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Creativity In The Workplace
This article introduces the concept of fostering creativity in the workplace as a prelude to building a world-class Knowledge Creation and Management system. Peter Drucker was quoted in Forbes Magazine’s Management New Paradigms “Managing people...
Dry Landscaping - Both Attractive and Economical
In the hot and dry Southwestern United States, landscaping takes
on an entire different significance than in other regions. As
water is so precious here, conservation is a major concern of
both home owners and city officials. But desert home...
Failure is Not an Option
I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that online businesses -- just like brick and mortar businesses -- have a very high failure rate for startups. Ever wonder why that is? There are several business consultants, success...
Hiring and Retaining Good Employees
Hiring good employees is not only important to business, it’s essential. Employees are the heart and soul of a business; they are the mechanism that makes a business run; they are the breath of life that enables a business to be something more...
Rx FOR FALLING CORPORATE PROFITS
"Corporate Profits Fell 43% in 1st Quarter" proclaimed the 15 May 2001, Wall Street Journal headline. The article went on to say that: "The nation's (1700) largest corporations posted one of the worst profit performances in at least 10 years in...
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Systems for Simplicity: What any Business can learn from McDonald's
Open any book on the subject of building effective business systems and you are sure to find McDonald's used as a prime example. Now their food mightn't be to everyones' liking, but it has one outstanding characteristic: it is entirely predictable. And few could argue that they haven't been successful.
Consider this: in less than fifty years, McDonald's have built over 29,000 stores based on a very robust system. If you didn't like the Big Mac you had in Moscow, you can be sure you would equally dislike the Big Macs you might have in Madrid, Melbourne or Manila.
Of course, McDonalds have it easy. Their business has never been about their food - it has always been about their systems. It is the sameness of their food, rather than its originality, which is what their customers expect. So it is sameness that they deliver.
Which is hardly what most of us are looking to provide, is it? We are selling a product or a service - not a 'system'. Our creativity, our unique approach, our flexibility to customer needs - these are what we are selling. The McDonald's approach seems anathema.
The reality is that systems have a place in every business because, used properly, they can help us achieve something that every business wants: efficiency and happy customers.
Take your average plumber. He is selling his skills - certainly not a
system. The plumber loves to plumb - he hates administration. But we still expect him to return our calls, to keep appointments and to provide us with accurate invoices.
So the plumber has a choice. He can forget to return calls, turn up late and get increasingly bogged down in paperwork (both of which happen all too often). Or he can put in place a basic time management and bookkeeping system.
Either way he'll still be a good plumber, but the system will provide him with more, happier customers and greater peace-of-mind.
What your plumber can't systemise is the art of plumbing. His experience and his apparently innate ability to diagnose a problem: these can only be passed on properly over time. Becoming the plumbing equivalent of Ronald McDonald is unrealistic.
Somewhere between McDonald's and your plumber lie most other businesses. Systems have a place in every business - it is simply a matter of degree. But we need to make a conscious effort to identify those parts of our business that can be 'systemised'.
In the long run, we will be rewarded with a simpler business and happier customers.
© David Brewster, January 2002
About the Author
David Brewster runs 'Business Simplification' and writes, talks and coaches on reducing the complexity of business and achieving greater clarity and effectiveness
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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 |
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| www.creativityforlife.com |
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| www.adcritic.com |
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| National Curriculum in Action - Creativity - |
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| www.ncaction.org.uk |
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| Ten Steps for Boosting Your Creativity |
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| www.jpb.com |
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| Category:Creativity Techniques - Mycoted |
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| www.mycoted.com |
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| Creativity at Work: The interplay of business, art and science |
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| www.creativityatwork.com |
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| Crayola Creativity Central |
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| 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 ... |
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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. |
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| CREATIVITY |
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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) |
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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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