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Fred Rosenzveig
Creativity and innovative strategy: Surviving and thriving in a high-speed world

Are you creative? I'm not talking about whether you can draw or sing or write poetry or decorate a condo. Are you a creative thinker? Did you solve the toothpick pig? Did you count ALL the F's? Did you calculate how many tennis matches? If you're still scratching your head over those brain busters, you're not alone. A quick look around the room during Fred Rosenzveig's gently challenging and highly enlightening presentation revealed more blank faces than smug know-it-alls. But don't worry. According to Rosenzveig,you may have been under the influence (well, that too) of the "paralyzing power of previous perceptions." It happens to everyone.

The president of The Institute for Thinking Development (www.mindrange.com), specialists in thinking systems and innovation, Rosenzveig insists that you have to open your mind to creativity. His "Surviving and Thriving in a High-Speed World" presentation made a strong case for implementing creativity and innovation in the workplace. He insists it's vital for achieving and maintaining a competitive edge. If we could only get our heads around it.

"The mind reacts to a new idea the way the body reacts to a strange microbe. It tries to kill it," insisted Rosenzveig. He said that creativity can be fun, it can be profitable and, most significantly, it can help you survive in business. The best part is that creativity doesn't cost a cent. Everyone has the potential to think and act creatively, but you must resist the natural tendency to kill the germ of a new idea.

Creativity has become a major personal competence, so Rosenzveig came equipped with techniques to release your inner creativity. It's as easy as ABCDE, his patented acronym for Aim, Broaden, Consolidate, Do and Evaluate your creative thinking. Creativity is about seeing things differently, questioning current notions, creating a provocation, and watching out for "myth-takes," those common misconceptions that separate the geniuses from… well, you and me. You often find your most innovative ideas by cerebrally stepping totally outside your field of expertise-if you have the courage.

So, if you're looking to move up the corporate ladder, get familiar with Fred Rosenzveig's techniques and take some encouragement from PBS's canine master of disguise, Wishbone: "Your imagination can take you anywhere!"

By Rich Hammond
Rich Hammond Communications