Creativity Challenge 2002

Alan's Creativity Challenges 2003-38

From Silly to Serious to Success

In two weeks I will be with two American friends, also long-time CPSI faculty,
in Zimbabwee visiting famous Victoria Falls. A few days after that we will be in

South Africa outside of Warmsbad at Kobus Neethling's Place. Kobus is a
very good friend of ours who has applied creativity extensively as a consultant
throughout South Africa. At the 9th African Creativity Conference that Kobus
founded and continues to direct I will be presenting two sessions. One of
them deals with this week's challenge I am offering you:

From Silly to Serious to Success

Program Introduction for the SA participants......

Too often we start from serious to be success. We
need to start from silly or even insane to reach a
more creative level of seriousness that we can turn
into success. This session has been designed to
expand your imagination, increase your abilities to
generate totally new ideas and enrich your skills to
helping teams to large groups generate more ideas
faster in your organization. The session will begin
quickly and then get faster as we experiment and
explore with techniques for sparking instant
creativeness.

This week designate part of your day to being "silly" to help discover and
create new ideas.

MONDAY
Go down memory lane and recall times when you have done "silly things"
from the earliest memories you have to yesterday. In your imagination recall
those experiences in as much detail as you can and write them down.

TUESDAY
In a meeting or a classroom today spend some time being just silly. Blow up
balloons and have a multi-balloon volleyball game with the purpose just to
keep all the balloons in the air at the same time for as long as you can. Take
notes in crayon. Fingerpaint. Sing camp songs for 5 to 10 minutes that you
can remember. What are some other "silly" things you have done or could
do?

WEDNESDAY
Go visit a kindergarten classroom or a nursery/day school and play with the
children. Go play with your own children or some friend's or neighbor's
children. Tickle each other. Make faces.

THURSDAY
Lead a "silly walk" contest (thank you John Cleese and Monty Python) during
the day for 20 to 30 minutes. Start with individuals doing "silly walks". Then

challenges teams of 3 to 5 to create and demonstrate "silly walks"

FRIDAY
Watch some young children television shows and do what they are doing.

The goal is to have fun, to relax, to remove barriers, to stop "can't-ing", to
eliminate "shoulda, coulda, oughta, gotta, musta, mighta" thinking for at least
from 10 to 30 to 60 minutes to spark your creativeness.

Have a creatively great week.

Alan

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