Management Tips: Creativity for business leaders

Liberalisation, Privatisation and globalisation policies compel industries to compete with the world’s most efficient, innovative, quality-conscious organisations. To survive and thrive in a hyper - competitive environment, individuals as well as organisation should be highly creative.

Creative thinking

Creative thinking involves the ability to find solutions to problems by changing one’s point of view when normal channels fail to give the answers.

Creative abilities

A problem develops when a goal is not achieved. By equipping, developing and sharpening creative abilities, one can solve the problems effectively and efficiently. These abilities are:

Fluency, flexibility, originality, problem sensitivity, ability to elaborate and ability to re-structure.

Steps in creativity

Step - 1: Information Survey

What are we going to achieve?

Have we got right information?

Step - 2: Building a Solution

Once the goal is clear, we can use the idea - generating techniques to come up with possible solutions. A quick use of a technique, perhaps taking 2 or 3 minutes.

Steps - 3: Reality Check

How the suggested solution will affect others in the problem area? That is, bringing the output of the technique into a practical form. Consider the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ points of our idea.

Step - 4: Implementation

Here, we put the solution into practice. This probably the most important stage. Many good ideas have failed due to poor implementation.

Obstacles to creativity

The following aspects, however, hinders creativity:

(1) Our pre-assumption about something leads to convergent thinking.

(2) Structure of brain, which is divided into two halves, is also responsible. The left half handles sequential thought and speech and those functions.

The right half is responsible for holistic thought, images and those functions, generally regarded as artistic.

We give more importance to the left side of the brain than the right. But creativity is a whole brain function.

(3) Obstacles to new ideas uproot originality.

Positive emotions

Positive emotions and creativity go hand in hand. The most obvious reason: Positive emotions leads to stress reduction which improves present mindedness as a result of better blood flow to the brain.

Another suggestion: Keep a problem constantly in your mind. Not in a stressful or anxious way, but enough to impress on your subconscious the importance of working this one through and, in time for you to gather the facts you need to reach a decision.

The following questions are designed to help you to solve any kind of problem in a Creative manner. Try applying them to one or two problems that confront you at present.

Understanding the problem

1. Have you defined the problem or objective in your own words?

2. Are there any other possible definitions of it worth considering? What general solutions do they suggest?

3. Decide what you are trying to perform. Where are you now and what are you trying to achieve?

4. Identify the important facts and factors. Do you need to spend more time on obtaining more information? What are the relevant policies, rules or procedures?

5. Have you reduced the complex problem to its simplest terms without over-simplifying it?

Towards solving the problem

6. Have you checked all your main assumptions?

7. Ask yourself and others several questions. What? Why? How? When? Where? Who?

8. List the obstacles that seem to block your path to a solution.

9. Work backwards. Imaging for yourself the end state, and then work from there to where you are now.

10. List all possible solutions, ways forward or courses of action.

11. Decide upon the criteria by which they must be put into action.

12. Narrow down the list to the feasible solutions, that is, the ones that are possible given the resources available.

How to be more creative

Creative thinking cannot be forced. It has to be discovered! It is often best to leave if for a while and let your subconscious mind take over.

Your subconscious and unconscious part of the brain - could open the door for you to this second key habit of mind.

Many people are still not even aware that their depth minds can carry out important mental functions for them, such as synthesising parts into new wholes or establishing new connections while they are engaged in other activities. Therefore they don’t listen with their inner ears.

Imaging your mind is like a personal fax machine. It would be good if you could sit down for an hour each morning before breakfast and receive inspired fax messages from your depth mind.

How to tap your mind power and brain power

1. There is a grat deal of untapped power within us. Creative thinking is exploring an unknown hinterland.

2. The meta-functions of the mind at work - analysing, valuing and synthesising - resonate in the whole mind.

Your depth mind - your subsequent and unconscious mind - replicates these functions.

3. Your depth mind is capable of more than analysis. It is the seat of your memory, at lest a part of it, and it’s also the repository of values that lie too deep for words. It is also a workshop where creative syntheses can be made by an invisible workmanship.

4. You most probably have experienced the beneficial effects of sleeping on a problem, and awakening to find that you mind has made itself up. Use that principle by programming your dept mind for a few minutes as you lie in the dark before you go to sleep.

5. Your dreams may occasionally be directly relevant. It is much more likely, however, that some indication, clue or idea will occur to you after ‘sleeping on it’. Perhaps during your waking hours for instance while you are shaving or washing the dishes, the idea will flash into your mind.

6. Follow Francis Bacon’s sound advice: A person would do well to carry a pencil in their pocket and write down the thoughts of the moment.

Those that come unsought are commonly the most valuable and should be secured, because they seldom return.

7. Remember: presentmindedness, using you mind power and brain power positive emotions, stress reduction, and creativity enhancement go together. You will discover many useful ways to enhance your creative power with your newfound enthusiasm.

By Dr. K. Kuhathasan, CEO: Cenlead

Management Tips: Neuro linguistic programming techniques

As the name suggests, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a synthesis that draws on the work of a number of different disciplines. In particular, it is alert and assimilates developments in the neurosciences and linguistics.

By exploring how our brains perform, NLP offers us ways of changing limiting patterns of behaviour and enhancing those patterns that work in our favour.

Whether they work for us or against us, we all have certain habitual sequences of behaviour that we run through many times. These are the programmes which can be changed and enriched using NLP.

You could say that NLP is a form of applied psychology, but that would be missing the point. At the heart of NLP is a way of thinking based on seeking out models of excellence. Since the early 1970s, practitioners have been studying examples of the very best practices in a wide range of activities.

The field has grown and broadened and it now offers a body of information and technique that can improve almost anyone's professional performance and personal well-being.

Some of NLP' early findings - such as the importance of being in synch with another person and the possibility of achieving this through a subtle approximation of his or her body language, energy levels, posture and gestures - have been incorporated into many conventional management training.

Dr. Alder in his book on NLP identifies four steps to success in any situation

Know what you want (know your outcome)

Take action

Learn to notice the results of what you do

Be prepared to change your behaviour until you get the result you are after.

In the mid -1970s, Richard Bandler (mathematician) and John Grinder (a professor of linguistics) took up the challenge of studying some of the world's finest communicators to find out how they achieved their outstanding results.

Bandler and Grinder found that very best communicators had in common certain beliefs and patterns of thinking. They used similar unconscious verbal and non-verbal behaviour strategies and this set them apart from the average.

Bandler and Grinder observed, analysed and duplicated the thinking and behaviour of the finest performers so that they too could achieve similar results.

They called this process 'modelling'. These studies, and many subsequent ones by a steadily growing number of NLP practitioners, created a comprehensive set of tools for communication and human performance.

What is NLP

Neuro - Linguistic Programming (NLP) is both the modelling process and the derivative set of tools. The name coined by NLP's originators describes its component parts.

Neuro Based: On research into how neurological processes work.

Linguistic: How these processes are represented through verbal and non-verbal language.

Programming: The patterns of thought and behaviour that we use consistently to produce specific results (like the programmed behaviour competent drivers use when driving a car)

What's in it for you?

Managers who have a grasp of the basic NLP concepts and techniques, and who learns how to utilise this information effectively, can enjoy a significant improvement in all aspects of their business and social activities.

In practical terms, NLP shows you how to become more successful in business by:

* Setting effective goals, leading to more focused activity.

* Building good - quality relationship with colleagues and business associates, replacing conflict with cooperation.

* Developing greater flexibility in the way that you respond to your environment, leading to more appropriate responses to the ever-changing demands of your business.

* Managing your mental activities, leading to greater self-control and more effective self-management.

Bandler and Grinder developed NLP so that it could be transferred to help anyone to achieve outstanding results in any area of human performance. It has helped athletes to reach new levels of performance and helped people with phobias to overcome their fears.

1. Companies, have adopted and applied NLP in communicating and implementing massive change in their organisations.

2. Individual managers have transformed their performance when communicating with others and more influential in galvanising others to action.

3. Sales people who sell complex services to major accounts, who work in the largest retail stores and car showrooms, and who sell by telephone have increased revenue significantly by building better relationship with their customers.

NLP is a dynamic field of study and practice that is being adopted and applied worldwide in the field of business, sport, teaching and therapy.

One of the most basic concepts in NLP is 'What one person can learn to do, anyone else can learn to do. From its earliest days, NPL has been based 'on a process of 'modelling' successful people (as judged by their peers) in all walks of life.

Having modelled a person's behaviour it is then possible to compare it with that of their less successful colleagues in order to sport the 'difference that make the difference.'

These variations are often very subtle, but once they have been identified they can be adopted by other people who wish to enhance their own performance.

To put it quite simply, the basic NLP concept is: Find out what works, then do it. This means that the techniques described in NLP are all based on what some people are already doing.

You may already be using some of these skills yourself without even recognising them for what they are. It is this lack of awareness that locks us into the predicament where what leads to success in one's situation can lead to failure in another.

Why NLP is useful tool in the workplace?

To achieve success, individuals and organisations need to find ways of dealing with increasing pace of change. The distinctive features of NLP make it a powerful tool for communicating, managing, change and to develop positive work attitudes.

* NLP supports performance improvement because it is based on studies of the most effective performers in many fields.

* It facilitates better relationships between people at work because it opens up the details skills of communication of which we are often unaware.

* NLP promotes resourcefulness because it encourages greater choice of thought and action. It is based on the premise that each of us has a different perception of the world and that flexibility is needed to appreciate this.

* NLP assumes the good communicators achieve their goals by being responsive to the needs of others and appreciating the wider effects of their actions inside and outside the organisation.

* NLP assumes that the seeds of success lie within the individual or the organisation.

* The techniques of NLP allow people to learn from their actual experience. NLP utilises what works and does not seek to impose theory.

How NLP works

NLP embraces the individual's behaviour and the thinking that leads to that behaviour. It is concerned with the relationship between people and the effect or their actions on others.

The components of thinking, behaving and relationship are broken down into fine detail and made explicit so that they can be learned and put into practice to develop performance and improve individual satisfaction. In short, it is a set of tools for learning, communicating and developing.

NLP enables people to put themselves in resourceful states so they can achieve the results they want. If we feel good, we behave effectively and achieve the outcomes we want. If we feel helpless, we fail to get what we want.

Beliefs

Our beliefs can limit us or they can enable us to achieve seemingly impossible goals. A belief that he could achieve and be anything he wanted pushed and developed a man, who had lost both legs and the use of one arm in a childhood accident, to be, among other things, a director of one the world's largest companies, a highly successful sport car racer and a happy and fulfilled family man.

On the other hand, a trainer, who took from his parents a belief that "showing off was bad", was inhibited in front of groups. a fear of criticism stopped him from adding a dash of flamboyance that would have transformed his work. Our belies drives our thinking and affects our physiology.

Thinking

A picture in the mind's eye can be defined by its colour, brightness, position and size. A sound in the mind can be defined by volume, location, pitch and duration and a feeling by intensity, location and weight.

These elements are unpacked to identify the way in which our thinking processes work and what we do. For example, an author of successful business books created a bright, moving picture in her mind's eye of potential readers who were friends who might read her work. She selected one who would be critical and constructive and engaged in an imagined conversation with the friend.

The conversation ended when she experienced a warm feeling of satisfaction in her stomach that she could answer her friend's questions.

The mind and the body

We may have conventionally believed that the mind was associated with the brain. Certainly there are elements of and processing centers for aspects of mind in the brain.

The mind is distributed throughout our physical whole, however, for example, every cell has its own intelligence and sufficiently nourished, could survive independently.

If your body was dipped in a magic fluid, which could dissolve everything except your nerve cells, you would still be totally recognisable from the nerve cells alone. There are more nerve cells in the human body than there are stars in the visible sky.

This gives an insight into the phenomenal power of the mind. It has two major components - the conscious and unconscious mind. In addition, there is the higher self. In you lifetime, you may not use more that 5% of your brain.

Einstein was found to have a much bigger brian than normal when he died. For a long time, it was thought that this was the reason for his 'super - intelligence' Then it was realized that as he used it more, it grew more cells.

Conscious and unconscious mind

NLP is build around the link between the mind and body. What we believe and the way in which we think effects our physiology. Our physiology effects the way we think.

A presenter who feels under pressure stands off - balance, with drooping shoulders that restrict breathing, and begins to think negatively. Simply by recovering balance and standing and moving in a relaxed and upright way, his breathing becomes deeper and easier.

This leads to positive thinking that enables the presenter to handle challenges well.

You are responsible for your conscious and your unconscious mind and therefore the results that you get. Your mind power can either push you up or pull you down depending on your positive or negative thoughts.

Management Tips: Importance of creativity in knowledge revolution era

Creative thinking is an ability, which can be developed. The present era in marked by knowledge revolution only creative people can meet the challenges of the emerging business environment. Until quite recently, it was widely believed that it is a supernatural gift bestowed on only a few.

Albert Einstein had this to say: The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift. 'Such an imbalance defies logic.

As lateral thinking expert Edward de Bono pointed out. "Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns", 'The good news is that you can learn to reawaken your creativity, shake off your old thought patterns and start creating some new ones.

Brain right

The area of the brain most commonly associated with creative thinking is the right hemisphere.

The creative individual has a strong and vibrant success orientation. It is directed toward extending the range and quality of those experiences that bring him a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of self-fulfillment.

His life requires an endless sequence of new challenges, directions and goals. utilising fully his creative and inventive capacities, he want his life to become a series of continuous self-creations in which he takes an active part.

Most of the people who work in organisations are constantly interrupted by telephone calls, urgent memos, visits by colleagues, idle chatter, unscheduled meetings, letter-writing and a whole host of administrative functions that leave little time for creative thinking.

One effective way of overcoming this is to define and redefine one's primary functions so that time is reserved for creativity.

Characteristics of the creative

The creative individual has many distinct attributes or characteristics by which he or she can be identified and that significantly differentiates him from those who are less creative.

The kind and degree of creativity varies, of course, from person to person, and it is unlikely that any individual could possess all of the characteristics to a uniformly high degree.

Flexibility

The creative person is flexible in his thinking. He is able to choose and explore a wide variety of approaches to his problem without losing sight of his overall goal or purpose.

During problem solving, if new developments or changed circumstances demand it, he can easily drop one line of thought, or an unworkable approach, and take up another.

He shows resourcefulness in his ability to shift gears, to discard one frame of reference for another, to change perspective, stray off the beaten path, modify approaches and adapt quickly to new development or requirements.

He constantly asks himself, "What else?" or "What would happen if I viewed the problem from a different angle?"

The creative person has keen powers of observation and an unusual ability to perceive and point out problems, situations and challenges that have escaped the attention of others.

This is because of his (or her) greater sensitivity to the unusual or the promising aspects of the situation-the hidden opportunities often not perceived by other individuals.

Hence he tends to be dissatisfied with things as they are and is eager to improve upon them.

Originality

The creative person displays originality in his thinking. Since his thought processes are not jammed up with stereo types he can reach out beyond the ordinary or commonplace, and think of more unusual, more unique solutions to his problems.

His originality expresses itself also in his ability to take apart firmly structured and established systems, to dissolve existing syntheses and to use elements and concepts beyond the limits they possess in their primary contexts, to create a new combination, and relationships.

Curiosity

Creativity is contingent upon the preservation of the curiosity and sense of wonder that is apparent in youth, and so conspicuously absent in many grownups.

Openness to feelings and unconscious mind

The creative person has more energy, is more impulsive, and is more responsive to emotions and feelings than the less creative person. since he is more in touch with and open to, his feelings he has a better access to the buried materials in his unconscious.

Or, to put it differently, because of his relative lack of defensive distortions, inhibitions and repressions he is able to have a more direct and uncluttered pipeline to the real world of ideas in the unconscious mind.

Motivation

Basic to creative achievement is a strong desire to create. The creative person derives great satisfaction from his creative activities and is keenly interested in his chosen work.

Any difficulties that he inevitably encounters do not discourage him. He welcomes problems as personal challenge and looks forward to the time when he can grapple with them. He assumes an optimistic stance vis-a-vis his problem.

Persistence and concentration

An enormous capacity for taking pains, a dogged persistence in the face of difficulties and frustrations and vast amount of sheer arduous work are some of the additional outstanding attributes of creative persons.

Ability to think in images

Creative people rely heavily on internal visual imagery or "thought-visions" These are at time exceptionally clear and complete; at their times they can be murky and tied loosely to an assortment of vague and meandering thoughts. But whether clear or murky, imagery frequently contains the kernel of a new, original idea.

Ability to analyse and synthesise

The creative person is able to analyse and break down a problem into parts and to perceive the relationships that exist between the parts and the whole. Analysis is frequently thought of as being diametrically opposed to creativity, but it is part and parcel of the ability to synthesise.

Prolonged searching and analysis almost always precede creative synthesis; they are complementary aspects of a single process in creative problem solving.

Ability to tolerate isolation

When ready to work, the creative person isolates himself from the distractions and interruptions of his environment in order to establish a receptive, leisurely mood. He arranges circumstances so that he can be completely alone, undisturbed and solely concentrated of the creative task at hand.

Creative memory

The unconscious is a vast storehouse of memories; facts observations, impressions, ideas and associations. The creative individual's unconscious is always richly stocked with these, but this does not in itself indicate creative ability.

Most of us know people who seem to have all kinds of information and facts at their fingertips, yet have never been able to achieve much in a creative way. Frequently the reason for this is that their memory functions as a rigidly ordered storehouse of deposited concepts, which precludes a flexible and imaginative use of them.

Incubation

There comes a time, during the creative process, when thinking gets ponderous and clogged, when errors start to pile up and no further new insights occur. This is the time when the creative person ceases his work on the problem and turns to something different and less confining.

Many creative people find a welcome change of pace in music, painting, sightseeing, manual tacks, daydreaming, etc.

These activities not only provide a refreshing interlude, but allow the unconscious mental processes freedom to operate unrestrained by conscious concentration.

Suggestions

Here is a list of suggestions to help you get started. You might like to try using your creativity to come up with some ideas of your own.

• Take regular physical exercise.
• Eat a varied and balanced diet.
• Practise relaxation and meditation techniques.
• Improve our self-confidence.
• Keep a journal, and keep note of your progress.
• Read imaginative fiction.
• Practise thinking of alternative uses for everyday objects.
• Practise finding similarities between dissimilar things.
• Take up artistic pursuits like writing articles.
• Visit inspirational places.
• Take up activities you wouldn't normally think of doing.
• Try being more spontaneous and outgoing.
• Listen to classical music.
• Regularly look for ways to break out of your comfort zone.
• Do everyday things and routines in a different way.
• Make new friends and expand your social circle.
• Think of yourself as a creative person.
• Think of creativity as a way of life.
• Model yourself on a famous creative person you admire.
• Develop a rebellious streak.
• Allow yourself to daydream.
• Don't be afraid to be wrong or make mistakes.
• Don't be too hasty in making judgments.
• Be curious about everything.

Daydreaming too is very important in the creative process because it allows you to experience the deeper, intuitive processes of the mind. It happens when we go, 'inside' ourselves and enter what is known as an 'alpha state' which is when we are relaxed, 'unfocused' and alpha brainwave levels are low.

For this reason the period just before we go to sleep is especially conducive to this type of thinking.

Dr. K. Kuhathasan, CEO, CENLEAD

Management Tips: Role of managers in preventing industrial accidents

The statistics released by the Department of Labour reveals that on an average over 50 fatal industrial accidents and about three thousand non-fatal accidents take place annually. These are merely reported figures. A good number of accidents are not reported at all.

The direct cost of a single fatal accident by way of compensation by the organization and the insurance company is averaged at about Rs. 300,000, while the indirect cost, such as lost output, damage to machinery and buildings, etc. may be even higher.

The loss of life is certainly the most serious consequence of an industrial accident. But it is not the only one. The effect upon the family, the economic loss to society, loss of production, loss of a well trained employee, the cost of training another employee in his place are other social costs.

Human Error

All industrial accidents are, either directly or indirectly attributed to human error. The mistake may be made by the architect who designed a factory, the contractor who built it, a machine designer, an engineer, a chemist, an electrician, a foreman or an operator.

Accidents may also take place either because of technological or mechanical defects or unsafe industrial behavior of the people.

A study on industrial accidents in Sri Lanka reveals that around 60 to 70 per cent of the accidents were due to technological and mechanical defects such as unsuitable machinery to fit the physical make up of Sri Lankan people, defective parts, unguarded machines, damaged electrical cables, worn-out hoisting ropes etc, while 30-40 per cent are due to unsafe behavior of the people.

As the first step towards reducing industrial accidents, standardization of machinery within the industrial roof must be encouraged by the managers. Sri Lanka has been importing machinery from various countries, not specifically made for Sri Lankan people.

Industrial Fatigue

In a single factory, one can see machines imported from various countries. Those who use these machines, under the same roof, side by side, have to adjust to the varying rhythm of machines requirements and are affected by industrial fatigue, which is one of the main causes of industrial accidents.

A good number of accidents took place when the people worked with unguarded machinery. Belts, gears and other movable parts of machines are generally fitted with safety guards.

However, people often feel guards are a hindrance. Consequently, the guards are often taken off and work went on with unprotected machines.

In view of this general behavior of Sri Lankan people the management may try to import in “In-built safety machines” where guards are made as an intergral part of the machine.

Safe working habits

Safety consideration should be borne in mind at the time of the actual planning when the factory is constructed. There should be a safety engineer on the planning team.

Managers have a great role to play in training people to adopt “safe working habits”.

Good working habits including taking proper care of machines and tools good order and good housekeeping all over the industry will reduce accidents.

There should be a safe place for everything in a factory and everything should be in its place at all times.

Management must understand that the frequency of accidents is influenced by the general industrial relations atmosphere as well. When the employer-employee relations are bad, when people are dissatisfied with working conditions, the incidence of accidents may be higher.

Respect for people’s feeling and dignity helps to give them peace of mind and this is an important psychological safety factor.

Safety begins at the top

The slogan “Safety begins at the top” clearly underlines the essential condition for successful safety work in an undertaking. Foremen, safety engineers, supervisors and other management staff can never achieve results if the management does not take the lead in promoting high safety standards.

Satisfactory working conditions and healthy working environment keep the people in physical and mental and stimulate active participation and contribution.

Working environment

Better working environment also encompasses well organized work. Badly organized monotonous jobs, jobs requiring lesser skills, degrading jobs may give rise to harmful levels of fatigue and stress and end up with an industrial accident.

The working environment in an industry should be structured in such a way that it should reduce boredom and fatigue and increase satisfying rhythm of work.

Jobs must be made more satisfying through the process of a well established network of working environments in which people will take pride in their institution and perform well for that organisation.

Such a working environment should not damage, degrade, or humiliate the people. On the other hand, it should utilize many of the varied skills and abilities they are gifted with and provide adequate opportunities for them to acquire further upward mobility.

Protection of people from occupational accidents and diseases should be considered as the most urgent aspect of improvement of working conditions and environment.

Social and Economic cost

The social and economic costs of unsafe working environment are many. If work places are not provided with a safe working environment, it results not only in productive loss to the industry, but also economic loss to the nation.

Workplaces should have sufficient and suitable ventilation supplying fresh or purified air. Workplaces should be so laid out and work stations so arranged that there should be no harmful effects on the health of the people.

Provision of washing facilities and sanitary conveniences, sufficient supply of wholesome drinking water, etc., should form part of the whole concept of safer and healthy working environment.

People should have sufficient unobstructed working space to perform their work without risk. Noise and vibration likely to have harmful effects on people should be reduced as far as possible by appropriate and practical measures.

Workplaces should also be protected against substances which are obnoxious, unhealthy or toxic, which may be generated during the course of work.

Efforts aimed at optimizing the working environment to bring about accident free organization require more than a commitment to change. They also require a clear understanding of what should be changed.

By Dr. K. Kuhathasan CEO, CENLEAD

Management Tips: The learning organization

A learning organisation can be defined as "an organisation which facilitates the learning of all its members and continually transforms itself". The activities of the company as a whole are continually monitored to provide feedback which is used to learn how to improve performance.

Barriers to learning

1. Feedback is distorted by the filters of power, status and authority.

2. Success leads to complacency "We have nothing to learn".

3. Failure leads to a which hunt "Who was to blame? Who's silly idea was that?" Organisational versus individual learning

Only individuals can learn, but as a result of learning behaviour in groups or organisations, we can speak of group or organisational learning.

But there is also learning within the organisation, which can be:

1. Direct and immediate: e.g.training courses, counselling, appraisal, coaching

2. Indirect and deferred: systems and procedures for dealing with commonly recurring situation, policy statements, manuals etc.

As a result, organisational learning is greater than the sum of the learning of individual members.

Affective In-house Learning demands:

1. Personal mastery

2. Mental models:'surfacing' challenging and adapting them

3. Buildings a shared vision

4. Team learning:teams are the 'fundamental learning unit in the modern organisation'

5. Systems thinking:think in terms of the whole rather than the component parts.

Characteristics of a learning organisation

1. The word 'learning' is part of everyday language.

2. Managers see development of their people as a key element.

3. Appraisal documents make provisions for learning plans to be mutually discussed by the individual and the manager.

4. People are trained to give/ receive regular feedback.

5. Managers can select preferred learning method from a variety available.

6. Individuals are proactive in developing their own learning methodology.

7. People constantly analyse events, searching for improvement.

8. It is unacceptable to look for scapegoats. The emphasis is on 'what can we learn from this?'

9. People focus on the learning opportunities offered by jobs rather than on the status that goes with them.

10. The 'not invented here' attitude is rejected. Ideas and experience are shared across teams.

11. The organisation has an accessible, user-friendly, up-to-date base.

12. The organisation continually benchmarks itself against 'best practice'.

13. Spontaneous and informal networks exist and are seen as legitimate.

If the learning organisation is to become a reality, certain conditions must be in place.

1. Top management must act as a good role model for learning: by being seen both to be learning themselves and involved with the learning of others.

2. Effective horizontal and diagonal as well as vertical communication channels.

3. Rewards which reinforce the motivation to learn.

4. Effective systems for 'scanning the environment'

5. Active involvement in joint ventures, strategic alliances, etc.

6. A culture fostering openness, sharing of information. Hard truths should be allowed to surface and be confronted.

7. Employees are empowered to apply their learning to the way they do their jobs.

Factors which inhibit organisational learning include:

1. Fixation on short-team results and exclusively on 'bottom-line' indicators of performance.

2. The assumption that experience by itself automatically leads to learning.

3. A long history of success (e.g. IBM)

Learning and organisational effectiveness

1. Few investments pay off in the first year.

2. There are many hidden costs of not learning.

3. People are assets, even if not on the balance sheet.

4. Study the hidden costs and lost revenues that come from failing to learn.

5. Measure the added value created by individuals and teams and show how this is increased by learning.

6. Improve induction procedures so as to transfer knowledge and experience to new recruits.

7. Compare the costs and benefits of formal learning processed with other options.

By Dr. K. Kuhathasan, CEO, CENLEAD

Management Tips: Creativity and information technology professionals

Information technology based organisations are faced with the challenge to develop creativity and innovation among their people.

Such organisations must develop an organisational culture that encourages creativity among its employees.

A flexible organisational structure is necessary for creativity. A process for developing new ideas in products and services should be in place. A trustful leadership that does not over control people and open channels of communication among the members of the organisation will go a long way in developing a creative culture.

Considerable contact and communication with other institutions, willing to accept change, must be established. Encouraging employees to develop new ideas will also go a long way to promote creativity.

Both creative and judicial thinking are important

1. Creative thinking is “future-oriented”. It looks to the future and tries to find a more effective way to do things, to find new techniques and methods.

2. Judicial thinking is “past-oriented”. It relise on past experience in evaluating new ideas, methods and techniques.

3. It is important to keep both types of thinking in proper balance and not utilise one at the cost of neglecting the other. They complement each other. Together they make an excellent combination.

Creative decisions

Being creative does not necessarily mean coming up with revolutionary ideas. It does mean taking a fresh and uninhibited approach when making decisions and not being restricted by what has been done in the past.

Creative Leaders not only have new ideas but also elicit new ideas from their employees. The Leader set the creative tone; if he or she encourages creativity, the members will sense this and act accordingly.

The creative person

People tempt to think of themselves and others as being creative or not creative. But being creative is not an all-or-nothing characteristic. Everyone can be creative to some extent.

Creativity is not a mysterious power given to a selected few. Typically, the person who believes “Creative is not my bag” has never tried to use his or her creative powers.

Characteristics of creative people

Creative people have a youthful curiosity throughout their lives. They are also emotionally expressive and sensitive to the world around them and the feelings of others.

Creative people tend to have a positive self-image; they feel good about themselves. It is said that creative people have the ability to tolerate isolation and are nonconformists. Creative people often have thrill-seeking tendencies and are always persistent.

Knowledge

Creative people spend a great number of years mastering their chosen field.

Education

Education does not increase creativity. Education that stresses logic tends to inhibit creativity.

Intelligence

Creative people do not necessarily have high IQs. The threshold for IQ is around 130. After that, IQ does not really matter.

Creative people have been found to posses the following intellectual abilities; sensitivity to problems, flexibility in firming fluid association between objects, thinking in images rather than words, and synthesizing information.

Personality

Creative people are typically risk takers who are independent, persistent, highly motivated, skeptical, open to new ideas, able to tolerate ambiguity, self-confident, and able to tolerate isolation. They also have a strong sense of humour and are hard to get along with.

Social habits

Contrary to stereotypes, creative people are not introverted nerds, creative people tend to be outgoing and enjoy exchanging ideas with colleagues.

Establishing a creative climate

1., Schedule regular practice session for creative thinking.

2. Build a creative climate in which the desire and willingness to be creative will be ever present. It is important to encourage creativity among all.

3. Build an “Idea Bank” an idea reservoir - by building up idea sources. Thus all will have an ever wider frame of reference to which, ideas may be related. Relatedness is important for creativity.

4. Concentrate. Don’t let anything distract you. Stick to one problem. Keep plugging.

5. Believe in yourself. Everyone can come up with good ideas when they put aside judicial thinking.

6. Let the unconscious take over. When we’re exhausted we should stop thinking and the unconscious will keep working.

7. Build big ideas from little ones. Add to what has already been thought out.

8. Be enthusiastic and confident. This opens the mind for creative ideas.

9. Be ready for ideas when they’re ready to flow.

Characteristics of a creative organisation

1. An organisational culture that encourages and expects creativity from employees.

2. Rewards are given to employees for innovative ideas.

3. Top managers who support innovation and imagination.

4. A flexible organisation structure.

5. A process for developing new ideas in products and services.

6. A trustful management that does not over control people.

7. Open channels of communication among members of the organisation.

8. Considerable contact and communication with outsiders.

9. A large variety of personality types.

10. Willing to accept change, but not enamoured with change for its own sake.

11. Enjoyment in experimenting with new ideas.

12. Encourages people of various education levels and generalists (as opposed to only specialists) to contribute new ideas.

13. Attempt to retain creative people even during times of financial difficulty.

14. Has little fear of the consequences of making a mistake.

15. Select people and promote them primarily on the basis of merit.

16. Uses techniques for encouraging ideas, such as suggestion systems and brainstorming.

Blocks to our natural creativity

1. Fear. If we are frightened, we cannot be creative. Creativity requires us to be looking out, experimenting, risking.

2. Self-consciousness. You should never be doubtful of what people will think of your creations.

They might laugh, they might faint, they might criticize, they might ignore. So if you’re too preoccupied with other people’s reactions. It will stunt your creativity.

3. Depression. Depression is about believing that you can’t change anything, that things are bad and always will be. Depression is about passivity. In many ways, it is the opposite of creativity.

4. Reluctance to commit. Creativity is about commitment. We speck of ‘committing ourselves to paper, the picture is very apt. We have to invest in our ideas, plans and suggestions to bring them out into the open, to let them exist in some shape or form.

So, paradoxically, some people’s creativity is blocked because they have too many ideas and they can’t commit to any of them.

How creative are you?

self-check

1. I am a curious person.

2. I look for opportunities to solve problems.

3. I respond to changes in my life creatively by using them to redefine my goals and revising plans to achieve them.

4. I am willing to develop and experiment with ideas of my own.

5. I rely on my hunches and insights.

6. I can reduce complex decisions to a few simple questions by seeing the “big picture”.

7. I am good at promoting and gathering support for my ideas.

8. I think ahead of other people.

9. I dig out research and information to support my ideas.

10. I am supportive of the creative ideas from my peers and subordinates and welcome “better ideas” from others.

11. I read books and articles to stay on the “cutting edge” in my areas of interest.

12. I believe that I am creative and have faith in my creative skills.