“CEOs are telling us they have to be more creative,” says Saul Berman, Lead Partner, Strategy and Change, at IBM. “We’re not going back to the old normal.” Creativity was the highest ranked leadership quality at 60%, followed by integrity and global thinking (Thanks to Fast Company for this graphic, right).

The great challenge for CEOs is dealing with increasing complexity and change on all fronts, and because of that, according to the report, “Creativity is the most important leadership quality.” The best corporate executives “practice and encourage experimentation and innovation throughout their organizations.” The survey was based on interviews with more than 1500 CEOs worldwide, the largest one-on-one sample known.

So what are the characteristics of a creative leader? As the graphic below reveals, the creative leader is one who invites disruptive innovation and change, can tolerate ambiguity, challenge the status quo and invent new ways of doing things. For more on this study and to get your own copy of the report, click here.

Want more on creativity from Adam? See his Innovation On My Mind blog.

I love Harvard professor Youngme Moon’s sub-subtitle of her new book, Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd: “Succeeding in a World where Conformity Reigns but Exceptions Rule.” In her book, she makes the case that true innovation — and success — comes when a business offers something meaningfully different.

As much as we Americans often claim the mantle of individuality and freedom to be different, most of us rarely are. From what we wear to what we talk about, from the party at the bar to the big wedding we attend, conformity reigns and rains and, as my poor friends here in Chicago have heard too much from me lately, I’m feeling all wet.

Moon makes the case that almost every success story of the past couple decades has been the exception to the rule, the outlier that has rejected orthodoxy, the difference-maker that did not simply compete in the same game as others. “Differentiation is not a tactic,” she says. “It’s not a flashy advertising campaign; it’s not a sparkling new feature set. It’s not a laminated frequent-buyer card or a money-back guarantee. Differentiation is a way of thinking. It’s a mindset. It’s a commitment. A commitment to be different, not in a superficial, I’m-going-to-offer-a-couple-of-features-my-competitor-doesn’t-offer kind of way, but in a way that is fundamental and near impossible to replicate.”

Now I happen to be allergic to too much conformity, but I realize that it’s often easier, and even satisfying, to conform. But creativity — which we need more than ever in our organizations and for our own personal success — requires deviance, a willingness to be different. A willingness and a mindset and a drive to be the one who doesn’t do it that way, who draws outside the lines or creates meaningful new lines, who risks the stares and comments (and there will be many) from the conforming majority.

Moon’s wonderful Anti-Creativity Checklist video (above) shares her top 14 ways to keep your place in the conforming majority and ensure that you won’t be a difference-maker in your organization.

Want more from Adam?  See his Innovation on my Mind blog.

SURTEX has really moved from its original purpose of selling designs for fabrics to showcasing artists and their agents for all types of product manufacturing. This year for the first time, SURTEX and the Stationery show were held not only at the same time, but on the same trade show floor, and it seemed to be really beneficial for all.

A Word About Stationery Licensing…

The stationery product category is a great category for starting your art and licensing business, for many reasons. Of course, providing your art fits the stationery product category.

• The stationery business follows many fashion trends and colors, so it’s always looking for styles and patterns, icons, graphics and designs that are fresh and new.  Since fashion changes quickly, the stationery business pushes to keep up. Styles may last one season, or a design doing well may last several (3-5) seasons, and that would be an extremely long and successful run at retail.

• The stationery business, which prints on paper—though not exclusively—can produce new product faster than many other categories, such as ceramics and home décor. The industry is, then capable of changing quicker than most, and utilizes this to its advantage.

• The nature of the stationery business also lends itself to diversity of product and small exclusive product runs for specialty stores and other upstairs retailers.

• The stationery business with its huge need for art and on-trend designs is used to working with artists and creators who are new to the industry, and in fact there are many manufacturers who really don’t care if you have other licensing deals.  They know if they like your art, and if you can agree on a deal, that’s enough for them.

All of this is great news for artists entering the business, since the stationery business requires volumes of art and designs to keep up with trends and to fulfill its various audience, lifestyle, holiday and social occasion needs.

Now a Word About Manufacturers…

As the retail marketplace is being challenged, so is that of the manufacturer. If you have talked to one lately, I’m sure they told you:

• Manufacturers are pressed to reduce their costs to the retailer, so the retailer can keep prices relatively low and still make a profit.

• Manufacturers are trying to keep costs down in several different ways, such as reducing inventory, keeping overhead costs down, managing with fewer employees, using lower cost or lower quality goods.  Each manufacturer must make these decisions for their brand and company.

• Many manufacturers have chosen to keep staffing lean and with that the design departments that are small to nonexistent.  And while licensing is an added expense, it is also one way to keep costs down, and pay you for each product sold, rather than keeping designers on staff.

Again, this has provided an opportunity for artists, as the manufacturers continue to look for new art and especially artists who are skilled in product design and production to help compensate for their shrinking art and production staffs.  Another benefit to the manufacturer is being able to tap into the huge pool of talented artists that bring a variety of different styles simultaneously to their product lines, thus attracting a wider audience.

A Story of Two Artists

Two women, both incredible artists with the burning desire to see their art on products and in the stores decided to take a big first step and market their artwork.

The first one decided to manufacture stationery and note cards. She bought a booth at the Stationery Show, which was quite an investment, in addition to producing all the product for sale and marketing materials. Response to her designs and product was wonderful and several independent retailers purchased product for their stores. The woman wished she could get a representative, or better yet a ‘rep group’ for her line—agents who would sell her product to all of the retailers. When she left the show she had more work to do that when she arrived. Whew, it’s a lot to take in, and she began to wonder if she’d be better off licensing her art to manufacturers directly.

The other woman decided to license her art directly to manufacturers for stationery and other products.  She bought a booth at SURTEX, which was quite an investment, in addition to producing her marketing materials and web site. Response to her designs was wonderful and several manufacturers showed interest in a licensing deal. The woman wished she could get an agent to license her collections to all of the manufacturers. When she left the show she had more work to do than when she arrived. Whew, it’s a lot to take in, and she began to wonder if she’d be better off manufacturing her art on products.

Moral of the story: No matter what you decide to do, it always looks like there is more work in your lane to get to the finish line, but it’s probably just the same amount on a different path.

An Important Business Model Decision

Licensing is really just one of many marketing decisions to be made, as you build a business based on your creative talents. If you have enjoyed your creative endeavors and see them reaching a broader audience and creating larger revenue streams, then you are probably considering manufacturing your own product or licensing your art to manufacturers. Both choices are viable and have pros and cons which are based on your specific needs and goals. No one can tell you which is right for you.

So why would you choose one type of business over the other, when wanting to create product and revenue with your art. The following chart shows some of the key benefits of both licensing and manufacturing. Of course, what is the benefit for one method is the opposite, or a negative, for the other and vice versa…it all depends on your perspective.

Two Different Business Models:

From a creative stand-point, there are reasons to choose manufacturing and reasons to go with licensing. I have known creative people who tried manufacturing and then chose licensing, and some who went the licensing route and switched gears to pursue manufacturing.  It really depends on your skill sets, drive and how you prefer to spend your time and energy.

Jeanette Smith has more than 25 years experience in the licensing industry, including building the Dilbert™ brand from its infancy to a global corporate icon. J’net created All Art Licensing to share her knowledge through coaching, consulting and licensing all types of creators — artists, photographers, painters, designers, authors, illustrators, non-profits and more —  to maximize the power of their talents worldwide, while saving time and money! All Art Licensing offers a comprehensive resource, including online ‘live’ classes, audio downloads, e-books, templates and workshops, as well as a free newsletter, monthly Q&A and blog. Explore your potential with the training, products and services available at www.allartlicenisng.com or contact J’net directly atjnet@allartlicensing.com

For creativity and innovation, the framework emphasizes Thinking Creatively (brainstorming techniques, creating new ideas, refining and evaluating ideas), Working Creatively with Others (communicating new ideas, being open to diverse perspectives, demonstrating orginality, viewing failure as part of the process) and Implementing Innovations (Acting on creative ideas and contributing to a field). These are terrific guideposts.

So the question is, how do we really teach creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration? These are right brain skills, those that are most difficult to teach in a codified, regimented way. With most school systems now fixated on measurable outcomes (usually test scores), how do we make these Four Cs a priority when they are so hard to measure? Illinois, for one, has charged “core content teams” with several tasks including to “ensure that the Illinois Learning Standards embody the fusion of the three Rs and the four Cs.” I’m looking forward to delving into this question and learning more about what states are really doing to embrace the framework. Let me hear from you if you know more about the progress being made.

In this Pearson Foundation video here, “Teaching Teachers to Teach 21st Century Learners,” we hear from various leaders from the worlds of business and education as they discuss the importance of 21st century learning and the need for change. Partnership for 21st Century Skills President Ken Kay begins to describe the skills needed with this distinctive pairing: “Non-routine thinking” and “complex communications.”

The education world has long been averse to change — in many ways we are still preparing students for a world that no longer exists. The fact that the Four Cs have been defined and already embraced by many leaders is a promising step. The conversation is happening. We’ll see if that can lead to real change and better learning for our kids in the near future.

More from Adam on his Innovation on my Mind blog

I’m trying to turn toward my peripheral vision to uncover my blindspot(s) — where an answer lies — but what I see and hear instead is this constant barrage from my mind: Get to your 14 things to do, go through those 4 different pending email folders, make those calls, strategize then plan then do then act then go, go, go or you are in trouble. To escape this noise, I click on an email and suddenly find myself reading Will Marre’s blog, where he is addressing something similar in his post “Take Back Your Life.” He describes the increase of stress in our personal work worlds, and this part speaks to me:

Those who have decided to work for themselves as consultants or starting a new enterprise have so much pressure to outperform that the velocity of our warship has to always be moving at “warp.” If we slow down the immense gravity of our death-star economy will crush us. Whew.

That’s it. The pressure I too often feel has put some kind of neck brace on me. I can’t turn my head toward a very real force that is trying to get my attention. This is why I’m so antsy. I need to shift but the immense gravity weighs on me and I can’t move.

So now I’m trying to access a different part of my being through the less rigid, right side of my brain. I rifle through some writing and find a poem of mine that recalls a long-ago moment in Napa, CA. Yes, this is close to the feeling I’m having.

I remember the need I felt then to dip my head into some different kind of water:

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Growth is good, right?

We all understand that even in the best case scenarios, entrepreneurship in the arts requires some level of sacrifice and risk. But, we generally tend to associate these downsides with the hard times first, when work dries up, or opportunities don’t seem to be coming your way.

Consider instead what happens when everything goes right. You’ve put your heart and soul into a project, contributing cash, time, sleepless nights, sanity, personal relationships, fossil fuel, and and endless stack of printer cartridges, and it is all paying off. You’re finally able to start paying yourself something, however small, for your efforts, collaborators are starting to approach YOU to produce new work, and you have a cohesive plan with a team ready to move it forward.

GREAT!!

Here’s the problem. As one of our best friends, an HR and project management expert, told us: “You can always get more money, but you can’t get more time.”

What you begin to find as you transition from the day job or the steady flow of freelancing and teaching is that as your entrepreneurial baby grows from toddlerhood to adolescence, it requires exponentially more time to nurture, and more guidance to be sure it stays “on mission.”

What then of your full teaching load, or that part-time orchestra job that you enjoy, and have relied on for years for security?

Members of our ensemble have found that this balance is one that changes much more quickly than expected as we take on new projects, and build more long-term relationships with presenters and organizations. In particular, members of our staff have needed to make hard decisions about turning down paying work in order to dedicate the time necessary to plan and execute new programs, in addition to the time they spend rehearsing and performing.

From my perspective, when my position as Executive Director became paid over a year ago I was at once overjoyed and terrified at the prospect of having to carve out space in my schedule to handle the new responsibilities before me. In the middle of a season, I found myself needing to take a leave from an orchestra position that I enjoyed, and having to leave two teaching posts that, while stable and fun, required more driving time than I could justify.

The kicker was that the time I had to make in my schedule to do the new job wasn’t counterbalanced fully by the compensation 5HE as an organization was able to offer at that point in its growth. Net result: I took a 40-50% pay cut in order to put my energy fully behind the ensemble, a decision that was not made with ease, and was exacerbated by mass layoffs at my husband’s company a few months later.

Fast forward a year, and the results become even more clear. In a tough economic time, 5HE more than doubled its annual budget, as a result of the added time provided by our staff in producing new projects, writing grants, fundraising, and planning educational work. Each of our artists has seen a large increase in their yearly income from the group, allowing them to feel more comfortable making room for it in their lives.

And my husband? After 85% of his company was let go last March, he was able to focus on his photography business full-time, generating more income in the first 3 months than 6 months’ salary at his old job. Granted, that was offset by the equipment and start-up costs he had to incur as things ramped up, but he’s developed a diverse client base and a body of work that he can really be proud of, and business has been growing exponentially since.

Sometimes we have to believe in ourselves enough to know that if we build it, they will come. When there’s too much to do and too little time, and the only thing in your way is the teddy bear that is the steady paycheck, close your eyes, pinch your nose, and leap.

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Melissa is the flutist and Executive Director for Fifth House Ensemble. For more information, please visit www.fifth-house.com. Like what you read here? For more music entrepreneurship tidbits, visit www.playingclosetothebridge.wordpress.com, brought to you by members of 5HE.

What is it about Tina Fey? Wherever I find her – presenting on big award shows, interviewed as cover girl on this month’s Esquire, making the talk show rounds for her upcoming movie, Date Night, with Steve Carrell – she is always surprising me and making me smile. She continues to pile up Emmys and Golden Globes for 3o Rock, the show she created, produces and stars in. What is it that made this plain jane the AP entertainer of the year and one of the greatest creative successes of our time?

Watch 30 Rock and what you’ll see is a cavalcade of creativity, undoubtedly generated from the improvisational world of pushing the fool’s envelope. Fey first made her name here in Chicago as an improv player for Improv Olympic and Second City Theaters, where the great skills are in building on each other’s imagination, never judging an idea until later (if ever), and learning that for every time you create something idiotic there is another time you create something ingenious. I guarantee you the 30 Rock writers (and the actors) are experts in giving themselves full permission to be preposterous, because it is only when you open wide to ideas that the most creative can come out. And by creative I’m not talking just outrageous. I’m talking, as you find in each of the 30 rock characters, outrageously fitting. Which makes for funny.

But ultimately there is the great improvisor herself, the former head writer and performer for Saturday Night Live, whose Sarah Palin impression will be memorable forever. It’s Tina, whose Liz Lemon on 30 Rock is continually embarrassed and made the fool, who’s gotten so good at giving herself permission that creative gold comes out of her again and again, and the fool’s gold has become a treasure.

The better you get at giving yourself permission, the more creativity will come from you. So happy April Fool’s Day and may you take the opportunity for fool permission.

More from Adam: Check out his Innovation on my Mind blog.

The theme of this year’s CMA conference was “Big Ideas for Presenting Small Ensembles.” In his keynote address, Leon Botstein, conductor and President of Bard College, issued a call to arms of sorts, demanding that we as musicians protect classical music from the “elitists” by presenting music as a living, breathing organism, not a museum piece. It was fitting, then that we were able to take the opportunity to talk about cross-media work – the idea of using the collaborative spirit of chamber music to create partnerships with artists of other disciplines. While not a new concept by any means, this is one of many ways that musicians and artists of all types have been working to break the traditional concert mold.

The panel was an opportunity for each of our organizations to share recent collaborative projects, including StringWreck (a fully choreographed collaboration between Del Sol, Janice Garrett and dancers), Bitsmoke (a video score by Casey Farina performed by Third Coast), and Black Violet (a concert trilogy produced by 5HE and graphic novelist Ezra Claytan Daniels).

After introducing ourselves through our work, it was time to think about some big questions, namely, “WHY?” Because we all know the intrinsic power of classical music, why bother adding other elements? Members of the panel discussed how pairing music with art, narrative, and movement made them think about their work in new ways during the rehearsal process, and helped audience members to get inside their creative process as musicians more organically than through written or spoken program notes. It is one thing to say, before playing a piece, that a section makes you think of a pair of cats scrambling over cobblestones, and quite another to project that image as the music happens.

Another frequently asked question relates to the role of music to the other art form in these partnerships. We tend to think of music as an accompaniment or soundtrack when viewed in conjunction with a film or dance performance, so doesn’t pairing music with other types of art make it secondary? The answer lies in the process. If both artists bring equal expertise and freedom to the table, you end up with a product that is artistically sound from both sides, with an open dialogue that allows each to be influenced by the other.

So, organizationally, what’s the benefit? First, there is tremendous potential for cross-pollinating audiences with new folks who may never have had a reason to come to a classical music event in the past. There are also funding sources that may be available to you for the first time as a result of doing multi-disciplinary work, and you may experience, as we did, much greater media attention from having produced a project that is a bit off the beaten path. Done right, these partnerships have the potential to bring both collaborators to a new level.

The final philosophical point had to do with quality. All of the panelists agreed that these types of projects simply don’t work unless the music and art itself is of the highest possible caliber. As David put it, you can’t take sub-standard playing and put a light show behind it expecting the product to improve; it’s just sub-standard playing with a light show.

We will get into more specifics in future posts, but these large-scale questions set a framework for the more process-related topics we explored later in the panel discussion.     Collaboration is central to our mission at 5HE, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Melissa is the flutist and Executive Director of Fifth House Ensemble. For more information, please visit www.fifth-house.com. Like what you read here? For more music entrepreneurship tidbits, visit www.playingclosetothebridge.wordpress.com, brought to you by members of 5HE.

Suddenly it’s feeling like spring here in Chicago, and I am reminded of my own commitment to be the driver — and not just passive passenger — of change this year.  But, wooosh. They say the older you get, the faster time goes, and perhaps that can partly explain it, but am I just imagining that the future has been coming at me at an increased speed? Do you also feel the acceleration of information, the more frequent gusts of change, the increased number of difficult but more urgent choices that need to be made in this new decade?

And it’s working for these companies, and arguably for the aspirations of underground and compensation-hungry artists around the world.

Once truly unheard of and unheralded skaters, punks, and taggers cavorting with heroin addicts, yesterday’s delinquents have become today’s leading creative directors and ad-agency execs.  They’ve created films like Kids, given street-cred to Urban Outfitters, Hewlett-Packard, and Intel, and emblazoned history with the ubiquitous Obama “Hope” poster. And now you can take in the transformation/evolution/destruction-of-purity/ascent-to-legitimacy yourself with Aaron Rose’s Beautiful Losers. One part art exhibit, one part documentary, all parts fascinating….

Beautiful Losers film trailer from beautifullosersfilm on Vimeo.

Not everyone reacts the same and there is no universal fix. Don’t try to use all these fixes at once. Pick out items from this list and try them out until you find the right combination for you.

Visualization strategies that can be used anytime

• Concentrate on how good you are at public speaking.
• Pretend you are just chatting with a group of friends.
• Close your eyes and imagine the audience listening, laughing, and applauding.
• Remember happy moments from your past.
• Think about your love for and desire to help the audience.
• Picture the audience in their underwear.

Strategies in advance of program

• Be extremely well prepared.
• Find a  acting class.
• Get individual or group public speaking coaching.
• Listen to music.
• Read a poem.
• Anticipate hard and easy questions.
• Organize your speaking notes.
• Absolutely memorize your opening statement so you can recite it on autopilot if you have to.
• Practice, practice, practice. Especially practice bits so you can spit out a few minutes of your program no matter how nervous you are.
• Get in shape. I don’t know why it helps stage fright, but it does.

Strategies just before the program Remember Stage fright usually goes away after you start. The tricky time is before you start.

• Be in the room at least an hour early if possible to triple check the public address system and everything else on your checklist. You can also schmooze with participants arriving early.
• Notice and think about things around you to be present.
• Concentrate on searching for current and immediate things that are happening at the event that you can mention during your speech (especially in the opening).
• Get into conversation with people near you. Be very intent on what they are saying.
• Yawn to relax your throat.
• Doodle.
• Draw sketches of a new car you would like to have.
• Look at your notes.
• Put pictures of your kids/grandkids, dog, etc., in your notes.
• Build a cushion of time in the day so you are not rushed, but not too much time. You don’t want to have extra time to worry.
• If your legs are trembling, lean on a table, sit down, or shift your legs.
• Take a quick walk.
• Take quick drinks of tepid water.
• Double check your A/V equipment including the public address system, projectors, etc..
• Don’t drink alcohol or coffee or tea with caffeine.
• Concentrate on your speaking ideas and how they will benefit the listeners.
• Concentrate on your audience.
• Listen to music.
• Read a poem.
• Do isometrics that tighten and release muscles.
• Shake hands and smile with attendees before the program.
• Go somewhere private and warm up your voice, muscles, etc.
• Use eye communication.
• Go to a mirror and check out how you look.
• Breathe deeply with your diaphragm, evenly, and slowly for several minutes.
• Don’t eat if you don’t want to and never take tranquilizers or other such drugs. You may think you will do better, but you will probably do worse and not know it.
• Open your arms wide, in private, and imagine your eneregry filling the room and covering every listener.  Imagine radiation sunshine from your chest, fingers, etc.

Strategies when the program begins

• If  legs are trembling, lean on lectern /table or shift legs or move
• Try not to hold the microphone by hand in the first minute.
• Don’t hold notes. The audience can see them shake. Use three-by-five cards instead.
• Take quick drinks of tepid water.
• Use eye contact. It will make you feel less isolated.
• Look at the friendliest faces in the audience.
• Joke about your nervousness. What’s the right wine to go with fingernails?

Remember nervousness doesn’t show one-tenth as much as it feels. Before each speaking engagement make a short list of the items you think will make you feel better. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different combinations. You never know which ones will work best until you try. Rewrite them on a separate sheet and keep the sheet with you at all times so you can refer to it quickly when the need arises.

When speaking in public use these steps to control stage fright so it doesn’t control you.

This time an outside force has caused me to shake up my mindset, but usually it’s hard to get unstuck and change how we’re seeing a problem or challenge. Creative people hold less tight to their mindsets, constantly seeking out alternative perspectives and foreign experiences–even those that cause discomfort–to keep themselves flexible and more able to adapt to change. Only by cultivating mindset shifts can companies and organizations make breakthrough innovations, like using Gore-Tex fabric for guitar strings and dental floss, or making money through clicks rather than a physical advertisement itself. The mindset of innovation is actually one that moves–that seeks out and considers other lenses all the time.

As I continue to speak out, discuss with others, and read/hear thought leaders grappling with how to make our culture more innovative, I am struck by common themes and agreements. Clearly, almost all of us see the need for change, and the need to support efforts that will bring about more creative solutions–in education, in organizations, in cities. We need more stimulation (rather than just stimulus) to get us excited about innovation and entrepreneurship, wrote Thomas Friedman in the New York Times a few weeks ago. “The best way to counter the Tea Party movement, which is all about stopping things,” he writes, “is with an Innovation Movement, which is all about starting things.”

But an innovation movement needs to shift our quite-stubborn mindsets that are currently not serving us well or promoting creative action. Here are the three key paradigm shifts necessary for cultural innovation that I see, with recent confirmation in the pages of a couple of our few-remaining national publications.

1. The valuing of the right brain. It’s one thing to say we need to be creative, but it’s quite another to support, value and honor those things which improve our creative, right brains. Corporate America in particular still has a hard time valuing anything that appears too “touchy-feely” or that can’t be measured easily through profit and loss. But as Einstein said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” Recent commentators have been championing liberal arts–which support this blog’s emphasis on right brain power–in order to boost innovation. “If the country is to prosper–economically, culturally, morally,” wrote Jon Meacham in Newsweek recently, “we have to trust the institutions, old and new, that nurture creativity.” Even MBA programs are beginning to find ways to increase right brain education, according to a recent New York Times article. Roger Martin, the new dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, describes his goal as a kind of “liberal arts M.B.A.” and other programs are increasing focus on thinking differently and using design thinking to solve problems. The next step is for companies to put actual money behind programs that increase right brain thinking of their employees.

2. Collaboration across Disciplines. We are realizing that new solutions must come from a kind of collaboration that breaks down silos of expertise and combines perspectives and wisdom from many. We are currently set up–in academia, in business, in government–with very little communication between departments and domains. It’s time to be multidisciplinary. CEO of IBM Sam Palmisano recently wrote, “We will need ongoing, structured collaboration among city agencies; across business, the nongovernmental sector, academia and communities; and among cities and regional authorities. And that’s going to require that we develop new skills for both managing people and leading organizations.” Both because innovation comes most commonly from the intersection of disparate ideas, and because our economy demands now that we share best practices and help each other solve difficult challenges, collaboration across disciplines must become a real priority. That means working on our collaborative skills, as some MBA programs in the aforementioned article are doing. It also means we need more people who are comprehensivists, able to facilitate dialogue and problem solving among different groups.

3. Act for the long term and not just the short. This is currently America’s Achilles’ Heel, perhaps the one change of mindset with which most people wholeheartedly agree, but often feel helpless about. To become an innovative culture, we must insist that the quarterly earnings report, the short-term R.O.I., and the next primary election cannot solely determine our behavior. A company can’t be innovative if every new R&D project must prove its worth within a year, a requirement of one local large company that is handcuffing an employee I just spoke with. Short-term thinking, especially one ruled by data and numbers and not human values (Google getting out of China appeared to be a rare exception), is killing us as a culture. It limits creativity and prevents the adoption of unpopular-though-healthy policies and practices, regardless of how much the current system is limping along. Every expert in innovation knows that only by allowing for failure and taking risks, even during hard times, is innovation possible. And yet right now as a country we can’t solve any of our persistent problems–you name them–because of the suffocating idolatry of the short term.

The truth is, given the continued partisan ineptitude of our government, I’m not feeling particular hopeful that we can shift paradigms, despite some convincing clamoring for it. How about a little help from you, my elusive reader? Can you share any signs you see that we are valuing the right brain, collaborating across disciplines and acting for the long term?

I know I do it on a continual basis, daily and yet I also realize that I NEED NEW TOOLS AND IDEAS to more thoroughly examine what needs to be updated, changed or thrown out and re-evluated.

Here a FOUR ways you can re-evalute your enterprise to move it into a more successful mode.

BRAINSTORMING is a great way to get quick, innovative input regarding your enterprise.  This is why large companies hold retreats.

Why not hold your own retreat with the peoplewho can best hel you move forward?  How about a marketing guru, business manaager, accountant, designer, social media expert, all round business consultant, etc.?  It would be worth the money in the long run.

I know I certainly could use it.  My mind gets stuck on  and it would help to have some experts around to brainstrom with in one big meeting (retreat).  Be sure to plan it carefully with the specific topics you want addressed.

A SURVEY of all past clients asking important questions you haven’t looked into lately, could shake things up.  What did they expect?  What did they get?  What was missing?  What can be done better?  What would they like to see next?   You could offer the first five some sort of special attention, gift, etc.

Hire a MARKETING EXPERT to dig around for new ideas to move forward.  Be sure to explain what you have done and what has and hasn’t worked and what you want to know specifically to move forward.

Step into the shoes of your IDEAL CLIENT.  (check out my previous post IDENTIFY YOUR IDEAL CLIENT.)

And schedule regular times where re-evaluation is done more deeply and innovatively.

Despite a more tranquilo relationship with time, the state of Oaxaca, like other areas of Mexico, is surprisingly safe, efficient and culturally vibrant. Creativity flourishes there, from its mole sauces to unique art contributions: black and green pottery, woven rugs and its colorfully painted woodcuttings known as alebrijes. But most amazing was the display of creativity during the Night of the Radishes, every December 23rd, where I and others waited in line for hours to see what artists could do with the otherwise inert and inedible root, which grows all around Oaxaca City. I’ve included a couple of examples.

I don’t believe we should be sacrificing our sense of well-being—let’s admit it, our happiness—for the currency we now trade in, one that ties our sense of self with how busy we are and how many things we can check off our to-do list. As I’ve argued before, our culture of perpetual-tasking and doing-rather-than-being ultimately compromises the breathing room we need for our creative selves, and fosters a consumerist rather creator culture.

In a new ChangeThis article, Olivia Sprinkel mirrors my own contentions with her “Creativist Manifesto,” saying our most important choice right now is whether to be a Consumer or Creativist. She makes some thought-provoking distinctions between the two: having vs. being, certainty vs. uncertainty, movement vs. stillness, answers vs. questions. “To be a Creativist,” she writes, is “to reclaim the right to our individual identities; to play an active role in shaping and in creating our lives from the inside out; to fulfill our need to create which is part of all of us.” Click here for more.

I have to admit: I struggle with this myself. I am an American, and I do feel the pressure of doing more, of finishing and publishing a book or three ASAP, of proving my worth through what I can say I’ve accomplished today. I am part of this culture that believes that claiming certainty to right answers will help my chances at success, even if I know that belief is as distorted as our incessant sense of urgency. Let’s help each other answer this more-urgent-than-we-realize question: How do we find the right balance?

For more from Adam’s Innovation on my Mind blog, click here.

Identifying Your Ideal Client Profile

1. Identify the Qualities of Your Ideal Client: Identify your ideal client by asking yourself the following questions: Is there a particular group of people you’d be excited to work with? Are they appreciative of your efforts and insights? Do they want to work with you in a big way? Do they have the resources to afford you and the willingness to refer others? Are they easy to reach and connect with?

2. Know Your Ideal Client: Know WHO your ideal clients are, WHAT their particular issues are, WHY they’re having them, and HOW you can solve these challenges.

3. Identify Common Factors Among Your Clients: What is unique about your ideal client profile in terms of the problems that you can help them solve? Think about issues they’re faced with, goals they want to achieve and the biggest challenges they face. Then identify the insights you are able to provide them with and the results they will achieve from working with you.

4. List Your Favorite Clients: Make a list of your favorite current and past clients to help determine your ideal client profile. Consider their gender, age, location, industry, number of employees, title, and so on.

5. The Mass Market is Not Your Market: It’s expensive and difficult to differentiate yourself if you go after the mass market. By targeting a niche market, you will see better results at a lower cost. Be specific about who you are, what results you bring and who can most benefit from your expertise and experience.

6. Find and Reach Your Ideal Client: When determining your ideal client, one of the factors to consider is whether they are easy to reach through various groups and associations. Identify associations where they might be, newsletters they might read, and communication mechanisms to reach them. Who can introduce you to your ideal client?

7. Describe Yourself as an Expert: In establishing yourself as “the expert” in specific areas, among a particular client and industry – you can command more money, increase your client base and attract the attention of the press as well.

8. Identify the Insights You Can Provide Them That Your Competition Can Not: Get to know your competition by doing some research. Visit their websites, read their press releases, sign up for their newsletters, do a web search, review their marketing materials, and attend industry events. Think about five key attributes that are selling points for using you versus someone else.

9. Firing Incompatible Clients: If you are feeling drained, frustrated, or set up for failure with a particular client, working with them is probably not worth it. If any of the following sound familiar, you are not working with an ideal client: They seem unsure of what they want and how you can help, conversations are strained and tense, they continually question your credentials, their insecurity causes you stress, they want to see your work prior to it being completed, they don’t appreciate what you offer, or they don’t want to pay what you’re worth.

10. Take Advantage of Your Current Client Base: Use your current clients to get new clients. Oftentimes people are afraid to ask their clients for referrals, or for their help. In most cases, clients are happy to help if you simply ask. Send a letter or email to some of your best clients and explain what makes them an ideal client. Ask them a few questions that will help you to identify other clients like them (i.e. what associations do you belong to? what publications do you read?).

Assignment: Write down the top three to five decision makers that you would like to spend an hour with. Do some research and find out where they will be in the next few months. Can you attend a conference they’re speaking at? Or, do you have a mutual connection?

My main argument is that as a culture, country and planet, there is now an innovation imperative like never before. As the speed of change continues to increase, we, as individuals and organizations, must improve our skills of innovation–which guide are ability to change successfully–to be able to prosper economically and to solve the increasingly complex challenges of our day.

Simply put, we need to become more creative people.

I’ve made that case for innovation by sharing ideas and videos from President Obama to thought leaders like Richard Florida, Daniel Pink and Thomas Friedman. I’ve taken you with me as I discussed breakthrough innovation and explored innovation efforts locally, including Chicago’s Innovate Now initiative. I’ve grappled with ways to help organizations harness their creativity, and underscored our need to make radical changes in education to activate creative thinking for children and adults in ways long overdue.Because the engine of innovation is creativity, I’ve focused in large part on clarifying what creativity really is and how we all can learn to be more creative. To understand creativity is to first understand the distinction between divergent and convergent thinking, which I touch on in this video (click on picture above, me presenting at Google this summer), and to embrace a shift of mindset that ground rules like P.T.S. offer. Throughout the blog, I’ve been fleshing out the three key competencies of divergent creativity, which make up my curriculum for creativity training:

1. Fluency: Our ability to generate many ideas, which require skills of initiation, improvisation and experimentation.

2. Flexibility: Our ability to think differently and generate different kinds of ideas. Since innovation most often occurs through the unusual combination of ideas, perspectives and domains–what I call multiparadigmatic or hybrid thinking–the flexibility competency is perhaps our most fertile. It includes skills of shifting, associating and challenging assumptions–and the leveraging of diversity.

3. Originality: Perhaps the most difficult competency to teach, this is our ability to generate unique ideas. It all comes down to the dance of the heart and the mind, and the skills of passion, engagement and synthesis. The more we can express our own unique selves–which was the initial intention of the Kreativity Network I founded and the Creativity Jams I now host–the more innovation will happen, guaranteed.

Finally, I am indeed passionate about changing education, and believe we need our curriculum for K-12, colleges and adults to build these creativity competencies and empower individuals to pursue their innate talents and more experientially tackle real issues. My contention is that we must create a new cadre of comprehensivists–those who can facilitate creativity and change in multidisciplinary ways. We need to break down the silos of expertise that currently separate and stifle us both in academia and organizations, so that we truly leverage our collective brainpower to creatively solve the challenges of our time.

I’m taking a break from the blog for a few weeks. Thanks so much for being part of this conversation and may the new year bring creative renewal–and proactive change–for you in work and life.