Why is sustainability seen as a rollercoaster for business leaders?
If you really want to know what's going on in the minds of executives when it comes to embedding sustainability, then look no further than the business coaches they pour their hearts out to. "I feel like I've been on a rollercoaster" is one of the most common complaints that executive coach John Blakey hears. Blakey, co-author of Challenging Coaching, suggests individuals' fears of being out of control, of failure, ridicule, isolation, being left behind, and of the sheer complexity and speed of work lives are among the biggest obstacles to driving the sustainability agenda forward. When Blakey hears the rollercoaster comment, he now tries to add in some humour: "I say, 'That sounds exciting. If I want to go on a rollercoaster, I have to go to Alton Towers and pay for it.'" "They get that things need change, they get that as leaders, they need to lead the change.
How Any Company Can Think Like A Startup
Common wisdom states that startups are hothouses for creativity and innovation, while large corporations are too jammed up with bureaucracy and hierarchy to push the envelope and arrive at new solutions. It’s why more and more companies are trying to “think like a startup,” some even forming smaller divisions that can operate more nimbly and loosely within the larger structure. But is it that simple? Is simply being small and new a recipe for creative thinking, and if so, what happens when a startup gets bigger, and older (presumably everyone’s goal)?
Resources for Developing Creativity and Innovation
Links to a variety of sites with articles on creativity research by multiple authors, plus courses, programs & books for developing creativity and innovation. Sites / Blogs- – - - Creating in Flow – “Insights and advice about all forms of creative expression” – By Susan K. Perry, PhD, a social psychologist, writer, and writing consultant. Creativity at Work: Developing creativity and innovation in organizations
The 10 Tech Terms to Know in 2013
Cognitive Radio The airways are getting crowded, thanks to smartphone and tablet data transmission that doubles every year. One solution: cognitive radio devices, whose signals automatically jump back and forth between frequencies in a fraction of a second to find open spectrum. A prototype developed at Rutgers University can switch to a new frequency in less than 50 microseconds while sending eight times the data of a typical home wireless system, taking advantage of openings on the AM and FM radio, TV, and cellular frequency bands. And Florida-based xG Technology has already set up a demo network in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that uses cognitive radio for mobile broadband and VoIP links. Crucially, the FCC announced in September a pending rule change that will pave the way for spectrum-sharing technologies such as cognitive radio to use previously restricted frequencies.
(Almost) Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Creativity
1Share Synopsis To be creative can be as simple as seeing something everyone else sees, but thinking what no one else thinks about it. What does it mean to be creative? Creativity is effective novelty.
Einstein, music lessons and opening the mind
This story is from Jerome Weidman, with no known copyright info. Thanks to Akshar Smriti for posting it. I'm only re-posting to update the formatting.
Brain-to-brain interface allows transmission of tactile and motor information between rats
Researchers have electronically linked the brains of pairs of rats for the first time, enabling them to communicate directly to solve simple behavioral puzzles. A further test of this work successfully linked the brains of two animals thousands of miles apart—one in Durham, N.C., and one in Natal, Brazil. The results of these projects suggest the future potential for linking multiple brains to form what the research team is calling an "organic computer," which could allow sharing of motor and sensory information among groups of animals. The study was published Feb. 28, 2013, in the journal Scientific Reports. "Our previous studies with brain-machine interfaces had convinced us that the rat brain was much more plastic than we had previously thought," said Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., PhD, lead author of the publication and professor of neurobiology at Duke University School of Medicine. One of the two rodents was designated as the "encoder" animal.
How to Build An Innovation Leader
Every organization needs an Innovation champion. This very important role requires exceptional people skills and communication skills, and the ability to be a master consensus builder among all players in the organization. Innovation champions come in a wide range of styles of interaction. Renowned psychologist Michael Kirton developed the Kirton Adaptive Innovation Inventory (KAI) as a profiling tool to measure problem-solving styles. The general characteristics of innovators are as follows: • Ingenious, original, independent, unconventional • Challenges problem definition • Does things differently • Discovers problems and avenues for their solutions • Manipulates problems by questioning existing assumptions • Is a catalyst to unsettled groups, despite their consensual views
The Creative Benefits Of Exploring The Uncomfortable
At Grey New York, someone had the radical idea that to be creative, you need time to think creatively and not be at the mercy of relentless calendar invites. Our boss, Tor Myhren, agreed and instituted the Thursday Morning No-Meeting Zone from 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This is officially sanctioned time for us to expand our minds and devote time to ideas that kept getting pushed to the side, using whatever methods worked for us. And not just for the writers and art directors.
