Thursday, October 26, 2017

Friday, August 29, 2014

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Monday, July 7, 2014

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Creative Mornings - Nick Campbell - Founder of Greyscale Gorilla

Creative Mornings - Ben Chestnut - Founder of Mail Chimp

Creative Mornings - Sara Frisk from IDEO

Introducing "Creative Mornings" which has been referred to as "TED" for the rest of us. It is the brain child of Tina Roth Eisenberg and is currently held in 80 cities world-wide.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Need Ideas? Take A Walk!

There's long been speculation about the connection between walking and creativity and now the supportive evidence is in.  This article by Thorin Klosowski in Life Hacker explains the findings and offers up links to dig a bit deeper.

These days, Susy and walk on the beach every day.  But before we moved to the coast, I was a big believer in idea generating power of a daily walk.  Take a stack of 3x5 cards and a pen to record your ideas.  Then watch them flow!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Creating The "Next" Company

This is a 20 minute documentary that gives a terrific glimpse into what it takes to create a new company. It gives us a view into the development of Steve Jobs company called "Next". It shows something of Jobs leadership style. We get to see communication, interaction, team building, conflict, cost-cutting, vision casting, goal-setting and more...in action. "Next" was never a big success on it's own, but even that shows us how failure or small successes can be productively woven into the fabric of larger success. Jobs went on to grow Pixar and then eventually rebuild Apple into the most valuable company in the world.

Does Your Office Need An Infusion Of Creativity?

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Cows, Cars & Chart Topping Hits

Most creativity is adaptive by nature. After the Genesis 1 account, very little creativity is actually very original. To put it more succinctly, most creativity is pure and simple copying, and then applying some kind of unique twist. Often it is taking an existing idea and applying it in a new context. Consider how these creative geniuses viewed copying:

“If I see you have something good going I will take it.”
~Pablo Picasso

“He who can copy can do.”
~Leonardo da Vinci

“Keep on the lookout for novel and interesting ideas that others have used successfully. Your idea has to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you’re currently working on.”
~Thomas Edison, Inventor

“When I did my first audition for my first television job, I was such a nervous wreck, I had no idea what to do or say. And I thought in my head that maybe I’ll just pretend I’m Barbara Walters. I will sit like Barbara, I will hold my head like Barbara. So I crossed my legs at the ankles, and I put my little finger under my chin, and I leaned across the desk, and I pretended to be Barbara Walters.”
~Oprah Winfrey

In the early 1900’s Chicago was the “Cow Slaughtering Mecca” in the U.S. Cow carcasses were placed on moving conveyor belts and hung upside down from chains. They ran past various cutting stations and at each station, a butcher would remove the same cut of meat, over and over.

William Klann was visiting one of these Chicago "disassembly plants" while working for Henry Ford in the automobile business. That's where the light bulb went on. Klann thought this disassembly line process could actually be reversed and used to build cars in a more efficient and cost effective way. He took the idea back to the car company, shared it with his superiors, who then shared it with Henry Ford himself.

Ford decided to implement the idea on the 1913 Model T. The result was that the production time dropped an amazing 90%. Ford cut the time from 12.5 hours down to 1.5 hours per car. Fewer workers were needed per car and training time was reduced. When the Model T was first introduced in 1908, the by-hand assembly model sold for $850.00. With the new added efficiencies, Ford was able to reduce that price down to $360.00 in 1916. At this price, even the plant workers were able to afford a new car.

This is a great creativity story if it stopped there! But let’s fast forward to 1959.

A young songwriter named Berry was working a “day job” on the Ford production line. As he performed his job each day, he began to envision an application to the music business. Berry began to build a music studio in the garage of the wood-framed house where he lived. He called it “Hitsville”.

You might know “Hitsville” by another name, “Motown”. And Berry is none other than Berry Gordy who introduced America to Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, Lionel Ritchie and The Commodores just to name a few.

On Oprah Winfrey’s Masterclass, Gordy described the “Star Factory” adapted from his days on the Ford Motor Company assembly line.

Cholly Atkins ran choreography and was in charge of the smooth dance moves that characterized the Motown performers.

Maxine Powers ran the Motown “finishing school”.

Song writing teams like Holland/Dozier/Holland, Harvey Fuqua and Norman Whitfield churned out hit after hit for various Motown acts.

“The Funk Brothers” were contracted as a top-level session band to record behind his acts.

What's a great car without a great paint job? Gordy believed the same thing about his soon to be superstars. There was a specialized team of make-up artists and a wardrobe staff that insured each artist had “the look”.

Gordy ran his music acts through each station of a very structured program designed to build superstars. And build them he did.

From Cows to Cars to Chart Topping Hits!

What idea can you copy? Always keep your eyes open and a notebook in your pocket.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

"Breakaway" - Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

This terrific video short was produced and distributed by Farmers Insurance. It's worth watching several times. Your second time through, pay attention to the lyrics from the song "Breakaway", performed by Kelly Clarkson. It was written by Avril Lavigne, Bridget Benenate and Mathew Gerrard.

Perfect!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Sunday, April 7, 2013

"Bridge Sliding" - How Creative Is That?

Murray Johnson is a bridge engineer. But is specialty isn't building bridges...His specialty is "Sliding Bridges". Who knew? And apparently this art form saves municipalities millions. You can watch a bridge slide in time lapse below and read more about Murray and his craft in the Wall Street Journal article here.

Comments

“Working with Dale has always been rewarding. Dale has always been on the leading edge developing new ways of marketing his products and services. Always willing to try new approaches and follow through... Always convincing.”

Fred Friday, Director of Operations Fundcraft Publishing, Memphis, Tennessee

"Dale has always impressed me with his integrity, marketing insights, compassion and follow through. He thinks outside the box, asks the questions that others fail to ask and has a real heart for training others to be the best they can be. You can count on Dale."

Tim Turner, Owner Turner Strategic - Atlanta, Georgia – March 14, 2009

“Dale is always the most prepared person in the room. He has the ability to listen and clarify the issue at hand. He is a creative, caring leader. He has always been a joy to work with.”

Beverly Sherman, Owner Creative Connections - Lansing, Michigan – March 2, 2009

“I would like to take the opportunity to offer my recommendation for Dale Cobb. He has the remarkable ability to clearly listen to a problem, understand the issues and suggest a course of action that satisfies the needs of me and my clients. I cannot tell you how many times his advice was precisely what I needed to close a deal or carefully resolve a difficult situation. He is resourceful and creative in his teaching style. Over all he helped me to be more efficient and successful in my career.”

Michael Ward - Houston, Texas

“Dale gives attention to detail and runs one of the best team meetings I’ve ever seen. He has the keen ability to make complex things seems simple enough that anyone could understand them.”

Elwyn Henderson, Owner-Partner Mosaic Images - Gilmer, Texas

A great speaker, very detailed, personable, and a great trainer. Easy to work with on small to large projects. Observant and finishes to the end! Always impressed!

April Michele Floyd – Olan Mills – August 30, 2012