Iconic Drawings And Visualizations From Science And Math

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/15/iconic-drawings-and-visua_n_927780.html#s328883

A Visit to Socrates Sculpture Park - NYC



The Entrance





A quiet place in the park.





A sculpture in the park.



Another sculpture.



A view of Roosevelt Island from Socrates Park.



Along the water's edge.

Catching the breeeeeeeze.

Tranquility...

 

My Creative Spot

                       My Creative Spot!  

Elizabeth Gilbert Shares Helpful Creative Processes

In the video Elizabeth Gilbert says her creativity is stimulated by talking to people. For certain types of creative work this also works for me. I have written some short stories based on conversations, or incidents, I’ve witnessed on the bus, the subway, and on the street.

Gilbert mentions that she can’t work in chaos, which is also true for me. Part of my job involves some creative writing, but I can’t do it when I’m in the office with the phone ringing, people asking me questions, and when I’m always keeping one eye on my Inbox. I can see where the discipline Gilbert talks about is important to the creative process.

My physical surroundings are important when I’m being creative. Over the years I have found that I work best when I can see out of a window. I chose my current apt. for its wall of windows. It’s not that I have a great view, but just looking out and seeing the breeze in the trees, the shadows the sun makes on the buildings as it gets higher in the sky, and watching the people walking down the street, all have a calming effect on me.

7 Ways to Cultivate Your Creativity

Try these exercises to stimulate creativity.

7 Ways to Cultivate Your Creativity

http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=creativity-cultivation-unlock-ingenuity

Skills That Drive Change

Friends,

Hope you read the good news I posted on Going for the Gold by using the Creative Problem Solving process (posted on my blog 7/24). I do apologize for not getting back to you with the rest of the story but I have been terribly busy monitoring the debt ceiling debate in America and have been tweeting and sharing on FB as fast as I can to save us from destruction. It didn’t actually work, but…

Now, here’s the full story... on Creative Leadership that is, not the national debt ceiling.  

The authors define Creative Leadership for us: the ability to deliberately engage one’s imagination to define and guide a group toward a novel goal. As a consequence of bringing about this creative change, a creative leader has a profoundly positive influence on others in the group (xviii).

I am looking forward to this concept of Creative Leadership replacing the old one, which is aptly named, “Great Man theory of leadership” (6). Companies like Google discovered this before most of us and that is why they have achieved so much success.

In the reading materials for this course, I keep finding glimmers of myself where I think, “hey, I’ve done that,” or, “I’ve tried that.” The biggest eye-opener for me was in discovering that there is a process that can enhance our creativity. Believing that creativity is some sort of magic that happens inside of us can be a good thing, but knowing that we can utilize a process, even when we aren’t feeling particularly creative or magical, is indeed just like that treasure map the authors tell us about on page 41.

Jack’s Notebook was a fantastic way to introduce us to CPS. We learned a valuable lesson in Gregg Fraley’s business novel. What I see as being more of the emphasis in Creative Leadership, is that there are situations in our lives where we can do more than just solve our own problems. By engaging a group in CPS we can widen the pool of creative thinkers. Starting the process in our own offices, organizations, groups and clubs will prepare us to become better leaders.

Being an “Accelerator,” one important lesson for me to remember and stick to is what Puccio et al., call “The Bridge Between Ideas and Implementation” (193). My impulse is to take action as soon as I have a few good ideas.  Taking the time to transform them is something I need to remember.  

I kept thinking about CPS during the whole debt ceiling debate. Why wasn’t someone in Washington using the creative process to solve this wicked problem? Our leaders were divided along party lines: tax the rich, or take away services from the poor. I did not see anyone emerge to offer creative leadership. And this is the problem, not just in Washington, but everywhere - we don’t realize the importance of creativity in our elected leaders, or in our roles as leaders ourselves.

I don’t know if will ever be able to tackle the national debt challenge with CPS, but I am starting to use it at work and in my personal life. Creative Leadership has definitely been an inspiration to me.

Reference:

Puccio, G.J., Mance, M., Murdock, M. C. Creative Leadership – Skills That Drive Change. 2^nd ed. Sage Publications: 2011.

Go for the Gold!

Friends,

Don't miss out! Did you hear that authors Puccio, et al. have revealed a secret about a treasure map that leads you to the gold no matter where you use it?

With news as good as this, don't delay. Head directly to page 41 in your copy of Creative Leadership – Skills That Drive Change to discover where your treasure might lie. Easy to follow directions included.

Reference:

Puccio, G.J., Mance, M., Murdock, M. C. Creative Leadership – Skills That Drive Change. 2^nd ed. Sage Publications: 2011.