Creativity and problem solving

Using conscious and subconscious mind

Prof. Lakshman Madurasinghe, PhD

Consultant Psychologist; Attorney
The need for a holistic Model of
Excellence
Disciplined study
IQ Self awareness
Creativity
Teaching and doing

EQ
EMOTIONA
PQ
L
HOLISTIC Physical
QUOTIENT
MODEL Quotient
Self awareness
And self control Nutrition
Motivation Exercise
Empathy Relaxation
Social skills SQ Integrity
Stress Mgt
SPIRITUAL Vision
QUOTIENT Meaning
 The essence of
productivity improvement
is working ------> more
intelligently , not harder

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 Brain Re-engineering

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 Varying brain speed

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HOW BRAIN WAVES INFLUENCE DECISIONS

Alpha: Beta and Theta

What is the advertisement I am watching 40 HZ

BETA

Why am I watching this advert 16-24 HZ

How should I use this info for my benefit 8-12 HZ

ALPHA
When
Where
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THETA 4- 8 HZ 6
Who
 Is there a difference between Creativity
and Innovation ?

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 Creativity- New ideas, originality

Innovation- takes the new idea through

to a satisfied customer

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 Creativity & Intelligence often go
together but a creative person need not
necessarily be highly intelligent

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 Therefore innovation ought to be an
essential part of one’s business strategy

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 Creativity Killers

 Can’t be done.  Let’s form a

 Never done it. committee.
 Anyone else tried it?  Will not work in
 Costs too much. our department/
 Isn’t in the budget. company/
industry.

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 Spect Analysis- use of full
brain

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 CREATIVE THINKING
1. Random input; word, pictures and apply to
problem at hand- LATERAL

2. Problem reversal; LATERAL- define what it is

not, state problem in reverse, change positive to
negative.
how would I reduce customer sales at Coke?-
3.What ifs
4.W’s

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 CREATIVE THINKING
5. Reframing- Product, Planning,
Potential,People

6. Ideatoons- symbols

7. Six hats

8. Concept maps

9. Mind maps

10. Lateral thinking

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 CREATIVE THINKING
11. Brain storming

12. Provocation- Houses should not have

roofs

13.Concept fan

14. SCAMPER

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 Decision-Making Styles

Reflexive

Reflective

Consistent

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 Reflexive Style
 Makes quick
decisions (shooting
from hip) without
taking time to
gather all
information needed
or considering all
alternatives.

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 Reflective Style
Takes plenty
of time to
make
decisions,
gathering and
analyzing
several
alternatives

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 Consistent Style

Makes
decision
without
rushing or
wasting
time.
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 Lateral Thinking

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 The Basics Behind
Lateral Thinking
 We are hardwired to be UN-creative.
 We need formal tools for breaking out of
patterned thinking.
 Everyone can learn how to be more creative
 Lateral Thinking gives you the power to
create ideas on demand

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 Suggest Lateral
Thinking If You Hear…

any of these
seven common comments

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 Because Lateral
Thinking Will
Give managers the tools to encourage and reward the creative EFFORT that must become a habit before you can get consistently innovative results.

Give employees the tools to assess and improve ideas before submitting them.

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 Suggest Lateral
Thinking If You Hear…
2. Creative people are a nuisance. They’re always
getting out of line.

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 Because Lateral
Thinking Will
Teach managers how to perceive creative intrusions as a valuable tool for checking blind spots and biases. Creative ideas are often jarring.

Give collaborative employees the tools to generate creative ideas on demand. You do not have to rely on a flock of born rebels to “buck the
system.”

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 Suggest Lateral
Thinking If You Hear…
3. We don’t have time to go through all that trial
and error.

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 Because Lateral
Thinking Will
Teach managers to be alert for new opportunities at every stage as ideas are explored.

Give employees tools that speed up the innovation process.

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 Suggest Lateral
Thinking If You Hear…
4. Creative people are so off-the-wall. Their ideas
are never feasible.

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 Because Lateral
Thinking Will
Give everyone the tools of provocation and movement so they know how to get value from initially unworkable
ideas.

Teach everyone how to harvest, tailor, and shape ideas to make them more practical.

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 Suggest Lateral
Thinking If You Hear…
5. This company doesn’t see mistakes as progress.
We quit too soon.

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 Because Lateral
Thinking Will
Give everyone tools to assess and minimize risk.

Teach everyone how to perceive failures as necessary steps in the creative process.

Enable everyone to learn from their mistakes.

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 Suggest Lateral
Thinking If You Hear…
6. We don’t know what to be creative about.

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 Suggest Lateral
Thinking If You Hear…
7. We don’t need new ideas. We’re already aligned about
what we’re doing/where we’re going/how to get there.

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 Because Lateral
Thinking Will
Teach everyone the absolute necessity of applying the creative process continuously to every
strategy, process, assumption, product, and practice, in our rapidly changing world.

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 Lateral Thinking:
Four Step Process
Edward de Bono’s
Creative Thinking Process

Results: New
GET STARTED Ideas

Select & Define Capture & Work

Focus with Output
Generate
Ideas

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 Characteristics of Lateral Versus
Vertical Thinking

LATERAL THINKING VERTICAL THINKING

 Finds new ways to view
 Tries to find absolutes;
things; concerned with concerned with stability.
change and movement.  Seeks justification for
each step; tries to find
 Looks for what is different
what is “right.”
rather than “right” or
“wrong.”
 Analyzes ideas for faults.
 Analyzes ideas to generate
 Seeks continuity.
new ideas.  Selectively chooses
 Uses free association
thinking.

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 Useful Lateral Thinking
Techniques

 Reversal technique
 Examining a problem and turning it completely around,
inside out, or upside down
 Analogy technique
 Developing a statement about similarities between
objects, persons, and situations
 Cross-fertilization technique
 Asking experts from other fields to examine the problem
and suggest solutions from their own areas of expertise

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 Lateral thinking….

A man walks into a bar and

asks the barman for a glass of
water. The barman pulls out a
gun and points it at the man.
The man says 'Thank you' and
walks out.

What happened ? – 5 MINUTES

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 Who,What,Where,When,Why
,How
1. How can these questions help you in
problem solving and innovation ?
2. Which set of questions do you find
yourself using most often ?
3. Which question is the most thought-
provoking ?
4. What other useful questions have you
heard that should be added to the list ?

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 Creativity….

Examining our habits

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 Creativity….

Habit
Make use of chance
intrusions
Shower etc…..

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 Creativity….

 The intuitive mind is a sacred gift

 and the rational mind is a faithful
 servant. We have created a society
 that honours the servant and has
 forgotten the gift.

 Einstein

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 Creativity….Intuition

On a piece of paper write down what you

believe will be the outcome of a problem
situation facing you next week.

Look at the paper once it happens

5 mts

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 Creativity….

Habit
Suspending judgment

Don’t criticize your own ideas too

prematurely

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 Creativity….

Habit
Tolerating ambiguity

To develop a complete mind study the

art of science and the science of
art….

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 Creativity….

Value of quiet time

“ CREATIVE PAUSE”

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 Creativity….

Look

Listen

Touch

Taste

Smell

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 Creativity….

1. Sculpt

2. Characters

3. Metaphors

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 Creativity….

1. Sculpt

Seated on the boat: place etc etc

I felt nervous so I am sitting on the

edge

I am lying around feeling relaxed

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 Creativity….

2. Characters

Look at the problem

Give them some characters: Henry V111

The Queen, Uri Geller, Accountant,
Doctor, Monk etc

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 Creativity….
2. Characters

How to get the team as a whole to share

knowledge and skills

A monk
A zookeeper
An artist
A bus driver

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 Creativity….
3. Metaphor

Describe consultancy as a pot of yoghurt

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 Creativity….
3. Metaphor

It comes in different flavours

It goes off
Some people don’t like it
You don’t always feel like eating it
You can add it to cooking to create a dish

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 Creativity….
Random word

Open a dictionary or a newspaper at random and choose

a word or image. What light does this shed on the
situation.

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 Stages of the Creative Process

Preparation

Verification Concentration

Illumination Incubation

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 Mind Mapping

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 What is mind mapping?
 Developed in the 1960s by Tony Buzan to help
students make notes by using keywords and
images.

 Non-linear thinking and associative memory

 Visual brainstorming tool.

 Use connections between keywords to map

knowledge to help improve understanding and
recall.

 Aids high level and critical thinking.

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 What’s it used for?

 Organising thoughts and ideas

 Reading papers

 Lecture notes

 Writing

 Knowledge bases

 Problem solving

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 How to do a Mind Map
 Start with main idea at the centre of the page.

 Think quickly and non-linearly

 Use keywords

 Point out relationships between concepts with

lines.

 Colour-code related concepts.

 Use images

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 Foundations

 Brainstorming is the first step towards

Mind Mapping
 Brainstorming is a way of finding simple
associations between things.
 However, brainstorming exercises are
different from Mind Maps in that they are
often two-dimensional and monotone.

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 Foundations

 A central image should form the basis of

your Mind Map.
 Images are more evocative than words.
 They often trigger associations more
readily.
 This means they are better to enhancing
thinking and creativity.

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 Sample Maps: Lecture notes

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 Foundations

 I also shows that it is ludicrous that over

95% of note-taking/making is done
without the benefit of images.

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 Foundations

 What if I can’t draw or my drawing is

bad?
 Anyone can learn to draw!
 The key is to practise…

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 Foundations

 ‘The reason why so many people

assume they are incapable of of creating
images is that, instead of understanding
that the brain always succeeds
through continued experimentation,
they mistake initial failure for
fundamental incapacity and as its true
measure of their talent.’ (Buzan)

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 Brainstorming to Mind
Mapping
 From your central image you should
radiate Key Words
 Key Words should be PRINTED on
curved lines flowing from the central
image. These lines should be the same
length as the words.
 By printing them you naturally
EMPHASISE THEM.

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 Brainstorming to Mind
Mapping
 Key words should be basic ordering
ideas (or key concepts) and from these
concepts associated ideas should flow.
 Words radiate their own associations
 E.g. Dog, bone, cat…
 What did you think of next?
 Your next thought is an example of an
association

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 Brainstorming to Mind
Mapping
 If you find it difficult  What are the most
important seven
working out what categories in the area
your key ideas are under consideration?
then try answering  What are my basic
the following questions? ‘Why?’,
‘What?’,‘Where?’,’Who?,
questions: ‘How?’,‘Which?’,’When?’
often serve as major
branches in a Mind Map.

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 Brainstorming to Mind
Mapping
 If you find yourself having a ‘mental
block’ then try adding blank lines to the
key words Mind Map.
 ‘[The brain] will almost instantaneously
find associations, especially when given
the trigger of additional stimulus.’ (Buzan)

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 Sample Maps: Writing

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 Sample Maps: CV

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 BRAIN WRITING

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 Mind Mapping….

How to protect and improve tourism in

Sri Lanka in the light of a “ BIRD FLU”
pandemic

GROUP ACTIVITY
30 MINUTES

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 Use of sound
Baroque- Vivaldi 4 seasons

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 The Princess and the
Peasant- Group Activity- 10
mts

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 Use of colour

Yellow- inspiration , power of mind,

bright ideas, joy, laughter

Green- balance, harmony, calmness ,

bridge between emotions and higher
reasons, decision making, flowing with
life

Blue- Creativity, teaching ability, calm

after the storm, peace beyond
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understanding
 Use of colour

Violet- Wisdom

Pink- Warmth , tenderness, all is well

Golden- Brilliance, higher creativity

Red- Anger, fear, raw power, strength to

be well, fire

Orange- pleasure, warmth, passion, bliss

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 Creative thinking- Walt Disney way

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 Creative thinking- Walt Disney way

Master in his field but sometimes appeared to be in a

dream , at other times pragmatic, suddenly critical….

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 Creative thinking- Walt Disney way

The Four Character states

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 Creative thinking- Walt Disney way

The Dreamer

Able to fantasize, pure creativity with no

boundaries….” what if………..”

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 Creative thinking- Walt Disney way

The Realist

Able to realistically implement a plan

“ As if…….”

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 Creative thinking- Walt Disney way

The Critic

Able to constructively criticize a plan, identifying

any flaws that would prevent it from working

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 Creative thinking- Walt Disney way

The Impartial

Able to stand back and take a detached view of a

situation

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 Creative thinking- Walt Disney way

As a group select a work related problem and use

Walt Disney method to find a solution

15 mts

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 Creative thinking example- 10 mts

Three women each have two

daughters, and they all go into a
restaurant for a meal.There are only
seven vacant seats in the
restaurant, but each has a seat to
herself.

How did they manage it ?

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 Seven Thinking Hats 6+1

An aid to decision making and

problem solving.

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 The Red Hat
• What do you feel
about the suggestion?
• What are your gut
reactions?
• What intuitions do you
have?
• Don’t think too long
or too hard.

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 The White Hat
• The information
seeking hat.
• What are the facts?
• What information is
available? What is
relevant?
• When wearing the
white hat we are
neutral in our thinking.
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 The Yellow Hat
• The sunshine hat.
• It is positive and
constructive.
• It is about
effectiveness and
getting a job done.
• What are the benefits,
the advantages?

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 The Black Hat
• The caution hat.
• In black hat the
thinker points out
errors or pit-falls.
• What are the risks or
dangers involved?
• Identifies difficulties
and problems.

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 The Green Hat
• This is the creative
mode of thinking.
• Green represents
growth and movement.
• In green hat we look to
new ideas and
solutions.
• Lateral thinking wears
a green hat.
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 The Blue Hat
• The control hat,
organising thinking
itself.
• Sets the focus, calls for
the use of other hats.
• Monitors and reflects
on the thinking
processes used.
• Blue is for planning.
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 7 th hat- GOLD

Use of 6 colour hats for decision making

Seeing from different angles-

I am proposing a new hat- GOLD

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 The GOLD Hat
• The Value hat, filtering
thoughts.
• Analyze each thought
against 8 point yardstick.
• True, honest, just,
pure,lovely,good report,
virtue, praise.
• E-Consciousness based
.
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 Seven Thinking Hats

Informative
Intuitive Constructive

Reflective Creative

Cautious Value-Centered
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E-Consciousness
 Blue Hat
Managing The Thinking
Setting The Focus
Making Summaries
Overviews  Conclusions
White Hat Action Plans Black Hat
Information & Data Why It May Not Work
Neutral & Objective Cautions  Dangers
Checked & Believed Facts Problems  Faults
Missing Information & Logical Reasons
Where To Source It Must Be Given

FOCUS

Yellow Hat Red Hat

Why It May Work Feelings & Intuition
Values & Benefits Emotions Or Hunches
(Both Known & Potential) “At This Point”
The Good In It No Reasons or Justification
Logical Reasons Keep It Short
Must Be Given Green Hat
Creative Thinking
Possibilities  Alternatives
New Ideas  New Concepts
Overcome Black Hat
Problems & Reinforce Yellow
Hat Values
98
 GOLD
Blue Hat Overall quality
Managing The Thinking check against values
Setting The Focus
Making Summaries
Overviews  Conclusions
White Hat Action Plans Black Hat
Information & Data Why It May Not Work
Neutral & Objective Cautions  Dangers
Checked & Believed Facts Problems  Faults
Missing Information & Logical Reasons
Where To Source It Must Be Given

FOCUS

Yellow Hat Red Hat

Why It May Work Feelings & Intuition
Values & Benefits Emotions Or Hunches
(Both Known & Potential) “At This Point”
The Good In It No Reasons or Justification
Logical Reasons Keep It Short
Must Be Given Green Hat
Creative Thinking
Possibilities  Alternatives
New Ideas  New Concepts
Overcome Black Hat
Problems & Reinforce Yellow
Hat Values
99
 Thinking hats

Are arranged marriages better than love marriages

GROUP ACTIVITY
20 MINUTES

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 Lateral thinking….

A man was walking downstairs in a

building when he suddenly realized
that his wife had just died. How?

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 Thinking hats

How could we capture a greater market share for

Coke ?

GROUP ACTIVITY
30 MINUTES

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 Creativity

Pareto Analysis

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 By doing 20 % of work you can generate
80 % of the advantage of doing the entire
job.

80 % Sales to 20 % customers

80 % taxes by 20 % population

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 Creativity

How Pareto analysis is done

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 An analysis of missing doses
in clinic

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 Creativity

Concept fans- discuss with group

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 What did we cover today

Brain re-engineering
Creativity killers
Lateral thinking
Sculpt, character,metaphor
Mind maps
Walt Disney
Thinking hats
Pareto
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 Creativity

Brain Storming

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 Brainstorming

The process
of suggesting
many
possible
alternatives
without
evaluation.
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 Helps generate many radical ideas

Ideas must be broad and odd as possible

Should be developed fast

No criticism of ideas

Ideas should be evaluated once session is over

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 What are the ways in which we can
have a more inspired workforce
that would do the best they can at
Coke ?

GROUP ACTIVITY 25 MTS

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 Creativity

Grid Analysis

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Making a choice where many factors must
be balanced.

It is most effective where a number of good

alternatives are taken into account

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First list the options and then factors that are
important

Next work out relative importance of factors

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 COMPLETE THE TABLE GIVEN
15 MTS

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 NLP

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 Neuro

Thinking patterns that make up the mental

aspect of our strategies:

To see ourselves as in a movie

Hear encouraging internal voice to do well
Steady confident feeling in stomach

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 Linguistic

The way we use language both internally and

with others

Regular word we use:

Also
“ why not” vs “ what would happen”
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 Programming

Mental and behavioural codes that run or

lives

Stubbornness vs letting go

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 Using Anchors

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 Helps you to be the person you
want to be at any time…..

Pavlov….

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 Naturally occurring anchors

1. A piece of music that lifts you- Auditory

2. Your favorite smell- Olfactory
3. A taste that ……Gustatory
4. A place with happy associations…Spatial
5. A picture or image …..Visual

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 Anchor prompts activity

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 Invent a new type of toy for busy managers

15 mts

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 NAC steps

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  1) Know What You Want.

 2) Know What is Preventing You From Getting What You

Want.(pain/pleasure)

 3) Interrupt that Pattern or Break the Old Behavior.

 4) Choose and Install the New Behavior or Pattern You Want.

 5) Condition Yourself for the New Behavior or Pattern.

 6) Do an Ecology  Test for the New Behavior to See If You

Have Successfully Installed and Conditioned It To Be Your
New Automatic Response

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 OTHER TECHNIQUES

Tree map
Force field analysis
Fishbone Importance analysis
Consequence map
Multiple regression

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 Decision Trees

 A diagram of
alternatives.
The diagram
gives a
visual of the
alternatives
making
analyzing
easier.
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 Break-Even
Break-Even Analysis
Analysis

Capital
Capital Budgeting
Budgeting

Quantitative
Quantitative
Techniques Linear
Linear Programming
Programming
Techniques

Queuing
Queuing Theory
Theory

Probability
Probability Theory
Theory

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DEVELOPING EXCELLENCE
A REFLECTION ON INPUTS
 Global Seismic Shifts

1. The globalization of markets and technology

2. The emergence of universal connectivity

3. An exponential increase in competition-

bench mark- “world class”

4. The movement of wealth creation from

financial capital to intellectual and social
capital

5. Permanent white water

The need for a holistic Model of
Excellence
Disciplined study
IQ Self awareness
Creativity
Teaching and doing

EQ
EMOTIONA
PQ
L
HOLISTIC Physical
QUOTIENT
MODEL Quotient
Self awareness
And self control Nutrition
Motivation Exercise
Empathy Relaxation
Social skills SQ Integrity
Stress Mgt
SPIRITUAL Vision
QUOTIENT Meaning
Your 5 Competencies at Coca Cola

Market Execution –ME

Demand Creation – DC

Demand fulfillment- DF

Performance Finance-PF

Human Resources-HR
 PUT SIMPLY- EQ
Its about:
Managing ourselves

Managing our interaction with others

Understanding more about human behaviour

Understanding consequences more

A language or a framework
 EQ COMPETENCIES
Self Awareness Social Awareness
 Emotional Self- Awareness  Empathy
 Accurate Self Assessment  Organisational Awareness
 Self-confidence  Service Orientation

EQ
Self Management Relationship Mgmt
 Emotional Self-Control  Developing others
 Transparency  Inspirational Leadership
 Adaptability  Change Catalyst
 Achievement  Influence
 Initiative  Conflict Management
 Optimism  Teamwork and Collaboration
 The 4C model of Excellence

LIVING

LOVING LEARNING

LAUGHTER
You live that you may love;
You love that you may learn to live
EMPTHY-THE FOUR LEVELS

Listens- SOLER

Reads non verbal clues

Open to diversity

Sees (and anticipates) other’s perspectives

 Coping with anger

GAINS Problem solving method

Get information
Acknowledge
I want - messages
Negotiate
Self-Care
 SQ
Flexibility
Self-Awareness
Ability to face and endure suffering
Ability to be compelled by a vision
See connections between diverse things
Cause no harm
Tendency to probe and ask fundamental
questions
Ability to work against convention
WINNING MIND
Brain Re-engineering

Is Productivity proportional to
CET …..?
USING THE WHOLE BRAIN
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VARIETY OF THINKING STYLES
&
ATTITUDES
MENTAL SCREENS

VISUALIZING

RIGHT BRAIN

MUSIC THERAPY
 NLP

SWISH

SPLIT SCREENS

CIRCLES
Being in the G.A.P
 What are values

Values erosion
word wide
-Enron

Johnson and Johnson

7 Values at Coke
 WORKING ON YOUR
ROAD MAP

Removing Negativities
 DEFINITION

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S=P>R
Stress occurs when the pressure is greater than the resource 151
 Managing Stress-Alternatives

• Conventional Medicine • Floatation

• Counselling & • Herbalism
psychotherapy
• Biofeedback
• Relaxation
• Homeopathy
• Meditation
• Massage • Hypnotherapy
• Yoga • Osteopathy
• Acupuncture • Pet Therapy
• Aromatherapy • Reflexology
Creativity- New ideas, originality

Innovation- takes the new idea

through to a satisfied customer

Mind maps

Lateral thinking

Thinking hats and others……

Excellence is not an option….It is the
way….
IQ

EQ

PQ

SQ
 Think of a sentence of more than 15 words all
beginning with the letter T

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 Trevor took the trouble to take the train ticket
to the terminus to transfer the train time to ten
tomorrow

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