is run by Angel Oakley, Unicatis Marketing- quite the “branding” gal. In class we spent some time talking about the value of Twitter. Angel shared this video with us. It’s an interesting clip of Gary Vaynerchuk hanging out with ” The Harper Studio peeps“. Watch how he converts them into Twitter believers.

So did Gary convert you into a twitter believer too? He couldn’t convert me because I already have a ( fledgling) Twitter account @IAEOU. Remember: business skills are to artists like vowels are to words- pretty basic and necessary. But Gary did convince me to follow him @garyvee. Learn more about Gary @ http://garyvaynerchuk.com/

Gary Vaynerchuk is a 35 year old New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best-Selling author who is also a self-trained wine and social media expert. Gary does not claim to be a ‘techie’, but in 2005, he began video blogging and now has close to 1 million followers on Twitter and was included in Business Week’s list of the top 20 people every entrepreneur should follow. Pretty amazing self made creative entrepreneur really.

An Artists Journey: Onward is Best

Lisa Canning — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:52:46 +0000

So often you’ll hear an artist say.. “becoming an artist wasn’t a choice but a gift”. And yet, with as short as life is, sometimes we need to be reminded why this particular gift was selected for us to receive in the first place.

Our gifts were not given to us for our self serving pleasures. Nor to torment us. Or to use for the sole purpose of competing to win a place at the top of the art circle.

And our gifts were also not given for us to pit one against the other. Nor to leave us broken, miserable, or questioning our purpose here on earth. And they certainly were not given to us to leave us alone, homeless or starving.

Our gifts, of not just a vivid imagination but the ability to render it into productive creativity, were given to us because of the profound impact we can make helping another become the best version of the person he or she truly can be. Our creative gifts were given to awaken the inner lives of others. To touch their spirit, to speak where there are no words. To help another gleam the strength, insight, humility, integrity and values from our gifts to move themselves and our world positively onward.

Let this forward below, from my friend Robert Fishbone– a remarkably creative artist in his own right– about his journey finishing his wife, Sarah’s, book Onward is Best, serve as a reminder to us all.

Onward my friends. May this inspire you to continue to step outside of yourself and use your creative gifts to increasingly find a way to be of service, through your artistry, to others. The world needs your creativity more than ever.

Lisa Canning

An Introduction by Robert Fishbone, Sarah’s husband

It was a blustery December evening in 1958. Little Sarah Jean Linquist stood with her face pressed up against a large window at Marshall Field’s department store in Chicago. Sarah, already an aspiring young artist, was swept away by a magical holiday scene created by some unknown designer. “I want to do that some day!” she exclaimed. That desire resurfaced decades later as this amazing book and as one of the ways Sarah dealt with a life-changing event.

In 2006, in the midst of a long career as a prolific painter and well-respected scenic artist, my beloved wife Sarah was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. As someone who courageously and delightfully made every situation her own, even ones that seemed adversarial, she did not let this “new reality,” as she called it, detract from her personal mission: to nurture our family, to spend time with loving friends, to create art, and to wear cool clothes.

In our home, we have often referred to life as the Great Mystery, and mysterious and grand was how Sarah looked at the world. She really wasn’t trying to figure life out or even unravel it…she just wanted to dance with it.

Her first chemo treatments left her with peripheral neuropathy. Her hands and feet became numb, so much that she not only had some difficulty walking, but with her eyes closed she couldn’t feel the difference between sand paper or silk, a real challenge for an artist who draws and paints. To regain her fine motor skills Sarah began cutting up paper and assembling the pieces into shapes and objects. And then she remembered gazing into those Christmas windows at Marshall Field’s. With this Aha! moment she began this wondrous book.

Sarah wrote a classic journey tale. Her story combines foolishness, bravery, loyalty, risk taking and the need to count on others to help you push through the unknown. To illustrate her story, Sarah created a series of 3-D sets, each a miniature landscape through which her characters journeyed. She constructed her Paper Land, Popcorn Land, Metal Land, Teddy Bear Land, Wood Land, and Desolation Land using different materials and found objects. For her heroine she fashioned Dolly, a small wooden doll with wild red hair. She set her story within the context of her favorite time of year: Christmas.

Making landscapes became a wonderful adventure. Sarah was determined to find just the right pieces for her “Lands.” She borrowed heavily from her own giant stash of “arty stuff” collected over many years; she also loved to cruise garage sales and auction web sites. She invited family and friends to donate mini Teddy bears, stuffed crows, and small wooden doors or to help make a whole garden of cloth flowers. Sarah had so much fun explaining her story and giving tours of her evolving sets to the steady stream of visitors who passed through our house.

Sarah worked on her book project whenever she had time, even after two major surgeries and during four different chemo regimens. I figure she averaged four hours a day for four years. That’s almost 6,000 hours devoted to her vision: a new Christmas classic that parents and grandparents would read to their children in the days leading up to Christmas.

Very sadly though, Sarah died in June, 2010, before she could finish her book.

Soon after her passing, ten family members and close friends, each one committed to Sarah’s mantra of “Ain’t Life Grand,” agreed to complete Sarah’s project and make her dream a reality. Working together for over a year, we have grown closer as friends, and as family. We have gained new insights into Sarah’s extraordinary artwork and how she looked at the world she had created. And just as working on her book was a way for Sarah to find greater purpose in her life, to keep pushing forward, our efforts to complete her book have helped us all heal.

Sarah’s book is part of her legacy to us all. She has given us amazing landscapes to journey through, a tale to help us to experience the magic of Christmas, and a memory of her hard work that empowers each of us to reach for something beyond our daily lives, to probe the Great Mystery even more deeply.

This book is a testament to Sarah’s abilities as an artist, to her devotion as a wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend, and to her delightful spirit. I hope you have enjoyed reading and sharing this book as much as she loved creating it.

Creative Productivity & The Creative Theorists- Part 2, deBono

Lisa Canning — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:05:07 +0000

How can we turn our imaginations into productive creativity? How can we use the arts to activate others imaginations and help facilitate the transform of them into creative productivity?

In my post Imagination, Creativity and Productivity I mentioned a long list of creative theorists who each have developed their own methodology for helping individuals and teams transform their imaginations into productive creativity. How can their ideas be applied, or further illuminate through an art form? In my post on October 10th I explored Min Basadur’s Creative Problem Solving Profile. In today’s post I will explore Edward deBono’s Six Thinking Hats.

About Edward deBono

Edward deBono, founder of The deBono Group, is a leading authority in the field of creative thinking, innovation and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill. Dr. de Bono holds an MA in psychology and physiology from Oxford, as well as a D. Phil (a research degree) in Medicine as well as a Ph.D. from Cambridge. He has held faculty appointments at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London and Harvard. His instruction in thinking has been utilized by IBM, Prudential, Microsoft, Chick-Fil-A, BP, Nokia, Siemens, Bosch, Quaker, Ericsson, and many others.

Dr. deBono is also the founder of the World Academy of New Thinking™ (WANT). ‘New Thinking’ means new perceptions, fresh alternatives, a change of emphasis and the generation and design of new concepts and ideas. The role of this Academy is specifically concerned with new thinking in conflict resolution, problem solving, economic development, education, health and most areas effecting daily life.

Dr. deBono has written over 70 book. Here is a partial list of books he has written: New Think, Mechanism of Mind, Six Thinking Hats, Lateral Thinking, Serious Creativity, I Am Right-You Are Wrong, Parallel Thinking, Conflicts-A Better Way to Resolve Them, Water Logic, Simplicity, Teaching Thinking, New Thinking for the New Millennium, PO: A Device for Successful Thinking, and Future Positive.

Six Thinking Hats & The Parallel Thinking Process

In 1999 Edward deBono developed a creativity technique designed to facilitate the shifting of focused thought for creative thinking and innovation to emerge. A process, which he calls Six Thinking Hats®, is a parallel thinking process. Parallel Thinking®, also developed by deBono, is where each thinker puts forward his or her thoughts in parallel with the thoughts of others; without attacking the thoughts of others.

After all, when A and B come together, each with an idea, its normal for each to want to judge, or debate, the merits of the other persons idea. Its human nature for it to be difficult for A and B to stand side by side and allow their ideas to remain parallel to each other, without comparison, synthesis or judgment, so each can be fully explored. The reason for this is because argument is the basis of what most consider normal thinking. The purest form of this type of thinking comes from our courts of law where the prosecution takes one side of the argument and the defense the other side. Each strives to prove the other side wrong. The “truth” is to be reached by argument.

While there is a place for argument, and while argument is a useful tool of thinking, argument is inadequate as the main and only tool of thinking. Argument lacks constructive energies, design energies, and creative energies. Pointing out faults may lead to some improvement but does not construct something new. Equally synthesizing both points of view does not produce a stream of new alternatives. As such, traditional argument is totally useless to construct an innovative design process. To begin to do this, according to de Bono, we must separate out all of the different aspects of our thinking about an idea.

So how do we do this?

Think of full-color printing. When the basic color separations are made, each basic color is printed separately onto the same sheet to give us full-color printing. In the same way, when we separate the modes of our thinking and then apply each mode to the same subject, we end up with full-color thinking on the subject.

With deBono’s Six Thinking Hat Method the thinker can separate their thinking into six clear functions and roles. For example, if the thinker metaphorically puts on the yellow hat, he or she may turn up new ideas which may cause the thinker to change his or her mind about the value of the idea. Likewise, when asked to think about the idea wearing a black hat a thinker who began as a euphoric supporter for it may discover difficulties that reduce their euphoria. Each thinking role is identified with a colored symbolic “thinking hat.” below.

	The White Hat calls for information known or needed. “The facts, just the facts.” The white hat represents neutral and objective thinking, and is concerned with facts and information.
	The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat you explore the positives and probe for value and benefit.The yellow hat represents sunny and positive thinking, and is concerned with what has worked in the past.
	The Black Hat is judgment or why something may not work. Spot the difficulties and dangers; where things might go wrong. Probably the most powerful and useful of the Hats but a problem if overused.The black hat represents careful and cautious thinking, and is sometimes referred to as the “devil’s advocate” hat.
	The Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches and intuition. When using this hat you can express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes, loves, and hates.The red hat represents the emotional view, which never has to be justified.
	The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas. It’s an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions.The green hat is associated with creativity and new ideas.
	The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. It’s the control mechanism that ensures the Six Thinking Hats® guidelines are observed.The blue hat represents the orchestration of the multi-hat thinking process.

Today in business, as elsewhere, there is a huge need to be constructive and creative. There is a need to solve problems and to open up opportunities. There is a need to design new possibilities, not just to argue between two existing possibilities. deBono’s Six Hats method allows for all sides of an issue to be fully explored. Adversarial confrontation is replaced by a cooperative exploration of the subject allowing for ideas to become creative productivity.

Calling all Chicago Creatives: Create. Innovate. Repeat. Thursday, Nov 17th

Lisa Canning — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:03:14 +0000

Calling all Chicago Creatives!

Regardless of your background,entrepreneurs and artists are visionaries, each in our own way. We all want to make a difference, create and be innovative. Isn’t it cool to try and prove that creating the “impossible” isn’t that hard to do?

But in these turbulent times we can’t do it alone!

Sign up here to attend Create.Innovate.Repeat

Contact Lisa to sign up to present!

We still have a few more slots for presenters.

You have 5 minutes and up to 7 slides to show about your project, business or next great idea!

When: Thursday November 17th, 2011 6:00-7:30pm

Where: ING Direct Cafe 21 East Chestnut Chicago

Kauffman’s New Animated Sketchbook: Magic Sauce

Lisa Canning — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:57:06 +0000

In this short, animated “sketchbook” videos, the Kauffman Foundation aims to demystify the phenomenon of entrepreneurship and bring to light messages about the important role entrepreneurs play in innovation, job creation, and economic growth.

2011 Independent Sector Conference: Chicago Oct 30-Nov 1st

Lisa Canning — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:39:32 +0000

The IS Conference is where leaders go to build strong networks that help them achieve their mission. Join 1,000 of the brightest minds from nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs for high impact networking and programming that challenges you to think differently about the issues we face and how to move forward in these R-Evolutionary times.

I am really looking forward to attending this conference. Registration closes on October 20th. I hope to see you there!

Register Now

2011 Conference – Schedule

Saturday, October 29, 2011
10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.	Public Policy Action Institute
2:00 – 9:00 p.m.	NGen Programming
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.	Pre-conference Dinner (Hosted by NGen)

Sunday, October 30, 2011
8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.	Public Policy Action Institute
9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.	NGen Programming
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.	Newcomers Kickoff Join Sterling Speirn, president of W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Michael Piraino, president of National CASA, to help you get the most out of the conference and learn more about Independent Sector. Meet IS members and staff. For those new to the conference or IS.
2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Supportedby	Opening Plenary: Risk, Failure, Breakthrough The 2011 Opening Plenary explores Risk, Failure and Breakthrough as a path to achieving our highest potential both individually and collectively. We can learn from our struggles and harness our own wisdom and creativity so as to work together more effectively to unleash possibilities, meet the challenges that are before us, and add real value to society. Welcoming remarks: Victoria Dinges, Vice President, Public Social Responsibility and Enterprise Communications, Allstate Insurance Company. Speakers: Andrew Hargadon author of How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies InnovateDeepak Bhargava executive director of the Center for Community ChangeMari Kuraishi co-founder and president of GlobalGiving FoundationModerator: Kelvin H. Taketa president and CEO, Hawaii Community Foundation
4:00 – 5:30 p.m.	Breakout Sessions Fall DOWN – Fail UP Organizations are often reluctant to reveal too much about what doesn’t work. Thought leaders will discuss ways failure can lead to enlightenment. Participants will leave this session with a sense of the value of failure and what can come next. Facilitator: Susan V. Berresford Thought leaders: Darell Hammond, KaBOOM! Inc.; and Rafe Pomerance, Clean Air Cool Planet Taking on Tough Conversations Fear of conflict or desire to avoid misunderstanding can sometimes get in the way of progress. What issues do we shy away from at our peril? Learn to initiate tough conversations in order to unearth – and address – difficult subjects before they stop you in your tracks. Facilitator: Mikaela Seligman, Independent Sector Discussion leaders: J.D. Hokoyama, Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics; Debra B. Natenshon, The Center for What Works; Lorelei Villarosa, Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity; Jill Williams, Andrus Family Fund, Surdna Foundation, Inc.; Kara Inae Carlisle, W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Alice Kim, Illinois Humanities Council; and Martha L. McCoy, Everyday Democracy The Lifecycle of Nonprofit Leadership Much has been written about how various societal and global changes will require different leadership models for individuals, organizations and the sector at large. Participants will leave this session with better ideas on how to build organizations that support and advance leaders at key points in the lifecycle. Facilitator: Rafael López, The Annie E. Casey Foundation Thought leaders: Marla Cornelius, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services; Sylia Obagi, The Annenberg Foundation; and Phyllis Segal, Civic Ventures Under the Magnifying Glass In today’s networked world, technology provides greater transparency at lightening speed. But, what happens when there is an information overload? This debate explores the implications of transparency at the margins. How much transparency enough? What are the risks of sharing too little or too much? Speakers: Paula L. Ellis, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Christopher T. Gates, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement; and John E. Tyler, III, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Click here for CEO Track Sessions
6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Supportedby	Host Reception: An Evening at The Art Institute of ChicagoThe Allstate Foundation invites you to reconnect with colleagues and meet new ones at this festive, catered reception that celebrates Chicago’s dynamic multicultural community. Enjoy music performed by the inspiring Inclusion Ensemble of Chicago Sinfonietta as you explore the museum’s collection of 300,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of human expression. Whether you come by car or bus or join the Redmoon Theater puppet-led procession passing through Millennium Park, don’t miss this opening night together.Many of us will be celebrating Halloween a day early by attending this reception in costume. Please join us, even if you only don a mask.

Monday, October 31, 2011
7:45 – 8:30 a.m.	Annual Business Meeting and Breakfast
9:00 – 9:45 a.m.	Conversation with a Sector LeaderDr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will be interviewed by Stephanie Strom, national correspondent for The New York Times. Emcee: Ellen S. Alberding, The Joyce Foundation
10:15 – 11:45 a.m	Breakout Sessions From Handshake to True Partnership: Bridging the Divide Engage with Tom Tierney, author of Give Smart: Philanthropy that Gets Results, and Dickie Steele, fellow partner at the Bridgespan Group and co-author with Tom of the book’s nonprofit-focused addendum Beyond the Handshake, for an interactive dialogue examining the donor/grantee relationship. The conversation will cover the different perspectives of the individual donor, foundation and nonprofit on issues ranging from the challenges of the power dynamic to developing shared definitions of success and creating a true donor/grantee “partnership.” Presenter: Thomas J. Tierney, The Bridgespan Group Thought leader: Dickie Steele, The Bridgespan GroupImpact: How Do You Know? In an increasingly results-driven society, success is determined by more than outcomes simple numbers or feel-good anecdotes. But, how do you know when you’ve achieved lasting impact for our communities and institutions? Join us for this two-part conversation that will examine both how nonprofit practitioners evaluate the impact of their initiatives in the field and how impact is evaluated more broadly within the nonprofit and philanthropic community. Moderator: Jason Saul, Mission Measurement Speakers: James P. Firman, The National Council on Aging; and Herman Art Taylor, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Ai-jen Poo, National Domestic Workers Alliance; Mark Schmitt, Roosevelt Institute; and Jesse Rosen, League of American OrchestrasInsider’s Guide to Corporate Philanthropy Get it from the source. Take your seat in small group discussions about new paths for collaboration with corporate philanthropists and the nonprofits with which they partner. Moderator: Richard A. Brown, American Express Company; Discussion leaders: Paula Davis, Alcoa Foundation; Patricia L. Garza, Allstate Insurance Co.; Anne Ladky, Women Employed; Margo K. Lucero, Susan G. Komen for the Cure; Kate Maehr, Greater Chicago Food Depository; Katie Mandes, Pew Center on Global Climate Change; Nicole Robinson, Kraft Foods; Andrea L. Taylor, Microsoft Corporation; and Angel Ysaguirre, The Boeing Company World Headquarters; Plinio Ayala, Per Scholas, Inc.; Georgette Dixon, Wells Fargo; Scott Fast, Accenture Foundation; Eric Patton, Genesys Works – Chicago; and Kyle Ridaught, Teach for AmericaThe Changing Landscape of America’s Workplace What do shifting American demographic profiles mean for our how we do our work? And how does the composition of the nonprofit workforce affect our ability to impact change regarding shifting demographics? This session will give participants the opportunity to examine their own blind spots and identify changes in belief or behavior as they deal with shifting demographic profiles in the workplace. Facilitator: Wendy Puriefoy, Public Education Network Thought leaders: James L. Weinberg, Commongood Careers; Amy Lazarus, International Institute for Sustained Dialogue; Michael Watson, Girl Scouts of the USAClick here for CEO Track Sessions
12:00 – 2:00 p.m.	Luncheon Plenary featuring Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent SectorFor and By the People: Strategies to Serve the Collective Good Diana Aviv’s keynote address will focus on the social compact, the role and responsibilities of government to its citizens, and vice versa. A panel discussion will follow with Darren Walker, a vice president at Ford Foundation; Cobus de Swardt, managing director of Transparency International; and Eric Tanenblatt, vice chair of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
2:30 – 4:00 p.m.	Breakout Sessions Creative Partnerships Innovative and successful collaborators unveil their secrets for working together in a frank discussion about the potential and limitations of new and different types of partnerships. Moderator: Paul Schmitz, Public Allies, Inc. Discussion leaders: Jennifer Arwade, Albany Park Neighborhood Council; Jane Golden, Mural Arts Program; David S. Kass, Council for a Strong America; Dennis McMillian, The Foraker Group; Josina Morita, United Congress of Community and Religious Organization; Bryan Preston, Back Office Cooperative; Michael D. Rodríguez, Enlace Chicago; Jhatayn J. Travis, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization; Paul Vandeventer, Community Partners; Alison De Lucca, Southern California College Access Network; Arthur Evans, Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual DisAbility Services; Sarah Leonard, Thread; Melanie Matthews, The Campion Foundation; Joe Pena, Channahon Police Department; and Dan Valliere, Chicago Commons.Changing Lobbying Rules for Nonprofits and Foundations: Opportunities and Political Realities Following the 2010 Citizen’s United Supreme Court decision, barriers limiting corporate and labor influence in politics and policy have been relaxed significantly. Yet many of the rules in place governing nonprofit and foundation advocacy and lobbying have remain unchanged for almost 40 years. This debate will examine the current rules structure, as well as the potential obstacles and opportunities for change. Is there room for legal expansion and equity with corporate and labor rules in the current political environment, or are there dangers in opening this debate that may unleash a Pandora’s box full of efforts to limit foundations and nonprofits in other ways? Is now the time for change? Moderator: Ralph B. Everett, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Speakers: James Bopp, James Madison Center for Free Speech; Kyle Caldwell, Michigan Nonprofit Association; and Luz A. Vega-Marquis, Marguerite Casey FoundationMajor Donor Playbook Learn from experts in the field about ways to cultivate and nurture donors to benefit your organization – beyond the checkbook. Changes in the nonprofit and philanthropic field have presented new opportunities and revived classic approaches for individual donor engagement. Find out how to extend a funder relationship beyond the transactional and what it takes to better connect individuals and institutions. Facilitator: Paul Shoemaker, Social Venture Partners Seattle Thought leader: Nancy Brown, American Heart Association; Lisa Chin, Year Up Seattle; and Jeff Tollefson, Genesys Works – Twin CitiesRe-branding Efforts: Major and Minor When it comes to brand analysis and repair, it’s not just the how-to, it’s the why. Hear first person accounts on the intricacies and considerations of organizational re-branding. Facilitator: Ruth Wooden Presenters: Bob Calder, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern; Steven A. Culbertson, Youth Service America; Vicki B. Escarra, Feeding America; Esta Soler, Futures Without Violence; and Angela Williams, YMCA of the USAClick here for CEO Track Sessions
4:15 – 6:15 p.m.	CONNECTIONSUse the conference to expand your leadership network, convene a conversation, or host a private meeting. The Hub, a new online platform allows you to connect with other conference goers and engage around key issues before, during, and after the event. (Launches September 2011) Your Space offers you the chance to propose a topic and facilitate a discussion of your own on Monday afternoon October 31st. Private Meeting space is available for your board or coalition at the IS Conference. Rooms are limited and assigned in the order of request. Contact Xavior Robinson to propose a topic or request private meeting space. Check back in September for more information.
6:30 – 9:00 p.m. Supportedby	John W. Gardner Leadership DinnerA celebratory eveninghonoring Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka, who is the 2011 John W. Gardner Leadership Award recipient; and Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, who is the 2011 American Express NGen Leadership Award recipient.Registration to the Conference includes one ticket to the Gardner dinner. Click here to purchase additional dinner tickets. Emcee: Irene Hirano Inouye, U.S.-Japan Council Presenters: Larry Snyder, Catholic Charities USA; Michael J. Balaoing, Esq.; and Bernard J. Milano, KPMG Foundation

Tuesday, November 1, 2011
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.	Breakout Sessions Democracy and the Arab Spring Join international experts as they discuss the Arab Spring phenomenon, what’s behind the movement, its international and national implications, and if democracy is now a certainty in the Arab world. Speaker: Annette Heuser, Bertelsmann Foundation Thought leader: Robert Galluci, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-ChicagoMobilizing Master Class Nonprofits sometimes struggle to answer core questions regarding effectively mobilizing change. Learn from key thought leaders the questions you need to ask yourself, and how these R-EVOLUTIONARY Times influence the sector’s ability to launch and sustain a movement. Facilitator: Heather Booth, The Midwest Academy Thought leaders: William McNary, Citizen Action Illinois; and Marca Bristo, Access LivingTelling It Like It Is: The Power of Stories to Spur Change From dynamic citizen journalists and filmmakers to nonprofit campaigns, this session explores good story-telling as central to correcting injustice and fostering good. Facilitator: Kate Emanuel, The Advertising Council Presenters: Cathy Tisdale, Camp Fire USA; Marc Fest, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Enrique Ball, Public Allies, Inc.; and Kelly Matheson, Witness; and David J. Morse, Civic VenturesWorking Collectively for Greater Impact The partnership paradox – sometimes working together means more work, not less. It can also lead to more robust outcomes, more impact and more options for organizations and communities. This is a participatory workshop designed to help people who are already in the process of creating collective impact and looking to elevate their game. Moderator: John Kania, FSG Social Impact Advisors Discussion leaders: Dena Al-Khatib, The Chicago Community Trust; Jeff Edmondson, Strive Network; Lila Guirguis, Magnolia Place Network, Children’s Bureau; Karen J. Pittman, Forum for Youth Investment; Maren C. Stewart, LiveWell Colorado; Blair Taylor, Memphis Tomorrow; and Janice B. Yost, Health Foundation of Central MassachusettsClick here for CEO Track Sessions
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Sponsored by	Closing Luncheon Plenary: Aligning for Greater Impact You will hear from organizations that have adopted an integrated approach to solving social problems by involving partners from the nonprofit and philanthropic community as well as from government and business.Speakers: David O. Egner president and CEO of the Hudson Weber Foundation and executive director of the New Economy InitiativeEmmett D. Carson president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Community FoundationPaul S. Grogan president and CEO of The Boston FoundationMaria P. Hibbs executive director of Partnership for New CommunitiesTerry Mazany president and CEO of The Chicago Community TrustJulia M. Stasch vice president of U.S. Programs at The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur FoundationModerator: Ben Hecht president and CEO of Living Cities