Month: August 2012

Breakthrough Creativity

WISE TALK August 2012: Sue Bethanis talks with tech entrepreneur and bestselling author Josh Linkner on how to drive breakthrough creativity in business and individual success.

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August 24th, 2012|Categories: Wise Talk Teleconference|

Ask Mariposa: How to Bridge the Generational Gap

Sean asked:

Our corporation is having internal issues relating to generational differences between our leadership and our creators/engineers/designers – how can we help bridge generational gaps within our company?

Anne Loehr, Senior Leadership Consultant responded:

Each generation was shaped by political, technological and societal events that occurred during the group’s formative years. As a result, each generation has its own language, values and way of doing business. This is important to remember because sometimes people take differences very personally, rather than just saying “Oh, she’s doing the Gen X thing.” So the best way to bridge the gap is to get to know the person you’re working with-ask them about themselves, learn what influenced their lifestyle and belief system. Then share about yourself and find common ground to work from. It’ll soon become “we” instead of “us vs them”.

Share your thoughts on this response in the comments section below, and ask us anything here: http://blog.mariposaleadership.com/ask-mariposa/

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August 23rd, 2012|Categories: Ask Mariposa, Coaching Skills, HR / Talent Management, Influencing Skills|Tags: ask mariposa, coaching, generational gap, HR Leadership, leadership, Mariposa Leadership|

August 21, 2012 / Articles We Like / HR / Talent Management

Great Leaders

Many people are leaders. Many hold the personality traits we attribute to someone who leads instead of follows, and yet, what makes a truly GREAT LEADER? This definition has grown and shifted immensely in the business world in the last ten years, and is continually changing in the face of a increasingly interconnected world.

As with all things, context is key, but these key questions can generally guide us in an exploration of what it means to be an excellent leader. Is is modesty and humbleness, like a study from the University of Buffalo suggested to us earlier this year? Or is it emotional resilience, ability to adapt, self-awareness, or confidence as The Telegraph stated in this article on leadership?

Is there one particularly strong trait that we see over and over again that no great leader lacks, or is it a combination of many?

Think back to a particularly influential “leader” in your life. What traits did they carry, how did they move, speak, act? Share with us some of your experiences and perceptions about leadership and what makes a leader GREAT, instead of average, or just good.

How can we change our behavior to either better support someone to greatness, or optimize our effectiveness as already functioning leaders?

Please, share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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August 21st, 2012|Categories: Articles We Like, HR / Talent Management|Tags: coaching, discussion, effective leadership, executive coaching, HR Leadership, Mariposa Leadership, personality|

August Wise Talk Recap with Sue

Click here for the full audio recording on Breakthrough Creativity with @JoshLinkner and @SueBethanis.

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August 21st, 2012|Categories: Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation, Wise Talk|Tags: sue bethanis, wise talk|

On "5 Ways to Kill a Brainstorm"

This post summarizes an article written by our August Wise Talk guest, Josh Linkner. This article is titled “5 Way to Kill a Brainstorming Session” and was published on October 5th, 2011. It can be found here.

As we move through each “way” to kill a brainstorming session, please post your thoughts/comments/reflections on Linkner’s process in the comments section below.

Linkner starts by remarking that the corporate culture around brainstorming is one of “shooting

[ideas] down as fast as they come.” He then goes on to outline the five fastest and easiest ways to kill a brainstorming session, and therefore the creativity and culture of innovation within a team or corporation.

This five ways are:

1. Passing judgement or commenting.

2. Tidying up or compartmentalizing a comment out loud.

3. Thinking ahead – how would we execute it, what are the other factors that contribute to its possible success, etc.

4. Worrying.

5. Wandering away from the topics strictly at hand being discussed at that moment.

Do you recognize any of these behaviors in your team? How or when have these behaviors occurred, and in what way did they manifest?

If so, share with our community on how you either combat or work through these behaviors to keep the team dynamic active and healthy, as well as creative.

Still unsure how to move forward? Share these thoughts and concerns on coaching and leadership specifically by posting an Ask Mariposa question.

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August 20th, 2012|Categories: Articles We Like, Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation, Wise Talk|Tags: brainstorming, coaching, Josh Linkner, leadership, Mariposa Leadership, wise talk|

Wise Talk Announcement: Today with Josh Linkner

Join us on our next Wise Talk on Monday, August 20 from 1-2pm PT (TODAY) as Sue talks with tech entrepreneur and bestselling author Josh Linkner on how to drive breakthrough creativity in business and individual success.

Josh Linkner is a successful four-time tech entrepreneur and the founder, chairman and former CEO of the largest interactive promotion agency in the world, ePrize. He is a New York Times bestselling author of two books, with his most recent book, Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity, named one of the top 10 business books of 2011.

Recently, Josh launched his fifth company, the venture capital firm Detroit Venture Partners. Josh is also Adjunct Professor of Applied Creativity at the University of Michigan. He has been honored as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, the Detroit News Michiganian of the Year, and is a President Barack Obama Champion of Change award recipient. Josh is a regular columnist for Fast Company and Inc. Magazine, and his work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, and The New York Times. Josh earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising from the University of Florida. He is an accomplished and well-respected jazz musician, regularly performing in jazz clubs throughout the United States and Canada.

Please RSVP asap to allison@mariposaleadership.com to reserve your spot.

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August 20th, 2012|Categories: Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation, News, Wise Talk|Tags: Josh Linkner, Mariposa Leadership, news, press, wise talk|

Q&A with Javy Galindo on the Power of Thinking Differently

Listen to these audio snippets of last month’s July 25th Wise Talk, where professional creativity speaker and thinker, Javy Galindo, answers when Mariposa Leadership’s CEO, Sue Bethanis, asks. Topics are on various aspects of creativity and specifically, creativity in business.

Listen here for Galindo’s elegant juxtaposition of the entrepreneur and the artist, and the ways in which each of them are creative, as well as why it is applicable to business, and life.

listen to ‘Wise Talk Javy Galindo on Creativty’ on Audioboo

Listen here for discussion on relationship building and working in groups, and how this to connects to creativity in the workplace.

listen to ‘Wise Talk Javy Galindo on Working w/ Groups’ on Audioboo

Click here to hear the whole discussion between Javy Galindo and Mariposa Leeadership’s CEO, Sue Bethanis.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container] MORE

August 9th, 2012|Categories: Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation, Wise Talk|Tags: brainstorming, coaching, creativity, creativity in business, discussion, innovation, javy galindo, Mariposa Leadership, sue bethanis, wise talk|

Book Review: Disciplined Dreaming

Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity
By: Josh Linkner

Head: (4.5 of 5)
Heart: (4.5 of 5)
Leadership Applicability: (4.5 of 5)

Josh Linkner’s book, Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity is best described as a business approach to creativity. In a time where a corporation’s life span is dependent upon its ability to innovate and grow in rapidly moving markets, Linkner’s book presents a refreshingly simple method by which to imbed creativity into even the most traditional business environments.

Linkner understands that creativity in the workplace is “easier said than done,” and explains clearly how to use his book for either large organizational changes within a company, or smaller more incremental steps within a department or team.

By the end of this book, you will learn ways to generate profitable new ideas quickly and easily, empower employees to tap more fully into their own creative energy, and to use creativity to sustain a competitive advantage in the long run. Buy it.

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August 4th, 2012|Categories: Book Reviews, Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation|Tags: creativity, creativity in business, design thinking, Josh Linkner|