Articles

The business world is full of organizations desperate to innovate and find the creativity needed to change in difficult times. Yet, most companies have a negative outlook. It's so easy to find fault in things and generally take a gloomy attitude. Businesses become so focused on the problems that face them that they forget that to solve the problems they need to look at possibilities. Looking at the negative closes the mind. Dewitt Jones teaches us to attack problems a little differently. Look for the positive in everything. He encourages us to Celebrate What's Right With The World instead of what's wrong.

Futurist Joel Barker is a pioneer in the study of Paradigm Shifts. Paradigm shifts are a profound change in a business, industry or way of doing things. Businesses that are not ready for these shifts can whither and die. Even industry leaders are susceptible to a severe downturn. Barker has extensively studied how these changes happen and why companies and individuals are not more prepared for these changes. His work presented in the classic video The Business of Paradigms has unearthed several important reasons why this occurs and what organizations can do to be prepared for these shifts.

A manager by nature has a short range view. The everyday tasks of running an organization keep a manager running around putting out fires and trying to survive the day. Day after day, week after week, his time is constantly filled. A leader finds time to look to the future. If there is no focus on the future, then the present will eventually mean nothing. Unless an organization knows where it is going then steering the ship in the present is an exercise in futility. It might as well be in an ocean thick with fog without a compass.

Generating creativity and innovation in the workplace in many cases requires a change in corporate culture. This is never easy but there are some simple yet powerful ways to be begin to create a culture of creativity and find innovation inside the imagination of your entire workforce.

Harassment claims can be financially and legally hard on an organization, but what about the affect on the harassed party. Sexual Harassment can be debilitating to the victim. The effects on work performance and emotional well being can be catastrophic. Employers need to be cognizant of these effects and reach out to the victim to ease the process of recovery.

These are tough times and a good old fashioned motivational video can be a great way to start a meeting, event or to get ramped up for a new organizational goal.  Try one of these new or classic motivational videos to rev up your workplace.