Innovation by the Millions

I know that I've been quiet over the past week or so. There were many things to do and only a limited time to accomplish them. So I had to take a short break from blogging. But, that doesn't mean I forgot. Did you read the article in Business Week about innovation. "How the Masses Will Innovate" stresses the importance of creativity and predicts where innovation will come from. Because of technological advances, kids will modify how they attend school...even how they learn. There will be millions of people using simple programs to creative art and music and many other wonderful things. All I really need to do is watch my own son and his abilities on the computer to understand how our quickly our teenagers are adapting to new technology and transforming how it's utilized.

Michael T. Bauer
http://www.creativeleading.com

An Innovative Washing Machine?

I just finished reading a facinating case study in Business Week. It tells the story about innovation at Whirlpool...you know the washing machine people. The article describes their innovation initiative- their successes, mistakes, and the future of innovation at Whirlpool. The article is worth the time to read because it gives some insight as to how creativity and innovation is nurtured at a very large corporation. The trick is to find ways to bring it down to small to midsize businesses too.

Michael T. Bauer
http://www.creativeleading.com

A Spiritual Cleansing

It is simply amazing when and where one finds moments of creative energy. This evening I spent time at a Catholic Lenten Mission in my hometown with my family. It was a time to open my heart and explore this time of the year. The presenter, Jeanne Cotter, was outstanding at mixing stories, theology, and her music. The evening was focused on many important themes, but what stood out for me was the importance of letting go of hurts. Hurts refers to feelings that keep us blocked from doing our best work. As a therapist, I call these patterns nonrational behaviors. It was good to be reminded in a spiritual context that these nonrational behaviors also prevent someone from seeking a closer relationship with GOD. It gave me the opportunity to question some of my behaviors and ask myself, "how do these behaviors keep me from really being creative? Do they limit me in anyway?" A very important exercise for all of us to go through.

Michael T. Bauer
http://www.creativeleading.com

Difficulties of Acquiring Talented Employees

I recently read an interesting report developed by the HR consulting firm Hewitt Associates. Hewitt Associates surveyed senior HR professionals at over 130 firms how they believe current developments will affect the workplace. These developments included economic and technological developments, as well as demographics and other areas.

Their findings suggest that HR professionals need to search for creative approaches to acquiring talent in order to really stay ahead of their competition. One of the findings suggested that 60% of the companies in the survey were experiencing significant difficulties in recuitment from traditional employement sources. And almost all of those surveyed stated that they believe the problems will get worse.

So it appears that one solution to this "talent acquisition" problem is to identify and develop the talents that are already within organizations.

You can read more by downloading the report HERE.

Michael T. Bauer
http://www.creativeleading.com