Little Red Brain

Video: Wiki's in Plain English

2008-03-18T13:32:00.001Z

I just discovered these funny and informative videos produced by the team at Common Craft. Each video explains a topic using no-bull language and visuals. In fact the visuals are a combination of hand-drawn images, cut-outs, live motion and pixelation.

Having worked in multimedia, and animation for 10 years, I am really impressed by their ability to distill technical concepts into an easily digestible and funny form. I doff my cap to you.

I chose this particular clip, as I am just exploring how I can leverage Wiki's as part of my Innovation Hub training programme for organisations. This is an internal training program for organisations wanting to develop creative catalysts (or what I call Innovation Agents) in their organisation. These teams then spread the Innovation Agent Mindset, virally throughout the organisation, by forming their own Innovation Hubs.

More information about the Innovation Hub, and the Innovation Agent Toolkit will be available on the new Creativity Hub website, coming soon(ish).

Technorati Tags: animation, communication, creativity, visual thinking

Animation: Simon's Cat 'Let Me In!'

2008-03-17T23:51:00.000Z

I watched this hilarious cartoon, and realised that I have not been honouring my background in animation, puppetry and multimedia. Even though I now share tools and techniques for creative thinking and personal development, my love of animation informs everything I do - from the illustrations I use, to the stories I tell with my latest game-tool Rory's Story Cubes.

The thing with animation and cartoons is that they often provide us with a new way of looking at things. This is why we laugh - our brain is tripped up while processing seemingly incongruent information - hence the laugh.

Laughter also has many beneficial effects. It reduces stress for one. And this is key to developing your creativity. Trying to generate ideas is not all that effective while stressed.

What does this all add up to? Well, from this day forth, I will start posting animation clips I discover that I consider to be different in some way - either funny "ha-ha", or funny "odd". Most importantly, I will choose ones that I think will help you to a more creative/flexible thinker.

Workshop - BEYOND COACHING (Creative Tools To Empower Your Clients)

2008-03-05T14:40:00.001Z

BEYOND COACHING
Creative Tools To Empower Your Clients

Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Time: 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Location: Avoca Suite, Stillorgan Park Hotel, Stillorgan Road, Dublin, Ireland
Standard Pricing: €200 (includes Rory's Story Cubes & Inner Vision Deck™ and Workbook)
Discounted Price: €150 (applies if you already own Rory's Story Cubes & Inner Vision Deck™)
Online Booking: http://beyondcoaching080311.eventbrite.com/

Have you ever had the experience where a client you are meant to be helping, becomes stuck, and is reluctant to talk about an issue? They want your help, but can't put it into words.

Have you ever wished you had someone to help you sort out a challenge, but thought - "I should be able to do it myself"? While you are busy helping others, your own issues lie ignored in the background. You think that, because your job is to help others, you ought to be able to sort it out yourself.

Do you want to bring some play and laughter into your sessions, to help your clients relax and open-up more? The beginning of a session is usually quite awkward. Learn how you can quickly break the ice with people of all ages and background.

Workshop Overview

This workshop is presented by Rory O'Connor inventor of Rory's Story Cubes™ and the Inner Vision Deck™. In this one day workshop you will gain the experience to confidently use these simple, playful yet powerful tools to reach a level of insight and trust with your clients, not normally experienced through ordinary dialogue.

By learning how to use these two creative tools in your sessions you will empower your clients to better help themselves. By teaching your own clients how to use Rory's Story Cubes and the Inner Vision Deck, you will discover that your clients will be more willing to do 'homework', knowing that they have the tools to help themselves.

As a result of the workshop and using these tools, you will find that...

Your sessions become easier on you, as your client does more of the work;
You clients will have more buy-in to the solutions they discover for themselves;
Your listening skills will improve, as you no longer have to listen & solve at the same time;
Your level of self-awareness will increase with each use of the tools;
Your client relationships will move to a deeper level as your clients become more willing to reveal themselves;

Target Audience

This workshop is geared towards full-time, part-time and trainee Therapists, Counsellors, Psychologists, Personal Development Trainers, Teachers, Mentors & Life Coaches. Anyone who works with (or wants to work with) people in order to help them remove blocks and find solutions that facilitate personal growth, success and well-being through greater self-awareness.

Content

The workshop is designed as a hands-on experience to ensure you walk away with the confidence and knowledge to use these tools expertly with your own clients. The workshop will cover the following:

Creative Problem Solving and the Socratic Method
A simple way to identify and frame challenges to address
Translating challenges into effective Questions
Creative Problem Solving with The Inner Vision Deck
Facilitating others with The Inner Vision Deck
Story as a doorway to greater self-awareness
Problem Solving with Rory's Story Cubes
Facilitating others with with Rory's Story Cubes
Using Rory's Story Cubes in a Group
Questions & Answers

As part of the workshop you will receive guide notes and worksheets for both Rory's Story Cubes, and the Inner Vision Deck.

What People Are Saying

The Inner Vision Deck was awarded Five Stars by InnovationTools.com

"The guy is a genius. If I could have [Rory's] brain, that would be my 1st success!!"
- Anonymous response to Workshop Survey conducted by University of Ulster

"As a person reliant on my 'Inner Knowing' I find the Inner Vision Deck™ a useful link-in to my intuitions. The card selection helps me to bring focus to what is up for me and to gain clarification or confirmation on the way forward. The deck can be used as a quick reference tool or alternatively...it can be used as a more methodical 'search engine' type tool that allows me to connect with insights on issues or questions for which I am seeking answers. The Inner Vision Deck is a big bang for your buck!" - Tom K

"I am getting so much from [your workshops] both on a personal and a business level. I'm gaining tools to work with both in my coaching and in my personal life. The group interaction is great and the workshops are thought provoking and supportive. I feel this course is both an eye opener and an asset to my creativity. Your passion for working in this way certainly comes across very strongly and I, as a participant, reap the benefits. Learning through play and experience is the best way for me." - Mary Power, Empower Coaching

"What stands out for me now is how excited I felt about finding two locally-produced tools...which can help circumvent blocks in the coaching process. Coming to that pass, i.e. the client being over-rational or controlling or inclined to disable the helper (even one that 's costing money) is a major challenge in our line of work, I think." -Emer McDermott, ReNua Coaching

About the Presenter

Rory O'Connor is founder of The Creativity Hub, a Belfast based company that is committed to helping people, teams and organisations become more creative. Rory has worked behind the scenes to help organisations big and small empower their staff to build their vision, creativity, relationships and profit. He works with individual entrepreneurs, and charities, right through to Fortune 50 companies.

Rory’s Story Cubes and Inner Vision Deck are just a few of the innovative products that he has invented to aid us to think more creatively about our business, our brand and our lives. All of Rory’s products and inspirational work is implemented in a way that encourages individuals to optimise their creative ability. He has a wide range of experience, skills and education.

BOOKING & REGISTRATION

Visit http://beyondcoaching080311.eventbrite.com/ to secure your place now. If you have any questions about the booking process, please email rory(@)thecreativityhub.com.

How can you sell something that is already Free?

2008-02-06T17:18:00.000Z

Kevin Kelly has an blog post titled: Better Than Free

In it he talks about the impact of the Internet's ability to easily replicate digital information in such a way that makes it inherently free. We can see this being experienced by the music industry. Digitized music is easy to copy and redistribute over the internet. Kelly goes so far as to call the internet a "a copy machine.

At its most foundational level, it copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon it. In order to send a message from one corner of the internet to another, the protocols of communication demand that the whole message be copied along the way several times. IT companies make a lot of money selling equipment that facilitates this ceaseless copying. Every bit of data ever produced on any computer is copied somewhere. The digital economy is thus run on a river of copies. Unlike the mass-produced reproductions of the machine age, these copies are not just cheap, they are free.
Our digital communication network has been engineered so that copies flow with as little friction as possible. Indeed, copies flow so freely we could think of the internet as a super-distribution system, where once a copy is introduced it will continue to flow through the network forever, much like electricity in a superconductive wire. We see evidence of this in real life. Once anything that can be copied is brought into contact with internet, it will be copied, and those copies never leave. Even a dog knows you can't erase something once its flowed on the internet.

But the rules are changing, as once precious copies are now becoming essentially free to anyone who decides to go and look for them.

When copies are super abundant, they become worthless.
When copies are super abundant, stuff which can't be copied becomes scarce and valuable.

It may be time to let go of charging for our digital goods, and focusing on charging for that which cannot be copied. Kelly calls these the 8 Generatives:

Immediacy
Personalization
Interpretation
Authenticity
Accessibility
Embodiment
Patronage
Findability

To find out more, read the full article Better Than Free.

But before you go, you might ask why am I posting about this? Well, I have been working on the Innovation Agent Handbook that I plan to distribute via the Internet over the coming months. Reading Kelly's article, I realised that I always knew that you cannot really protect copyright of digital goods on the internet. It's as if you have to accept a number of 'spoils' or 'pirated' copies. Having read Kelly's article though, I am now interested in applying creative problem solving to explore how can this ability to freely copy be turned into a benefit rather than a limitation? I am always fascinated how seeming negatives can be turned into positives.

Hopefully you'll see the fruits of my labour when I release the Innovation Agent Handbook later this year.

Brian Gallagher provides walkthrough of Rory's Story Cubes inspired Illustration

2008-01-28T18:00:00.000Z

My best-buddy Bren B, and guardian to one of my children (ulp!) has rounded up a number of Irish illustrators who have been busy putting Rory's Story Cubes to the test. They are exploring how the dice can be used to inspire new ideas for illustrations. One of the illustrators, Brian Gallagher, has kindly put together a walkthough of the process he used to create his illustration (Thanks Brian). This has been posted by Bren B over at www.scamp.ie

Over to you Bren...

A friend of mine has developed an excellent creativity tool called Rory’s Story Cubes. Rory’s Story Cubes is a dice game/tool that helps people of all ages to develop their imagination and creativity through improvisational storytelling. It is comprised of set of 9 6-sided dice with a total of 54 unique images/symbols.

I asked some of my talented and generous illustrator friends to test them out to see how/if they can be useful tool. Brian Gallagher was one such illustrator. He has also agreed to show us the process he used to create the above image.

Over to you Brian…

Read Brian's walkthrough of how he created the above illustration here.

You can order Rory's Story Cubes at www.thecreativityhub.com

Technorati Tags: creativity, dice, improv, Rory's Story Cubes

Late Late Late - Steve Simpson creates Rory's Story Cubes inspired illustration

2008-01-28T17:10:00.000Z

Late, Late, Late is a new illustration by Irish Illustrator, Steve Simpson . This is the first of 6 illustrations created by Irish Illustrators. Each illustrator was given a brief to create an image inspired by a roll of Rory's Story Cubes.

For Steve's illustration, he was given the image above as his starting point*. Can you spot the connections in his illustration.

Steve had the following to say...

If, like me, you sometimes prefer to work to a brief when developing your own work these are a a great idea. Would be great for comic strips as well as children's books.

*The dice in this image are from an earlier protoype, and do not reflect the outstanding quality of the dice used Rory's Story Cubes!

To buy or find out more about Rory's Cubes visit www.thecreativityhub.com

I have another go making a story using Rory's Story Cubes

2007-12-05T16:14:00.000Z

Here's another video clip of me using Rory's Story Cubes (Order here) to make up a story for my 3 year old daughter Niamh. Can you spot the continuity error in my tale?

Technorati Tags: creativity, dice, family, game, improv, Rory's Story Cubes

Rory's Story Cubes - Storytelling for all ages

2007-12-05T15:26:00.000Z

In this video my daughter Niamh (pronounced [Neev]) tells a story using Rory's Story Cubes. I have to resist the urge to tell her how to play the game 'properly', and simply let her use her imagination.

To order Rory's Story Cubes visit The Creativity Hub Homepage

Technorati Tags: creativity, dice, family, game, improv, Rory's Story Cubes

"Once upon a time..." with Rory's Story Cubes

2007-11-29T00:20:00.001Z

Here's your chance to have a go with Rory's Story Cubes. Click on the video to see the roll of the dice.

The challenge is to make up a story that begins with "Once upon a time..." and somehow links together all nine (9) images on the dice into a story. There is no right or wrong kind of story.

**TIP** It helps though to talk faster than you can think. If you are unsure about this, check out the previous post to watch an example of me using Rory's Story Cubes.

Post your story as a comment below.

Rory's Story Cubes are finally here!

2007-11-28T23:57:00.000Z

At last, I can finally announce that Rory's Story Cubes are now available. It's been over two years since I first had the idea using an invention technique known as Advanced Civilization. This game-tool has gone through 3 other prototypes (the original Rubiks Cube version, the stickered dice, and a molded version from China) before arriving at this one.

The video below shows just one of the ways in which Rory's Story Cubes can be 'played'. There are many more uses. And I will continue to expand on these in this blog.

Rory's Story Cubes are available to buy online by visiting the Creativity Hub homepage.

Innovating how we visualise data

2007-11-05T14:21:00.000Z

From www.ted.com:

With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, Prof. Hans Rosling uses software from Gapminder debunks a few myths about the "developing" world. This global health visionary has discovered a powerful new way to communicate complex data about the world; his remarkable interactive graphs help deliver profound insights about global trends and will change forever the way you think about "us" and "them." Rosling is professor of international health at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, and founder of Gapminder, a nonprofit that brings vital global data to life. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA.)
More TEDTalks at www.TED.com

As a bit of an info-graphics nerd, I really appreciated the clarity of this presentation, especially how Prof. Rosling used animation, and timelines to communicate his point. If you are interested in info-graphics and/or world development issues, please do take a look at this video from the TEDTalks series. In fact, why not check out the whole series of TEDTalks at www.ted.com.

Countdown to Rory's Story Cubes

2007-11-05T14:03:00.001Z

After a lot of research into various ways to produce my new game, Rory's Story Cubes, I am very excited to be able to say that they will be available for sale later in the month - just about the same time that my third baby is due!!

To lead up to the release, I will be uploading sample video clips how Rory's Story Cubes can be used for storyteller.

Technorati Tags: children, creativity, dice, family, game, improv, Rory's Story Cubes

Love Tara March Scheduled for July 21st in Dublin

2007-07-18T12:24:00.000+01:00

TaraWatch.org presents

LOVE TARA March

Dublin - July 21 2007 at 1.00pm

Please help us promote our LOVE TARA march which will take place on Saturday July 21 in Dublin at 1.00pm. We will march from the Garden of Remembrance to the Department of the Environment, Custom House Quay, where we will hand in 50,000 petition signatures. Please email your contacts, post a natice on your favorite message boards, write a letter to the newspapers, call your local radio station, contact celebrities, political parties, etc... This may be last chance for the public to have their say.

SIGN THE SAVE TARA PETITION

Irish Times - TaraWatch steps up M3 protests

Irish Examiner - Ireland facing EU fines over environmental failures

Irish Independent - Tara protester threatens new court action to halt motorway

Sunday Business Post - Commission issues fourth warning over landfill pollution

Tara activists picket Irish embassies

Irish Times - Last Updated: 13/07/2007 14:32 Campaigners opposed to the M3 motorway running through the historic Tara Valley have started to hold a series of demonstrations in three different countiries today. TaraWatch held protests outside Leinster House in Dublin and the Irish Embassy in London earlier. There will be protests later in New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles. A protest march will also be held in Dublin on Saturday, July 21st at 1pm, which will go from the Garden of Remembrance to Custom House, the headquarters of the Department of the Environment. Campaigners have said they are "inflamed" by what they describe as the Green Party's election pact with Fianna Fáil to agree to the M3 motorway project and today's announcement by Environment Minister John Gormley that the Government will not re-route the road despite Euopean criticism. The demonstrations come as Minister for the Environment John Gormley holds talks today with European Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas in Brussels. Campaigners claim international support has grown rapidly since the World Monuments Fund designated Tara one of the World's 100 Most Endangered sites. Darren Delahunty, one of the organisers of the London protest, said: "Irish people in the UK are outraged at the refusal of the Irish authorities to try and proceed with the road, even when the public are so against it."

A "Love Tara" march will be held on Saturday, July 21st, in Dublin.

Putting Life in Perspective 2: Did You Know?

2007-06-04T23:05:00.000+01:00

[Note: Apparently not all material in this presentation is 100% accurate - but it still provides food for thought]

Putting Life in Perspective 1: Carl Sagan's Little Blue Dot

2007-06-04T23:04:00.000+01:00

Workshop: Living in Harmony with our Values in a Profit-Driven World

2007-05-31T16:23:00.000+01:00

[Note: I am not affiliated with this workshop, but am a big supporter of Nonviolent Communication (NVC)]

Facilitated by Dr Marshall Rosenberg
Date: 18th, 19th 20th September 2007
Location: Gozo, Malta

As awareness of the need for social transformation increases many individuals and organisations are keen to contribute. Implementing and working through this change can be a painful or progressive process within which words can be windows or walls. All too often we find ourselves in the midst of conflict when our intentions are to create a better world.

This conference will showcase workable ways to cross social, cultural and economic divides without compromise or resentment. This new paradigm promises to provide individuals and organisations with more effective strategies to meet their needs, whilst at the same time positively resolving conflict and making a recognisable contribution to the lives of the people around us.

At the conference we are proposing to work with group of survivors from a concentration camp (who have agreed to participate) and their discussion with the multinational company who have bought the site (who are currently in dialogue with us). Both want to see the site in full usage and reap the benefits employment would bring to the area but they are in conflict about how to preserve the memory of what happened and searching for bodies of over 1000 missing people. The communication around this situation has the potential to heal or harm many people. Our aim is open a dialogue that will meet needs for all involved.

In order to maintain full integrity, we are not accepting corporate sponsorship. Each ticket purchase will make an important financial contribution to ensuring this healing process can go ahead. We need at least 100 people to buy tickets to make this happen. Your attendance can make a vital difference. This message is being sent to a select audience who will recognise this as both a major learning opportunity and a tangible opportunity to contribute to social change.

For more information visit http://www.mariaarpa.co.uk/global.html or email Maria Arpa.
To see Marshall Rosenberg in action visit http://www.bigpicture.tv/speakers/df2ec9b08

What makes 'bad' children 'good'?*

2007-04-23T11:49:00.001+01:00

[* personally, I don't buy into the whole good/bad thing. To find out why, I invite you to visit the links below. I just thought that I'd use it to grad your attention.]

I hear and read a lot these days about children and teenagers exhibiting antisocial behaviour, about children who have ADD or ADHD and are medicated because of it. When I hear these stories, I am usually left feeling pretty sad, as my experience of working with teenagers in Belfast teaches me that quite often what they are looking for is trust, respect and autonomy. Having a sense that they matter, and have something to contribute is also important. And so, I was pleased to read the following report in a What Doctors Don’t Tell You (WDDTY) email newsletter.

A new study among small children suggests it’s more to do with nurture than nature. A group of socially disadvantaged children in Wales, who were raised with ‘positive parenting’ techniques – such as consistent praise and positive role models – displayed less antisocial behaviour than those who were neglected or abused. Fewer ‘positive parenting’ children were hyperactive or had learning problems, which are normally remedied with powerful drugs.
In all, 153 parents from deprived areas with children aged between three and five participated. Of those, 104 adopted ‘positive parenting’ techniques, while the remainder continued with their usual approach to parenting. (Source: British Medical Journal, 2007; 334: 678-82).

To find out more about approaches to positive parenting and needs-based communication, I would invite you to check out the following sites as a starting point.

http://www.alfiekohn.com/index.html - Website of Alfie Kohn, author of Unconditional Parenting.
http://www.cnvc.org/parents.htm - website for the Centre for Nonviolent Communication, founded by Marshall Rosenberg.
http://www.attachmentparenting.org/ - website for Attachment Parenting International.

There's no excuse for procrastinating anymore...just an equation

2007-03-25T22:54:00.001+01:00

I've just discovered this interesting information from a University of Calgary press release dated 10 Jan 2007. I haven't posted it until I realised that I was procrastinating, wanting to test the information first! Dr. Piers Steel, a University of Calgary professor in the Haskayne School of Business has recently published an paper titled “The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure” in a recent edition of American Psychological Association’s Psychological Bulletin. In it he has formulated an equation that he beliefs can predict your tendency to procrastinate: (procrastination) :

Utility = E x V / ΓD

The equation reads as follows: The desirability of completing the task (U) is equal to the expectancy a person has of succeeding with a given task (E) multiplied by the value of completing the task (V). I read this as the total gain involved in completing the task (ExV). This is divided by the its immediacy or availability (Γ = GAMMA) and the person’s sensitivity to delay (D). Steel has dubbed his research Temporal Motivational Theory. His research has highlighted the following:

Most people’s New Year’s resolutions are doomed to failure
Most self-help books have it completely wrong when they say perfectionism is at the root of procrastination, and
Procrastination can be explained by a single mathematical equation

“Essentially, procrastinators have less confidence in themselves, less expectancy that they can actually complete a task,” Steel says. “Perfectionism is not the culprit. In fact, perfectionists actually procrastinate less, but they worry about it more.” Other predictors of procrastination include: task aversiveness, impulsiveness, distractibility, and how much a person is motivated to achieve. Not all delays can be considered procrastination; the key is that a person must believe it would be better to start working on given tasks immediately, but still not start. Steel says motivational failures such as difficulty in sticking to diets and exercise regimes – frequently the focus of New Year’s resolutions – are related to procrastination because impulsiveness is often at the root of the failure. “Temptations that are close at hand are difficult to resist. Addicts often relapse after returning from treatment facilities because drugs and alcohol become easily available and daily habits reassert themselves. Or we load up on bread in the restaurant before the meal is served. Or we check our email 10 times an hour instead of completing a project.” The good news is that willpower has an unusual capacity. “The old saying is true: ‘Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re probably right’,” Steel says. “And as you get better at self control, your expectancy about whether you can resist goes up and thus improves your ability to resist.”

As someone who is involved in personal development, and Life Coaching, I am particularly interested in the role of procrastination in (not) achieving our goals, whatever they may be. I am going to experiment and see how I can apply this equation to help me understand how, and why I procrastinate, and also to aid my clients. in gaining greater understanding. But being a busy person, what is the actual likelihood of me doing this? Well, Utility = E x V / ΓD of course!

Gene Whizz! How our perception affects our genes, and our health

2007-01-24T18:00:00.000Z

Bruce Lipton PhD, author of the best selling Biology of Belief, has an article on his site, called Mind over Genes:The New Biology. In the article he talks about the changing view of genetics, and how we are controlled by our genes...

Until recently, it was thought that genes were self-actualizing…that genes could ‘turn themselves on and off.’ Such behavior is required in order for genes to control biology. Though the power of genes is still emphasized in current biology courses and textbooks, a radically new understanding has emerged at the leading edge of cell science. It is now recognized that the environment, and more specifically, our perception (interpretation)of the environment, directly controls the activity of our genes. Environment controls gene activity through a process known as epigenetic control.

What is of special interest to me as an Energy Psychology Practitioner is his mention of using Energy Psychology to help change beliefs, and in turn our health...

These new energy modalities provide the ability to rewrite limiting perceptions (beliefs) and self-sabotaging behaviors using processes that are mechanistically similar to pushing the record program on the subconscious mind’s tape player. With conscious awareness, one can actively transform the character of their lives into ones filled with love, health and prosperity. The use of these new modalities provides a key to personal growth and transformation. By being fully conscious, we become the masters of our fates rather than the ‘victims’ of our programs. This path is similar to Buddhist mindfulness. Secondly, we can use a variety of new energy psychology modalities that enable a rapid and profound reprogramming of limiting subconscious beliefs.

While this is not news to me, or other Energy Psychology practitioners, it is exciting to have other respected medical professionals talking about it. Combined with the growing use and references by Paul McKenna in his books and TV appearances to 'tapping' - also known as Thought Field Therapy (TFT) or the more accessible Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) - I am excited about how these universal tools, are becoming known, and accepted in the wider public domain. To find out more about how Energy Psychology can help you change your limiting beliefs, email me. Alternatively, visit ACEP - the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology to find out more or read about the research into this emerging field.

NEWS: "Innovative Coaching" Talk & Workshop

2006-11-20T14:53:00.000Z

This is a quick post to promote an upcoming talk and workshop entitled Innovative Coaching (click the image to view full-scale) more info) that I am organising in association with the Life & Business Coaching Association of Ireland (LBCAI).

I've developed this workshop in response to what I see as a growing need for creativity and innovation among Irish Life Coaches who may be struggling to stand out in such a small marketplace. I think that it is important to acknowledge that the traditional (or US) approach to coaching may not work with an Irish audience that is maybe not as open to talking about hopes, fear, goals and dreams. Ireland just doesn't have the same cultural background of psychotherapy and counseling. It can be a big leap for someone to start talking about what is important to them. I believe that a big challenge and opportunity is for us to start developing tolls and services that allow an Irish audience to take baby steps into the world of self-development and coaching I see a lot of people struggling to promote themselves as coaches using an approach that just does not work with an Irish audience.

An example of this is Rory's Story Cubes. I invented these as a way to get people talking about matters that are important to them using metaphors and stories, without having to talk directly about the issue itself. This has been a great help in empowering people to take that first step towards addressing issues, imagining brighter futures, and experiencing a real benefit from coaching, which they might not have allowed themselves otherwise.

As a creativity coach, I guess I see it as my responsibility to walk my talk and invent tools and products that will assist me and others with their creative thinking, problem-solving and coaching work. I do this myself on a regular basis, and I'm going to share the various techniques that I use with workshop participants, so that they can create a niche for themselves.

This workshop is a prototype itself and the price will go up next time around, so if you want to gain the benefits early and be part of the process drop me an email. I'll also be exploring how to turn this into a teleclass for later in the year. If you want to be kept informed about the teleclasses, please also drop me an email.

Scrybe - a new/old kind of Organiser?

2006-11-07T12:52:00.000Z

If you haven't seen or read about it already, I encourage you to take a look at scrybe - a new browser based organiser that allows you to work offline as well as online. If this is an example of the kinds of applications that can be produced as part of Web 2.0, then I am very excited at the future! Scrybe's design is based on the principal that human beings have the ability to focus on one thing while keeping others in soft focus, and can easily shift focus, while keeping everything in context. Scrybe organises it's information in a similar manner. You can see the promo video below.

I've seen this approach before in software for both the PC and Pocket PC. I haven't seen it done as elegantly as this, while combining it with a wide range of tools to synchronise your data.

Of special interest to me is the ThoughtPad, which acts similarly to my Portable Memory Bank (or Little Red Brain). This is a small ring-bound notebook that I carry with me at ALL times.

I've signed up for the Beta, and will post on how I get on with the ThoughtPad, and it's usefulness for capturing my insights and awarenesses as compared to a traditional notepad.

TIP: Capturing ideas with your mobile phone

2006-09-26T12:42:00.000+01:00

I'm not sure if it is legal, but yesterday I saved myself about twenty pound on reference material for an idea I was developing. I was interested in gathering visual designs from some magazines that I would never normally read. As I considered whether to buy the magazine for the one or two visual references I wanted, I remembered that I had my mobile phone in my pocket! And so, I quickly whipped it out, used the built-in camera to snap the visual references I wanted, and went on my way. [NOTE: I do not think that my ethics would allow me to do this to copy an article I wanted to read, but my sense of logic seems to allow it for a simple graphical inspiration. What do you think?] This was a real 'Aha!' moment for me about how sometimes I do not make full use of the technology available to me, in the way that can serve me. And that the technology becomes useful when it does work for you. So, the question is...how can you make a piece of technology you own, work for you in a way that was never 'officially' planned?

Sociocracy Article in Strategy & Business

2006-09-11T10:24:00.000+01:00

Brian Roberston, CEO of Ternary Software has an article in Strategy & Business this month on how his company implements Sociocracy. Brian explains how implementing Sociocracy as a form of dynamic governance has resulted in profit growths of between 38-50%. Sociocracy means "rule by the socios", or "people who know each other" as opposed to democracy which is "rule by the demos - the crowd".

What is not mentioned in the article is that John Buck, founder of the North American Centre for Sociocracy, trained Brian and his team on how to implement Sociocracy in their company.

I am training with John, at this time I am the only person in Ireland, trained in how to run Sociocratic circle meetings and elections. If you are an Irish company or organisation wanting to find a more effective way to organise yourselves, please do not hesitate to contact me.

http://www.strategy-business.com/press/article/06314?pg=1

The Ten Faces of Innovation - People Make Innovation Happen

2006-09-06T14:16:00.000+01:00

"The Ten Faces of Innovation: Strategies for Heightening Creativity" (Tom Kelley, Jonathan Littman)

I've been reading The Ten Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley at Ideo. I must say that I was won over to this book within a few pages after reading that he saw innovation as not just "New Ideas - plus action or implementation - which result in an improvement, a gain or a profit" as defined by 3M, but as "people creating value through the implementation of ideas."
I wholeheartedly agree with this, and see in in my work daily. It takes people to make things happen. And this can make it really easy to get things done, or really difficult. However, if you always consider the human component, you have a much better chance of succeeding in your endeavours than if you continue to see people as simply things to be manipulated, managed, watched, or figures on a resources chart.
I'm finding this book really easy to read, and am constantly inspired by the stories that Tom uses to illustrate the various characteristics of the Innovation personas. I particularly enjoy this book as it promotes an open approach to innovation, and does not promote a once-size fits all methodology.
So, if you are at all interested in innovation, creativity, or even just people, check out The Ten Faces of Innovation

Back to School & back to Learning (Hell for some)!!

2006-09-01T11:46:00.000+01:00

I was getting my hair cut yesterday, and was talking to the hairdresser about her daughter who is starting into secondary school today. I asked her, had anyone talked to her about her learning style. She said No. I explained the 3 basic styles - visual, aural and kinaesthetic. I also explained how the basic question of 'How do you give (and like to receive) directions?' can tell you a lot about a person's leaning style. Immediately she recognised her own preference. I also highlighted that approximately 60% of prisoners in Northern Ireland have a visual/kinaesthetic leaning preference, as opposed to aural, which is the predominant form of teaching - often the preferred style of teachers, which in turn creates a self-perpetuating problem.
So to all the parents and students out there, I encourage you to discover your own and your child's natural learning style/preference. It will help give you some control in determining what you can do to learn more effectively, even if the material isn't presented a manner that really works best for you.
Here are some links I would recommend to find out more about
learning styles and multiple intelligences
http://www.learning-styles-online.com/
http://www.memletics.com/learning-skills-test/default.asp
http://www.accelerated-learning.net/learning_test.html
And for a great recource of creativity and learning visit -
http://www.winwenger.com/
Also, check out Amazon.com, or your local bookstore for many, many books on these topics.