A Passion for Diversity
Some people work at their jobs because they have to make a living, and they get to express themselves after work. Some people have careers that they love, and have a hard time not taking home their work with them when they go home. And then there are successful people in the diversity field. They have a passion for diversity and they live their work. Whether or not they take their work home with them, their work is always driven by the values they live every day, an

The Future of Chinese Brands to Come
History is about to repeat itself again and China is coming online and working to out produce the rest of the world and become the leader in many industries. Of course they know, since they have been studying our methods of commerce that they need to develop their products and develop their brands.In doing so we will be buying their brand names soon. Ah ha you are doubting what I am saying? Well, that is silly, because just look at all the Japanese Brands tha

America's Great Advantage Creating Divergent Industries
The American economy is the growth engine of the industrial world and will continue to be so, as long a steady stream of innovative, divergent products is successfully created. The history of capitalism is replete with cycles of unique, needed advances that exponentially expand the economic base and evolve into completely new industry categories. No country comes close to America in dynamism, creativity and energy in pursuing cutting edge new growth opportunities.sors like anxiety and fatigue lower performance.

An article titled “Who Needs Nature?” describes the “free-range expeditions of discovery” experienced by those of us who, growing up in a different time, spent hours of unstructured and unsupervised time “messing around” outside as kids.(1) Beyond lamenting the loss of the archetypal American childhood, the article serves as a reminder that “messing around” is a crucial part of innovation, and has its place in the adult landscape of work.

Writing about insight in his book, Scientific Methods, Richard Jarrard explains that, “…the combination of mental relaxation with either physical relaxation or mild exercise…” creates the conditions that are conducive to insight.(2) We’ve all experienced this phenomenon when the answer to a problem suddenly pops into our minds as we’re driving to the store, gardening, or otherwise distracted from thinking about it. Conversely, “I have seen anxiety … cut worker productivity by about 50% and cut discoveries by nearly 100%...” Jarrard continues. (3)

Ensuring that you and your employees have some time to mess around with what ifs and why nots, without pressure to produce results, is a prerequisite for creating a culture that fosters innovation. So is making your work environment conducive to insight. For instance, are employees encouraged to use all of their vacation time and to take it without checking email? Do people take a break at lunchtime and eat away f

e serves as a reminder that “messing around” is a crucial part of innovation, and has its place in the adult landscape of work.

Writing about insight in his book, Scientific Methods, Richard Jarrard explains that, “…the combination of mental relaxation with either physical relaxation or mild exercise…” creates the conditions that are conducive to insight.(2) We’ve all experienced this phenomenon when the answer to a problem suddenly pops into our minds as we’re driving to the store, gardening, or otherwise distracted from thinking about it. Conversely, “I have seen anxiety … cut worker productivity by about 50% and cut discoveries by nearly 100%...” Jarrard continues. (3)

Ensuring that you and your employees have some time to mess around with what ifs and why nots, without pressure to produce results, is a prerequisite for creating a culture that fosters innovation. So is making your work environment conducive to insight. For instance, are employees encouraged to use all of their vacation time and to take it without checking email? Do people take a break at lunchtime and eat away f

ve all experienced this phenomenon when the answer to a problem suddenly pops into our minds as we’re driving to the store, gardening, or otherwise distracted from thinking about it. Conversely, “I have seen anxiety … cut worker productivity by about 50% and cut discoveries by nearly 100%...” Jarrard continues. (3)

Ensuring that you and your employees have some time to mess around with what ifs and why nots, without pressure to produce results, is a prerequisite for creating a culture that fosters innovation. So is making your work environment conducive to insight. For instance, are employees encouraged to use all of their vacation time and to take it without checking email? Do people take a break at lunchtime and eat away f

time to mess around with what ifs and why nots, without pressure to produce results, is a prerequisite for creating a culture that fosters innovation. So is making your work environment conducive to insight. For instance, are employees encouraged to use all of their vacation time and to take it without checking email? Do people take a break at lunchtime and eat away from their desks? Is your organization “right-sized” in terms of staffing, so that people have enough, but not too much to do?

Frenzied schedules fueled by adrenaline inhibit creativity,(4) and while the above suggestions are simple, they can have a profound affect on people’s ability to think outside the box. Here are some additional tips to keep the inventive ideas coming:

● Keep your options open. Instead of choosing between two solutions, think about how you can have both. One trick is to use “and” instead of “or,” asking, for example, “How can we lower marketing costs and generate more leads for the sales team?”

● Save the analysis for another day. Limit your brainstorming meeting to just that – the rapid generation of good, bad, and crazy ideas. Debating the merits of each one as it’s presented slows down the process, and may result in some inspired ideas never making it to the table.

● Don’t assume that silence means agreement. People may not feel confident expressing opposing viewpoints, particularly if they contradict those of a senior manager. Ask people what they like and don’t like about an idea.

● If it didn’t work in the past, don’t assume it won’t work now. Remember that market conditions, technology, and customer appetites change, so don’t be afraid to revisit ideas that may have been ahead of their time.

1 Who Needs Nature? By Chris Leahy and Gerard A. Bertrand, Connections,