by John Brooker | Oct 3, 2015 | Free Articles, Overcome Challenges, Solution Focus, Tools
In this article, you will learn how to use metaphor and its structure. You will see how metaphors help shape your thinking and the thinking of others and how you can use them in practical ways in work and workshops. Please download this PDF article here The Power of Metaphors to Transform Teams...
by John Brooker | Sep 25, 2015 | Collaborate, Develop Opportunities, Overcome Challenges
“Inspiring quotations are often seen but not heard.” John Brooker How might you use inspiring quotations? I use inspiring quotations in my articles, I post inspiring quotations on workshop walls and on Pinterest. I’ve even developed some of my own. Advertisers use them, e.g. “Good things come to those who wait”, which certainly inspired a lot of people to drink Guinness. However, I notice that many people treat them like “wallpaper”; and if they see them I sometimes wonder if they “hear” them and understand what they mean. Or perhaps overuse has left them uninspired How might you encourage people to “hear” inspirational quotations so that they are inspired, and how can you use them in a practical way to get the best impact from them? Here are four ideas: In workshops, if the energy slips, you might have people review the inspirational quotations on the wall (or floor). Each person chooses their favourite one, then I form pairs or threes and have them chat about why their chosen quotation is their favourite. This is a good way for people to reveal something about themselves without asking a direct question. For example, my favourite quotation: “There is no truth, only points of view.” (You will see it written in different ways and accredited to Roman generals, French authors and English poets) It reveals that; a) I am willing to listen to many viewpoints before making up my mind and b) I think it essential that if we are to be innovative and make meaningful change, people must listen to the ideas of other people. What might your favourite quotation...
by John Brooker | Sep 7, 2015 | Collaborate, Facilitate meetings, Free Articles, Overcome Challenges, Tools
“Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it” Alan Perlis – Computer Scientist How might you have a team explore complex situations? I was facilitating a workshop in August in which people had to explore a situation. I decided I would use Rich Pictures. Rich Pictures are used in the method known as “Soft Systems Methodology”. This is a method used to structure thinking about complex organisational systems. I first came across the Rich Pictures technique in the Open University course on Creativity, Innovation and Change and have used it for many years with groups. The example shows a Rich Picture. It represents just one perspective of the situation and would need to be brought together with other pictures to discuss and create an overall picture. This is a technique that people sometimes misunderstand, so I put together an explanation and some guidelines for the attendees. I thought you might find this useful, though you might want to adapt the guidelines to suit your style. People use Rich Pictures to portray complicated situations in a snapshot. A Rich Picture can help you summarise the situation using cartoons, sketches, line drawings, stick people, symbols and key words. I have also used photographs that people cut from magazines. In it you represent as much of the situation as possible e.g. its structure, how things connect and relate, what is important, what influences different aspects etc. This is all fairly objective, so it is also useful to include some more subjective aspects as well. Principles To help interpret a situation, choose symbols, scenes or images that represent...
by John Brooker | Sep 2, 2015 | Collaborate, Develop Opportunities, Facilitate meetings, Overcome Challenges
“I saw the crescent. You saw the whole of the moon.” The Waterboys. Lyrics from “The Whole of the Moon.” Here are five tips to help you bring out the full potential of a group in a workshop. Imagine the moon represents the potential of a group of people in a workshop. When you facilitate correctly, you are able to see the whole of the moon. If not, you see just a sliver. I worked in Asia for a couple of weeks and co-facilitated four groups. It gave me time to reflect on what a facilitator can do to help groups fulfill their potential and to create a Yes! And blog. The metaphor arose from listening to the “Waterboys” whilst slaving in the hotel gym after one workshop. I wondered what the metaphor in the lyrics meant and gradually my mind wandered to the potential of groups. Now that you can appreciate the randomness of my brain patterns, let me share my insights with you about how you can have groups work better together in workshops and so enhance the potential for creative thinking. Prepare and issue a brief I have said it before and… you should issue a participant brief for any workshop you run, stating at the very least, the purpose, the outcomes and the output. I always include a detailed agenda and map but that is not essential. In the workshop, you should repeat what you have said in the brief. It takes five minutes and gives people a focus and clarity. If you don’t brief you risk people: Being confused or uncertain Interrupting the...
by John Brooker | Sep 1, 2015 | Collaborate, Develop Opportunities, Facilitate meetings, Free Articles, Innovate, Overcome Challenges, Tools
“Using a metaphor in front of a man as unimaginative as Ridcully was like a red flag to a bu…was like putting something very annoying in front of someone annoyed by it.” Terry Pratchett. Author. Lords and Ladies. If you want to explore a problem or opportunity well, here are five tools. Imagine that you are sitting in an exam hall with an MBA examination paper in front of you; the subject is Creativity, Innovation and Change. The examiner asks you to turn over your paper, you look at the first question and your mind goes completely blank. You cannot think how to tackle the question. An examination question is a problem to solve or an opportunity to show what you know. It is comparable to exploring a problem or opportunity in work. What are some ways you might structure your exploration? Some of you will know that until recently, I ran an exam study day for students on the Open University, “Creativity, Innovation and Change” course with my friend and associate, Elvin Box. We ran the last ever one in October 2012 (sadly this brilliant course has finished after twenty years) and so that they did not fall victim to the blank mind syndrome, we encouraged the students to structure how they might answer the question. To do this we suggested a number of generic tools that are easy to recall and use. As I travelled home from the study day, I thought those tools might be useful for Creative Gorillas. As a bonus, you can use them for evaluation too. 5 Ws and H Who? What?...
by John Brooker | Sep 1, 2015 | Collaborate, Develop Opportunities, Overcome Challenges
Recently, I visited Lincoln Cathedral with my daughter. It brought back happy memories of a few days in Lincoln when I ran a residential school for the Open University (OU) Creativity and Innovation MBA course. I took the students to the Cathedral to help bring the course work alive. While at the Cathedral, one task I asked them to do was to find five different ways people might use the Cathedral. What uses do you think a Cathedral might have? Some suggestions I recall from the students are that it is a place: To pray and meditate That inspires people Provides a livelihood for stonemasons That is able to raise funds That provides companionship for people who might be lonely. You will likely have others. Now imagine that masonry falling from the roof is making the Cathedral hazardous. What is the solution? The simplest thing to do, surely, is to close the Cathedral and get the work done. The stonemason will be happy; there is more work and it is easier to do with the Cathedral closed. How will the other users react to closure though? If the Cathedral is closed, the income dries up. Worshippers will be unhappy and where will people find companionship? The person responsible for the roof repairs might find that a problem, which at first sight is fairly simple, (fix the roof), in reality is quite a messy matter to resolve when taking the wider system of the Cathedral in to account. Will they find unexpected resistance to their plans because people have different perspectives? Why is this important? If you have a problem...
