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4C The Future
4C THE FUTURE
Foresee the future, that’s what your customers expect, that’s what you need to deliver.
In an ever increasing global marketplace, the degree to which companies can deliver ongoing value to their customers’ evolving needs,...
Fight The Fluff!
The first and final rule of quality writing is this: what doesn't strengthen your writing, weakens it. There are no neutral words when you're trying to be persuasive - every word must be doing real work and every sentence must be necessary. Don't...
For Success in the New Year Try Mind Mapping
Making a list of New Year’s resolutions is a grand tradition, but has your list of resolutions worked in the past? If you’re like most of us, it hasn’t. This year, why not try making your resolutions into a mind map instead? WHAT IS A MIND MAP? ...
Ten Top Ways for Managers to Motivate Their People
Motivating people is a sure way to get the best from them - yet it is not something for a to-do list. Motivation comes from consistent cultural shifts from within. Managers are the ones who can show behaviours which will make the difference and...
Truly Bizarre Taxes: The Tax On Illegal Drugs
One can never underestimate the enthusiasm that politicians have for trying to hunt up tax revenues. The creativity of some politicians can lead to bizarre taxes and unfortunate results.
Taxes on Illegal Drugs
One argument for the...
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Easier is Harder
Is your business as easy to operate as it could be? Is everything as efficient as it can be? I can tell that you're thinking, "What got you started on this one?"
Horse manure.
Horse manure?
Horse manure!
Since we live in the mountains, the turnout area for our horses is not level by any stretch of the imagination: it is roughly the shape of an amphitheater with the barn at the lowest point. I was, uh, "picking up" after the horses, which involves walking around with a "manure fork" (which looks like a pitch fork), scooping up the piles, and dumping them into a plastic barrel that I pull around in a little two-wheeled caddy. As you can imagine, the barrel begins to get pretty heavy after a while, and pulling it up the slopes becomes a chore. But… it would be much easier if I cleared the highest points first and then worked my way down. That way, I haul an empty barrel up the hill and, as it gets heavier, gravity will help me out as I work my way down. It's a perfect solution that takes no extra time.
Pretty obvious, huh?
Whenever we feed the horses they get pretty riled up and anxious to eat, and start pawing and banging while we measure out the proper amounts. But… if we prepare the food in advance we can feed them as soon as we get there. Then we prepare the next meal while they are eating that one. It's a perfect solution that takes no extra time.
Pretty obvious, huh?
The copies come out of our copier face up. That means that if we copy a 10-page document, we have to manually rearrange the copies because page 10 is on top instead of page 1. But… if we copy the pages in the reverse order, they come
out just the way we want them to. It's a perfect solution that takes no extra time.
Pretty obvious, huh?
The fact is that all of these solutions are pretty obvious; AFTER WE'VE COME UP WITH THEM, THAT IS! Solving problems is a tricky business because it's just too darned easy to accept things the way they are. For years, I just accepted the fact that it was a pain in the neck to make a multi-page copy on our copier. It never occurred to me that this was an inconvenience that was "fixable". As I recall, I literally slapped myself on the forehead and said "Duh!" when I realized that there was a better way. The first step in solving a problem, then, is realizing that you have one to solve.
What little annoyances to you put up with every day? Little annoyances are distracting and can actually lead to big problems because they take your mind away from your goals. Anything you can do to make your life easier is probably worth doing. Are you sure that these things are just that: annoyances? Maybe they are really little problems that can be solved with a little thought and creativity. Wouldn't it be nice to eliminate some of them so you can focus on what's really important?
Making things easier is hard work. But it's worth it.
About the Author
"Make More Money and Have More Fun" with your small business! Dave will show you how with his FREE newsletter, "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe" sent by e-mail. Visit http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com to sign-up, for information on speaking services, or for copies of past articles and newsletters. Comments and/or questions are always welcome at 1-800-366-2347 or Dave@DaveBalch.com.
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Creativity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Creativity (or creativeness) is a mental process involving the generation of ... Wallas considered creativity to be a legacy of the evolutionary process, ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Creativity For Life |
An exploration of creativity in everyday life, with articles, quotes, reviews and other creative resources to awaken creativity in daily life. |
www.creativityforlife.com |
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AdCritic.com: Commercial Ads |
FROM CREATIVITY: Emerging Directors, Unite In the time it took to write this, three new directors popped up. Here are twenty to get acquainted with. ... |
www.adcritic.com |
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National Curriculum in Action - Creativity - |
Ordering Creativity packs: print and video materials. This website gives practical ideas on how to promote pupils' creative thinking and behaviour. ... |
www.ncaction.org.uk |
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Ten Steps for Boosting Your Creativity |
Experiments performed by the JPB Creative Laboratory show that watching TV causes your ... a weekly report on creativity, ideas, innovation and invention ... |
www.jpb.com |
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Category:Creativity Techniques - Mycoted |
This is a general category of Creativity and Innovation Techniques, ... I like to think of these creativity techniques as tools in a toolbox in much the ... |
www.mycoted.com |
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Creativity at Work: The interplay of business, art and science |
A resource for training and development in creativity and innovation in organizations. Has a newsletter, and some articles and essays by 'Corporate ... |
www.creativityatwork.com |
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Crayola Creativity Central |
Crayola Creativity Central offers kids arts and crafts ideas for rainy day fun. We also have coloring books and pages, art and craft projects, games, ... |
www.crayola.com |
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Pages tagged with "creativity" on del.icio.us |
All items tagged creativity ??? view popular ... Perspective for Creative Leaders · save this. by aromay to creativity business management ... 1 hour ago ... |
del.icio.us |
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Creativity Web - Resources for Creativity and Innovation |
Creativity Web Home Page Resources for Creativity and Innovation ... The Creative Process · Multiple Intelligences · Idea Recording · Your Creative Space ... |
members.optusnet.com.au |
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gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards": how to ... |
So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. ... Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion ... |
www.gapingvoid.com |
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Creativity Quotes | Creativity Quotations | Creativity Sayings ... |
Quotes on Creativity - part of a larger collection of Wisdom Quotes to challenge and inspire. Find Creativity quotations and links to quotes on other ... |
www.wisdomquotes.com |
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Ideas by Creativity Pool |
A free database with new ideas and possible inventions. Add your own, or bring an existing idea to life. |
www.creativitypool.com |
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CREATIVITY |
Creative problem solving depends on using the right tools, tricks, ... Search for the latest books on Creativity (or anything else) in the Quantum Books ... |
www.quantumbooks.com |
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Creativity Tools, Creative Solutions & Creative Problem Solving ... |
This page explains a wide range of techniques which can help you generate creative solutions to your problems. |
www.mindtools.com |
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The 6 Myths Of Creativity |
A new study will change how you generate ideas and decide who's really creative in your company. |
www.fastcompany.com |
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CreativeClass.org |
Richard Florida's "The Rise of the Creative Class" examines creativity and its effects on economic development. |
www.creativeclass.org |
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TIP: Concepts |
The relationship between creativity and intelligence has been always been a central concern of psychology ( Guilford , 1950). Much effort has been devoted ... |
tip.psychology.org |
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American Creativity Association (ACA) |
An incorporated non-profit organization promoting personal and professional creativity. Association membership is represented by four multidisciplinary ... |
www.amcreativityassoc.org |
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CREAX - Portal for creativity and innovation |
A resource for links on creativity and innovation on the web. A selection of 690 links is divided into 67 categories for the visitors convenience. |
www.creax.net |
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