CREA

April 17-21, 2013: CREA Conference is one of the main international conferences on creativity, innovation and leadership. It is organised by Eventi Creativi for CREA Italia, a non-profit association based in Milan, Italy. Since 2003, every April CREA offers its innovative programs and workshops to a crowd of participants, coming from every country. All this in beautiful Sestri Levante, near Genoa, on the Italian Riviera. Link to the CREA website

 

 

Creative Expert Exchange

May 15-18, 2011:  E2E serves as a vehicle to involve alumni, students, faculty and other creativity experts in a vibrant community dedicated to supporting one another's learning and practice. The conference consists of a variety of workshops as well as social events to provide ample opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues, be re-energized by the exciting advances of our community, and feel refreshed by the creative, supportive environment that defines the ICSC experience. Link to the E2E website

 

 

Creative Problem Solving Institute

June 20-23 2013: Whatever YOU need in your life right now, whether it's professional development, innovative business solutions, thought-provoking self-discovery, invigoration and renewal of spirit, or just a refreshing break from daily stress and rote activities, CPSI is a safe and inspiring place to transform and grow in whatever ways work best for you.

Link to the CPSI website

 

 

Mindcamp

 

August 22-25, 2013: Mindcamp is a four-day micro-university for personal, professional, and organizational creativity — a feast of 90-minute concurrent sessions presented by the best creativity leaders in North America and world-wide. Mindcamp exposes more than 100 creative people to a wide range of perspectives on the research and practice of deliberate creativity. And on top of our scheduled programs, there are evening salons, dialog sessions, music, dancing, campfires, and just plain fun. Link to the Mindcamp website

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Polarity Partnerships

 

Some problems cannot be solved – instead they have to be managed. These problems are often a result of polarities. Polarities are two approaches to a situation that seem to pull in opposite directions. Even though it seems that one must be the right answer – to resort to one approach alone would result in the detriment of the whole.

 

For example: Inhalation and Exhalation are polarities – you cannot do one at the same time as the other. You cannot do one exclusively to the exclusion of the other (as it would result in death) and by managing the two effectively you are able to realize a greater benefit (a healthy life). Inhalation and Exhalation are such fundamental polarities that nature does not leave it up to chance and our bodies have an automatic polarity management process in place to manage breathing.

 

In our daily lives: We experience polarities whenever we are attempting to balance time, resources, energy, priorities. For example how do we manage time for self and time for others.

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In organizations: We experience polarities when we manage the priorities of margin and mission, autonomy and control, individual and team performance.

 

In order to manage polarities effectively we use a process called Polarity Management which provides insight, identifies warning signs and action steps that can be out into place to not only manage but even leverage polarities for a greater gain.

 

As a certified facilitator of polarities, I am able to help you  identify and develop a system for leveraging polarities in your life through coaching and facilitation

Teaching 21st Century Thinking Skills

 

As we navigate through the 21st century – there is a growing awareness that the critical need of the moment is innovation and creative thinking. The USA stands to lose its place in the world as the leader in innovation and discovery. Change is coming from all sides at break neck speed and we are running to stand still. The future generation needs a new skill set in order to survive and thrive in this new world. This skill set is the ability to think creatively.

 

Teachers are now being asked to develop these skills in their students. The problem that arises is how can educators teach these 21st Century Thinking Skills unless they have a strong understanding of what these skills are? The Teaching for Creativity program was developed to meet this pressing need in the field of education. It is a program designed

specifically for educators and the goal of the program is that teachers will be able to:

Define creativity.

 

-  Recognize creative behavior and outcomes.

-  Identify and develop key affective skills related to creative leadership.

-  Establish a classroom environment in which creativity flourishes.

-  Facilitate with and teach creative thinking and problem solving.

 

This program has been used for professional development of teachers in schools internationally and for professional development of faculty in colleges in the USA.

 

International Center for Studies in Creativity

Since 1967, the International Center for Studies in Creativity has trained students, groups, teams and organizations to become more effective creative thinkers and problem solvers and to instill these critical life skills in others.

 

Steven Johnson - Where good ideas come from

This TED.com video offers a very interesting perspective on the role of networking, interaction and interconnections in idea generation.  It provides the view point that good ideas don't come from flashes of genius insight, but rather that ideas percolate in our brain until the final connections are made and then they surface in the famous "AHA" moments.

 

Creativity, Facilitation and Research videos

The study of creativity stems from solid research and extensive experience.  These videos offer an opportunity to be introduced to the topic of "Creativity" and what the potential is if we can harness Creative thinking.