Creative Problem Solving Workshop

Description

"I'm not that creative." or "Our team doesn't have any really new ideas." or "We brainstorm ideas, but nothing ever really happens." Sound familiar? Organizations teach their teams how to fill out expense accounts, use software, complete employee reviews, and conduct interviews. They can learn about six sigma, quality management, ISO, and regulatory compliance. Yet relatively few, if any, of them have had the opportunity to learn about how to use their creativity. This program will show you how to begin that process. The program focuses on understanding how we create new and useful ideas and innovate to bring them to life. "Create" includes both thinking and doing. "Innovate" requires multiple, diverse creative actions that result in a novel and useful product or service. Can we be deliberately creative and become more innovative in the process? You bet. The program will show you how by covering the creative problem solving process and individual creativity preferences that affect how well you and your team can innovate. You will learn the basics of how to work and coach others to be more effective at developing and implementing new ideas. Key Benefits/Learning Objectives: •Develop insight into creativity and its effect on how we innovate new products/services.• Gain an understanding of the elements of creative problem solving (CPS). • Learn tools that can be used to enhance individual and group problem solving • Get an introduction to individual creativity preferences and how they fit in the CPS process • Learn how preferences can affect team dynamics • Develop strategies to work more effectively in both individual and team problem solving • Bring home tools to help you solve problems more creatively in less time Program Features • Interactive session with activities, one-to-one discussions, self-assessments and enjoyable introductions to problem solving tools . • An introduction to facilitating problem solving sessions • Opportunities to work with tools including brainstorming, open-ended questioning, improv tools and idea evaluation methods. Who Should Attend? Organizational leaders who want to understand how to improve their own problem solving abilities and those of their teams. This program will give you an overview of the field that can allow you to begin to make change in your work (and life) and the work of your organization. It is an excellent place to start the path to more innovative products and services for your organization. Facilitator : Steve Hammond, M.S., MBA trains, facilitates and coaches innovative business teams in his consulting practice. He currently teaches at Illinois Institute of Technology in Design, Business and Interdisciplinary Programs. Working at the intersection of creativity, design and strategy, he challenges clients to re-frame problems and develop innovative solutions. Steve has 30+ years with businesses ranging from industrial to healthcare giving him a wealth of practical experience with strategy and innovation. He has held senior positions at EquiTrust Life, Walgreens, Zurich Financial, Novartis and Honeywell. He holds a BA in Chemistry from Colgate University, an MBA from Cornell University and an M.S. in Creativity Studies from Buffalo State College, the birthplace of creative problem solving.