How the Mighty Fall

According to Jim Collins, the author of "How the Mighty Fall," there are five stages through which a proud and thriving company passes on its way to becoming a basket-case:

• First comes hubris born of success;

"When “we are successful because we do these specific things” replaces penetrating understanding and insight from “we are successful because we understand why we do these specific things,” decline will likely follow. This is where companies rule out the role of luck and chance and overestimate their own merit and capabilities in achieving their success."

• second, the undisciplined pursuit of more;

"One of the most damaging manifestations of stage 2 comes when a great company consistently grows revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth. The greatest warning sign for declining companies is a declining proportion of key seats filled with the right people."

• third, denial of risk and peril;

"A common behavior of late stage 3 is when those in power blame others or external factors for what has gone wrong, rather than confronting the frightening reality that the company may be in serious trouble. Another manifestation of denial that occurs in stage 3 is obsessive reorganisation. Reorganising and restructuring can create a false sense that you are actually doing something productive."

• fourth, grasping for salvation;

"The common saviours most often reached for during Stage 4 include a charismatic visionary leader; a bold but untested strategy; a radical transformation; a dramatic cultural revolution; a blockbuster product or a large-scale acquisition. Initial results from these drastic actions may appear positive, but they do not last."

• and last, capitulation to irrelevance or death.

"Organisations do not die from lack of earnings; they die from lack of cash, because everyone has to pay their bills with cash."

Further reading

Top 10 Reasons Your Presentation Sucks

http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=4883&tag=col1;post-4883

REASON #10: It is all data, no story!

REASON #9: Your slides are too fancy!
REASON #8: Your slide background is too busy!

REASON #7: Your fonts are unreadable!

REASON #6: Your graphics are too complex!

REASON #5: You are all opinion, no fact!

REASON #4: You speak fluent biz-blab!

REASON #3: You drifted off topic!

REASON #2: It was too d**n long!

...go to the site to find out the #1 reason!

Punctuation in Design

Here is a great post on the use of punctuation in design. Sometimes thinking about the simplest expression of your message in a visual format is the answer. See: curiouspictures logo - my favorite.

http://flavorwire.com/55351/logo-design-punctuated

Slide-ology

http://blog.duarte.com/

The Evolution of Storytelling

"Ad people" have long been considered storytellers...brand storytellers...is this still the case?

http://creativity-online.com/work/cat-2009-storytelling-throwdown/17004

Brainstorm Exercises

The next time you get stuck in a brainstorming session, give these tips from Alex Osborne a try; he is a pioneer teacher of creativity (the father of brainstorming?). For these exercises, we'll use a brainstorm about annual reports as an example.

SUBSTITUTE. Substitution enables you to develop alternative ideas for things that already exist. Ask questions such as: Can we substitute something else for an annual report or one of its parts? What's another approach we could take to an annual report? Can we change the rules? Can we use other materials or a different process in our solution?

COMBINE. Creative thinking often involves combining previously unrelated subjects and creating something new. Ask questions such as: What different ideas about annual reports can be combined? Can we combine the purpose of an annual report with something else? How about a combination in packaging? Can the package be combined with the form? What can be combined to multiply the possible uses of an annual report? Can we provide an assortment, ensemble or variety?

ADAPT. One of the paradoxes of creativity is that in order to think of an original concept, we must first familiarize ourselves with the ideas of others. Ask questions such as: What else is like an annual report? Does that other thing suggest any new ideas about how to approach an annual report? Does the past offer a parallel we could use? What has worked before? Is there a similar format we could mimic to create a different kind of annual report? What have others done? What have the experts done? What different or unusual contexts (i.e., historical or future) can we put our client in? What ideas can we adapt from the worlds of sports, television, books, politics, movies or religion?

MAGNIFY. An easy way to create a new idea is to take a subject and add something to it. Ask questions such as: What can be added to the annual report? greater frequency? extra features? Can we maximize existing strengths? What can be magnified, made larger or extended? What can add extra value? Can we make an annual report do more things? What can be duplicated? What's missing that could be useful? How could we carry an annual report to the dramatic extreme?

MODIFY. Any aspect of any idea can be modified to further enhance that idea. Ask questions such as: What can we alter about the annual report to make it better? Can we change its meaning, name, color, form, shape? Can we give it a new twist? What doesn't feel right about past reports? What can we do differently? Can we change the perspective? How would my art teacher design an annual report? My father? Our clients' competition? da Vinci? Napoleon? Bill Gates? Michael Jordan?

PUT TO OTHER USES. A subject takes its meaning from the context in which you put it, so when you change the context, you explore other uses. Ask questions such as: In what other ways could an annual report be used? Are there new ways to use it, as is? Can we make it do more things? Can we find other benefits? Can we modify it in some way to fit a new use? What's being wasted that can be put to use? Are there extensions or spinoffs we could explore?

Confessions of a Public Speaker

Excerpts from the just released "Confessions of a Public Speaker" by Scott Delves...

Mr. Berkun's book is packed with tips on how to reduce anxiety and how to speak in public with greater effectiveness. They range from common sense—arrive early, make sure you have back-up copies of your speech, practice—to more advanced tips on what to do when 10 people show up to hear you in a 1,200-person room (cluster the 10 immediately), how to cut off rambling questions and how to fall silent after making a key point, to give the audience a chance to soak it in.

To be interesting, Mr. Berkun suggests starting with an interesting topic and then taking a firm position, elaborated with clear, specific points. Putting a presentation into Power Point, he advises, should come last, if at all. A common mistake is to begin planning a presentation with slides, hoping that by some organizational magic they will turn chaos into coherence. Coherence and conviction, Mr. Berkun rightly says, are rooted in content rather than in the means by which you deliver it.

One of the key elements in good speech-making is enthusiasm. If you exude energy, your audience will reciprocate. But even peppiness has its dangers. One of the most notorious corporate presentations in recent memory was delivered at a conference by Steve Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft.

So the first thought for anyone scared of public speaking should be this: Take no risks and be boring. The worst you'll do is meet expectations. If you're even mildly interesting, you're a winner. If you're actually engaging, count yourself in the speaker's equivalent of the Billboard top 100.

Transmedia Storytelling

"Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story. So, for example, in The Matrix franchise, key bits of information are conveyed through three live action films, a series of animated shorts, two collections of comic book stories, and several video games. There is no one single source or ur-text where one can turn to gain all of the information needed to comprehend the Matrix universe." - Harry Jenkins Jr, MIT

Ppt360 Advanced

View more presentations from blik mindshare.

Check out the bl!k advanced powerpoint class

Steve Job's Presentation Secrets

Fifteen (!) strategies you can employ now...here are some great ones off the bat...

• Plan in Analog (brainstorm, sketch the story!)
• Focus on benefits
• Create Twitter-friendly headlines
• Introduce the Antagonist (the enemy)
• Create Visual Slides
• Obey the 10 minute rule (people burn out after 10m, take breaks)
• Make numbers meaningful
• Use zippy words
• Share the stage
• Practice. A lot.
• Dress appropriately
• Have fun

How to Pitch a Story

http://www.freep.com/legacy/jobspage/toolkit/pitch.htm

Aziz, this is the right hack for this blog

How To Add The Blogger "Read More" Hack | eBlog Templates

Tips and Tricks to get Creative Juices flowing

Experts discuss tips and tricks to let loose your inner ingenuity...

Some excerpts:

"...There are four different skill sets, or competencies, that I’ve found are essential for creative expression. The first and most important competency is “capturing”—preserving new ideas as they occur to you and doing so without judging them. Your morning pages, Julia, are a perfect example of a capturing technique. There are many ways to capture new ideas....The second competency is called “challenging”—giving ourselves tough problems to solve. In tough situations, multiple behaviors compete with one another, and their interconnections create new behaviors and ideas. The third area is “broadening.” The more diverse your knowledge, the more interesting the interconnections—so you can boost your creativity simply by learning interesting new things. And the last competency is “surrounding,” which has to do with how you manage your physical and social environments. The more interesting and diverse the things and the people around you, the more interesting your own ideas become..." (Epstein)

"...When I do seminars on creativity, I teach stress-management techniques to help people cope with the rejection that goes hand in hand with creativity. You have to learn not to fear failure and even to rejoice in it. When I’m failing, I say to myself, “I’m in good company. I’m in the company of some of the most creative and productive people in the world....In the laboratory, failure also produces a phenomenon called resurgence—the emergence of behaviors that used to be effective in that situation—that leads to a competition among behaviors and to new interconnections. In other words, failure actually stimulates creativity directly. It really is valuable.”

"...[one] example of an exercise I do with people that boosts group creativity is called “the shifting game.” In this exercise, half of my teams stay together for 15 minutes to generate names for a new cola. The other teams work together for five minutes, then shift out of the group to work on the problem individually, then come together for the last five minutes. Even with all the moving around, the shifting teams produce twice as many ideas as the nonshifting ones. This happens, I think, because groups inhibit a lot of creative expression. Dominant people tend to do most of the talking, for one thing. But when people shift, everyone ends up working on the problem."

"One thing I like to do is make all problems open-ended. Never say, give me three ideas for this; always say, give me at least three. When tasks are open-ended, a lot more ideas are generated. I also like to use what I call “ultimate” problems with kids. Those are problems that have no real solutions. Children have great fun with problems like those. Ask them questions like “How could you get a dog to fly?” or “How could you make the sky a different color?” You can also supply your kids with idea boxes and folders—special places for putting drawings and poems and scraps of anything new. That encourages capturing on an ongoing basis and tells children that their new ideas have value."

Unleashing Your Creativity While You're Moonllighting

From the Wall Street Journal (11/3/09)

"It's no secret that job security is a thing of the past. Taking on part-time work—especially in a creative arena you've always wanted to pursue—is one way to earn extra income and begin exploring new work opportunities before it becomes a necessity, says Scott Belsky, CEO and founder of Behance, a New York-based company that develops products and online tools for creative industries.

But fitting this extra work into your schedule takes planning. How to get started:

• Don't duplicate what you already do. If you're working eight-hour days as a programmer for a company you like, taking on the same work outside your full-time job presents not only a possible source of tension for the boss, but also a way to quickly drain your passion for the work.Instead Mr. Belsky suggests taking a stab at a different skill set than the one you use in the office. Instead, put to use skills or interests you've never pursued actively, says Mr. Belsky. For example, if you love to plan family events, consider taking on part-time work as a party planner; if you love illustration or photography, try your hand at free-lancing projects that let you put those skills to use.
• Tell people. If you've got a job on the side, your first instinct may be to keep it hush-hush. But Mr. Belsky says that being open with the boss, particularly when nondisclosure policies require it, will be better for you in the long run. Make sure you emphasize that your part-time commitments won't cut into your daily routine at the office. And get the word out about what you're doing to friends, family and colleagues. Doing so also can help keep you on track with your side work—especially if it is a creative endeavor, says Mr. Belsky. What's more, friends and colleagues might have ideas for you on where to find part-time gigs.
• Set a schedule. Coming home from a long day at the office, it's tempting to head straight for the sofa. Set aside time a few nights a week for your part-time work to help add structure to your schedule. If your job has some flexibility, another way to make more time is asking the boss if you can compress your schedule and work more hours certain days, says Jessica Riester, founder of FlexWork Connection, an Orange County, Calif., recruiting and consulting firm. "If you don't have to be chained to your desk, you can juggle more during business hours," says Ms. Riester.
• Build a brand. Like anyone looking for free-lance work, getting your name out there is an important way to drum up business. But for part-timers with less wherewithal to put toward marketing, creating a Web site with work samples or a portfolio becomes even more important in getting business going. Mr. Belsky suggests setting up a blog, joining LinkedIn groups related to your interest, and using Twitter to get your work noticed by more people. Creating a profile with free-lance job boards like Odesk.com, Guru.com and Elance.com is another way to get your name out.
• Make deadlines. Give yourself until Friday to post photos online, two weeks to get a blog going, a Thursday evening to get in touch with five contacts who can help you find work. Setting short-term goals will help keep you moving when there's no boss telling you want to do next. "We are very hard-wired for this full-time way of life and we have to force ourselves to make the time to do things that are a little unconventional on the side," says Mr. Belsky.
• Keep it simple. If creativity isn't where your part-time pursuits take you, finding part-time work doesn't have to be a major endeavor. It can be as simple as getting a barista gig or doing telemarketing from home, says Ms. Riester. She suggests companies like LiveOps where you can sign up for call-center slots done from home that pay up to $20 an hour."

What we're looking for from Experts

from the WSJ

Economist's Videographics

Excellent animated work from the Economist. They take standard bar charts or maps and animate them while telling complete stories with voiceover.

Very accessible and easy to reproduce.

http://economist.com/videographics

The Value of Visual Thinking

http://www.dachisgroup.com/2009/10/the-value-of-visual-thinking/

"...it doesn’t matter if we’re talking about consumers or employees — attention is becoming scarce. If you want to communicate something, you need to capture attention and communicate your point quickly..."

This is from Digitas' David Armano...he even drops a chinese proverb worth restating...

“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”

Design: Color picker

awesomely easy tool to derive color pallettes

http://colorschemedesigner.com/

virtual mood board

Haw-lin

very cool site which generates lots of images, slightly baffling

Ten Commandments of Mckee

The Ten Commandments of Robert McKee

Rob't McKee on the craft of writing...picked this up while watching Adaptation.

bl!k guiding principles: a work in Progress

1. Answer the key questions first.
2. Work outside of the computer environment.
3. Show don't tell
4. Practice what You Preach
5. Balance Purpose and Flow
6. Use 'We' and less 'I'
7. Have a Singular Message/Common Theme
8. Every story needs Conflict
9. The "theme" is what the audience learns at the end of the story
10. Plot (Conflict Resolution) + Theme (your Idea) delivers the Ultimate Takeaway
11. Every main character has one flaw - understand where the idea could fail
12. Use the inverted pyramid or story structure
13. Get into the action quickly
14. Power of 3's
15. Sameness is the enemy of vitality and creativity
16. You can give humanistic value to almost anything by teaching it historically.
17. It's not about Perfection, it's about Progress.
18. Creativity is a product of your environment. Creativity is a specific performance, done in a particular set of circumstances. It is not something you are or have in measurable quantities.