Have you heard about the Creative Innovation (Asia Pacific) Conference 2012 in Melbourne?  It's running from the 28th to 30th November at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, and from their synopsis, this is what the conference entails:

• Feature over 35 world class australian and international keynote speakers, leaders, artists and thinkers 
  
• Highlight opportunities and global megatrends that affect business and society in these uncertain times throughout australia, 
  
• asia Pacific and the rest of the world.
  
• Provide insights and techniques for unlocking personal and organisational creativity and courage that will inspire your leadership in times of complexity and change
  
• deliver strategies, structures and processes for creating greater organisational performance, productivity and wellbeing
  
• showcase the world’s best practice solutions and ideas for the development of sustainable and innovative futures for community, 
  
• business and government
  
• bring together leaders and emerging talent to discover cross-disciplinary solutions that will make a difference in your life, organisation 
  
• and community
  
• offer outstanding networking and business opportunities
  

Truth be known, I didn't know about it until recently, but was lucky enough to get a spot to attend one of the Masterclasses held by Amber Imber ('Innovate like the heavyweights - proven stuff, no fluff') by being the winning reply to the question:

“What innovation will we need to survive in the future world?”

Which my reply was:

"I think a lot of people forget that INNOVATION is different to INVENTION.  INNOVATION is a continual process which is adopted by a target group, which hopefully is society in general. In relation to what type of innovation which is needed to survive in the future world?
Better communication; a better way in delivering opinions and ideas. Communication begets dialogue, which in turn allows an exchange of ideas, for better or worse. An exchange of ideas will ultimately lead on to more invention and innovation."

I'm definitely looking forward to the event which I'll get to meet like minds who are passionate on innovation and tackling resistive culture.  If you're attending as well, please say "Hi" and we'll catch up for a coffee! 

You can follow Creative Innovation on Twitter as well: @cinov

I was asked the other day, why I wanted to train both children and corporates in using the "...softer arts when the world was all about profit and crunchable numbers" (their words, not mine).  

"Because the "softer arts" are what makes those numbers in the long run", I replied.  His puzzled look required me to elaborate which I hoped it would.

"Think of the traditional Tiger Mum and the school structure.  Schools measure aptitude by testing and grading, and the better the child is at that subject, the better marks he or she gets.  Now, the Tiger Mum isn't stupid; she knows that the easiest way to score high marks are in subjects where there is a black and white answer; objective subjects, if you will.." 

"Like maths and science", he interrupted.

"Yes, like maths and science", I continued.  "So, the typical process is that the traditional Tiger Mum pushes their child in the objective subjects, thereby forgoing the other subjects like art, drama and to a point, music."

"As the child grows up, they get fantastic grades at school, college or university, and then land themselves in a corporate office doing corporate tasks.  Process driven corporate tasks, essentially.  Which they again excel in."

"They reach middle management, and are in charge of a team.  A team of mixed personalities with their own wants, needs and quirks.  Then there's a promotion up for grabs, but he (or she) doesn't get it.  Why?"

Something a bit now which will thrill the visual and aural learners out there (I'm more kinesthetic and visual, myself).

Here's a video using one of those sped up drawing narratives which seems to be quite popular now.  Although it can be quite helpful to watch, having the static result as a drawing only and not being a video (with sound), tends to be less beneficial.  

Regardless, the content is quite interesting, and hopefully helps you with your team.

Starting out from smaller workshops, our previous website and branding sufficed.

However, as we continue to grow with exciting Clients and attendees, we thought it was time to upgrade from a dreary website with the occasional blog post and Tweet.  We're aiming to post more frequently, so stay tuned!

It's amazing how much a little bit of change in font and colours can do - do your organisation or work need a small change to boost productivity and renew energy?  

Maybe just changing a sign-off on your email might do the trick. 

Do you sometimes feel lost and overwhelmed with work, study or life in general?  

Sure, everyone has at least one point in their lives (if you haven't, ask yourself if you're attending to things with maximum drive).  

In the article (and accompanying video) "The Emotional Adventure of Leadership", the author recalls the feelings of panic, uneasiness, embarressment and inadequacy when he had to lead a group on a mountaineering expedition as an analogy for leadership.  Like the consensus, in his mind, he expects that:

"Leaders are supposed to have the answers. They're supposed to be confident, self-assured, and knowledgeable. They're supposed to know where they are and where they're going at all times."

It's almost been a year since we've first started empowering others to harness their creativity in both personal and the workplace, so upon the launch of our Puppetry programme, we've also relaunched with an updated website including a blog section.  We hope to keep you updated with content on a weekly basis with this blog or through our Twitter feed, so please subscribe to the feed on the right.  Also, our Press Releases have now been consolidated into a single section, [here] and on the link to the right.

Stay creative!