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Illuminating - the hints
and tips newsletter from Illumine Training
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Welcome to the February/March edition of Illuminating,
the hints and tips newsletter from Illumine Training, experts
in:
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 Welcome
to the February/March issue of The Illuminating Newsletter. This
month we are continuing our look at Creativity and Problem Solving.
I heard a story the other day (it may be
apocryphal) about an irate BBC manager who walked into his office one
morning and noticed that every single member of his staff was reading
The Guardian. He flew into a rage. His exasperation, however, wasn't
caused by his disapproval of that particular publication but by the
conformity of his staff. "Go out and buy The Telegraph, The Mail,
The Sun," he railed. "You're meant to be creative, so see it
as part of your job to get a multi-dimensional view of the world."
Now, whether or not this
manager's outburst had any beneficial effect is neither here nor there.
This story shows that organisational survival can depend on people
coming up with new ideas and they are unlikely to come up with anything
new if they are all thinking the same way. As the Nobel Prize winning
chemist, Albert Szent-Gyorgi; said "Discovery consists of looking
at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something
different."
I spoke to Clive Lewis, the
MD of Illumine Training for some ideas to share with you. I posed the
question to him, "So is it always appropriate to be
creative?" Find out his response and
get some great tips from him here...
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Competition:
Tell us What Motivates You
to Win a Copy of a the Hottest Motivation Book Available...
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 Creativity
acts as a great motivator. But what motivates you?
One of our trainers is
currently writing a book on motivation and is keen to obtain your
personal thoughts and ideas about how you are motivated. The
results will be incorporated within the book, but no personal names
used. Any information will be treated confidentially and
anonymously.
We are giving away 3 free
copies of the new book when it is published this year. The short survey
closes Tuesday 25th March 2008, any completed before this
time will be included in the prize draw.
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Illumination Workshop®
coming up in April
Knowing how to
consistently generate new ideas and new thinking will benefit the
development of any organisation - creativity isn't just relevant;
it's essential.
The Illumination Workshop®
provides a unique introduction to how the creative process works. Organisations
and individuals are encouraged to bring along real life situations
which are tackled by a broad range of practical creative techniques
which can be used in the workplace.
The
Illumination workshop® is available as a public workshop
in London and Manchester (find out more here) or we
can deliver this for a team or group of individuals at your venue
though our in-house training programme. Find out more here or email us
inhouse@illumine.co.uk
or call +44 (0)1753 866633
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Problem or Opportunity?
No round pegs in square holes for
creative thinking!
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Problem = something difficult to deal with or solve;
question or puzzle set for solution
Opportunity = favourable time or condition; good
chance
What are your problems?
As soon as you start
thinking about the exact nature of your problems you'll recognise that
they come in two rather different shapes. In the first instance, you
will tend to see problems occurring when the unexpected shows up, e.g.
when something you haven't predicted means that the project you are
running will take longer than you have anticipated. In the second
instance, you will identify problems when you aren't where you want or expect
to be. So, for example, your company may have been rather slow in
coming up with a web solution for its range of products. The problem is
seen as you needing to raise your game and get a first class web
solution in place in order to remain competitive.
Change your mindset
In addition to how you see
problems occurring, however, it's also worth noting that many of the
problems you are grappling with won't have a correct solution. In fact,
one useful mindset to have with problems is to consider that they may
help you redefine your perspective and enable you to see other ways in
which to proceed. And it is with this perspective that we, at Illumine,
suggest that your problems can often be opportunities in disguise.
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Brain Teaser - Can you see what's hidden in this
picture?
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This stereogram may be easier to
see if viewed on paper rather than your screen. To save the
environment we've given you instructions at the bottom of this
email.
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Training
for a team or group?
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All our
courses and workshops are available for organisations wishing to
develop teams or groups of individuals from across the organisation.
Options for tailoring and building training pathways are available.
Call our Account Managers to discuss your needs. +44 (0)1753 866633 or
email
inhouse@illumine.co.uk
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 How
fast can you read?
The April issue of the
Illuminating Newsletter is all about Speed Reading and Memory
Techniques. It's going to be packed with hints and tips all about:
- Speed Reading Tips
- Ways to Remember More
- Tools and Techniques
- More Brain Teasers and
Puzzles
Why not test your reading speed by taking our Speed Reading
Challenge, here...
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Out of the Blocks with Lateral Thinking™
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What do you do when faced
by a difficult problem?
In many organisations,
the only technique used to try to generate fresh thinking and new ideas
is 'the brainstorm'. Results
from brainstorming sessions are often disappointing for all concerned.
Then, you also have to work out how to deal with mental blocks.
The truth is that we all get blocked sometimes, and
when we can't think of how to solve our difficulties it can be very frustrating. It doesn't help to get mad or
to pretend that your problems don't exist. At such times you need new
thinking to help you, and that's why creative problem-solving
techniques such as lateral thinking are in high demand.
A way
of approaching Lateral ThinkingTM is to recognise that this
is a proven skill that you can learn, and which helps you see things
from a new perspective. Take a look at some
examples here...
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Brain Teaser - Say what you see!
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Jeopardy x2
Answer
at the bottom of this email
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Brain Teasers - Name the phrase from this picture clue
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Brain Teaser - Can you solve the riddle?
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This riddle must be done IN YOUR HEAD and NOT using paper and a
pen. Try it!
Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000.
Now add 30. And another 1000.
Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10.
What is the total?
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Answers at the bottom of this email
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Brain Teaser Answers
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- Say what you see - Double Jeopardy
- Can you see
what's hidden in this picture? - It's a flying eagle
- Name the phrase - Try to understand (Try-2 Under-Stand)
- Numbers - 4100... Did you get 5000? Most people did! Give
it a try on paper and you'll see.
Did
you enjoy these tests and brain teasers? We also have a speed reading
test where you can check your reading speed and a fun grammar test.
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