Archive for April, 2010

Mastering Skills

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Watching the Masters golf over the weekend, and putting aside the Tiger Woods controversy, I was fascinated with the precision of the player’s shots.  When going for the hole, they are hitting the ball the length of a football pitch or further, AND getting within inches of their target.  This is a very visual demonstration of the application of skill.

So what is skill? One excellent definition is:  “the learned ability to consistently bring about a pre-determined result”

Implanting this definition into the business world and thinking about Indigo’s range of training workshops, I want to focus you on the key words in this sentence:

  1. LEARNED – Yes there is natural talent at play, but you acquire new skills by breaking down the sets of behaviours that make up that skill and learning how to apply it for yourself. Have you seen a great communicator or creative person at work and thought – how can I learn to be like that?
  2. CONSISTENTLY – At the heart of consistency is practice. Without it, you will never be able to re-produce your best on a regular basis. When you have your moments of brilliance are you ever left asking – why can’t I do that all of the time?
  3. PRE-DETERMINED – Luck… there is only one type when it comes to skill – Labour Under Correct Knowledge. When was the last time you got asked a question and wish you were better prepared to respond with more precision and persuasion?

Indigo’s workshops are extremely practical and based on years of combined Business Leader experience. They help you master the skills of:

  • Creativity – have ideas “on demand” that solve your personal and business problems and help you generate new opportunities.
  • Communication – deliver precise, powerful and persuasive business communication that gets your message heard.
  • Project delivery – get things outside your normal day job done. The successful delivery of projects gets you noticed and is often a fast-track to career success.

Call a member of the Indigo team now to hear how you can master these skills for career progression and recognition.

Tel: +44(0) 20 7924 8760, or e-mail info@indigobusiness.co.uk

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Posted in Communication, Creative Thinking, Edward de Bono, Project and Programme Management | No Comments »

Indigo Assessment Newsletter Service - sign up for free updates….

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

 

We are thrilled that, after much interested in our new service www.indigoassessment.co.uk, we now have a dedicated free newsletter for this arm of the business.

Please join up and choose your area of interest at http://bit.ly/d1Ov7i

See our full range of services and new training workshops at http://indigoassessment.co.uk/training.html

Regards,

Daniel Redland, Assessment Services Director

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Lean thinking and creative thinking comes to life with Simplicity

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Leaders in the public and private sector are being driven to do more with less. On the surface this does not seem to be rational. Surely the best we can hope for is doing the same with less?

Since its introduction in Japan, lean production has been proven to work time and time again. Lean principles are extremely valuable, and can help you do the same with less. But a more modern take on this approach is to adopt creative thinking and lean thinking at the same time.

Dr de Bono’s Simplicity methods allow you to capitalise on cost saving, and also apply the Lateral Thinking™ techniques for serious, well planned and expertly delivered creative thinking.

It is important for all organisations to revisit their core purpose – the reason for their existence. Using Simplicity™, you can then focus on how you add-value, where you add-value and when you add-value to your customers.

During the training workshop, the 10 Rules For Simplicity are drilled home. My two favourite Rules For Simplicity are:

1. Know for whose benefit simplicity is being designed

Is the simpler process going to benefit the system or the operator of the system? How are all the different parties going to benefit from the simplicity? Simplicity for one party may mean complexity and cost for another.

2. Design simplicity using alternatives and possibilities.

By itself analysis can help toward simplicity but is not enough. Analysis can help shed unnecessary features but cannot, by itself, generate new designs. Alternatives and possibilities need to be generated with creativity – and can then be assessed.

Learn how to truly do more with less.

Call Indigo now to bring Simplicity to life.

James (Arnum-White). 020 7924 8760

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