Creativity Archives - Page 4 of 16

Are You Missing Out On the Most Important Business Tool?

Quick Quiz: What do the following have in common?

The iPhone
The Tesla Model S
Spanx
The self-cleaning litter box
The Sputnik 1 satellite

Answer: They were all the product of a creative idea. As was every single other breakthrough that made a million dollars, cured a disease, or changed the world.

They all came from a creative idea.

Every company that exists—or that ever existed—originated with a creative idea.

Every billionaire on the Forbes 400 list is there because of a creative idea. (Sometimes that creative ...

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5
APR
2017

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Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, Bill Stainton, business communication, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership speaker, leadership training, making decisions, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, running a business, running your business, sales, small business, small business success, success, team building, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader, work ethic

TED Talk Secrets That Will Make You a Superior Leader

Posted by: Bill Stainton

A little over a week ago, I was on a stage in Vancouver, BC, giving a TEDx talk about creativity to 2,700 people. The video will soon be available online, where it could be seen by (fingers crossed!) millions.

The road to a TEDx talk—whether it’s seen by millions or just dozens—is a long one. At this point, of course, I don’t know whether my talk will hit millions of views, dozens, or somewhere in between. But I do know two ...

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15
MAR
2017

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Change, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

Where to Find the Idea That Will Make You Rich

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I can’t tell you what your next million-dollar idea will be—but I can tell you, with near 100% certainty, where you’re going to find it. And it probably won’t be where you think.

In order to understand this, you have to understand what creativity is—and what it isn’t. Because **your next million-dollar idea will be, by definition, a creative idea**. And creativity, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t come from nowhere.

Creativity is not the “lightning bolt” that comes out of the blue. ...

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1
MAR
2017

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Change, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

Did You Know That Mowing the Lawn Can Lead to a Cure for Cancer?

Posted by: Bill Stainton

If you’re wondering why your team doesn’t seem to be engaged in their work (which, according to Gallup, describes 68% of the American workforce), it may be because they just don’t give a crap about their jobs.

And that’s partly on you.

Among the needs that virtually all of us share is the need for purpose. We all like to feel like we’re a part of something bigger. And, sadly, many leaders do an absolutely terrible job of helping their ...

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30
NOV
2016

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Communication, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

Want Better Ideas? Then Stop Brainstorming!

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I used to be a fan of brainstorming. What could be better for generating ideas than gathering your team around a table, presenting the challenge, and then letting the ideas flow! No bad ideas here! Just open the mental floodgates and let the brilliance pour out! Each idea sparking another, and another! Sounds perfect, doesn’t it?

Except it doesn’t work.

Brainstorming—despite the positive press it’s gotten, and still gets—doesn’t work. Why? Two words: human nature.

As humans (sorry puppies, I’m speaking ...

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23
NOV
2016

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Communication, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

Stop Treating Creativity as an Option

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Turning creativity into money.

That’s how I sometimes described my job as the Executive Producer of a hit comedy TV show in Seattle.

Turning creativity into money.

See, our job, week after week, was to be creative—on demand. BUT, that creativity had to lead to profit. If what we created—jokes, comedy sketches, parodies—didn’t draw an audience that advertisers would pay to reach, our creativity would have gone nowhere (and our careers would have quickly followed). But we did draw that audience, ...

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9
NOV
2016

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Communication, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results, Sales, Teams

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, thought leader

Why Coming Up With a Great Idea is Worthless

Posted by: Bill Stainton

“I hate coming up with a great sketch idea.”

That’s what Bob Nelson told me when he was one of the writers on Almost Live!, the comedy TV show that I executive produced in Seattle for 15 years. (For the record, Bob Nelson went on to earn a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination for the movie Nebraska.)

“I hate coming up with a great sketch idea.”

Now, why would he say something like that?

Because coming up with the idea is the fun part. ...

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5
OCT
2016

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Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, thought leader

Stop Whining About “Change”!

Posted by: Bill Stainton

As I look out my office window, I see the leaves on the trees are starting to change color. Believe it or not, I’m not shocked by this. Nor am I wailing about the fact that the temperature is dropping and that dusk is coming earlier than it did a month ago.

Am I superhuman? Perhaps, but not because of this. The simple truth is that, if you’ve been alive on the planet (Earth) for more than a few ...

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28
SEP
2016

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Change, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, thought leader

Profitable Creativity May Be Closer Than You Think!

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Would you like to find a creative solution to your current challenge du jour? It may be as close as the morning newspaper. (Note to younger readers: the “morning newspaper” used to be an actual thing. It was truly a marvelous invention. It appeared magically on your doorstep, required no scrolling, and never needed to be recharged.)

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21
SEP
2016

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Communication, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results, Sales

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, thought leader

What’s Going to Move Your Needle?

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Options, options, too many options!

Don’t you feel like that sometimes?

· Which of these hundred mayonnaises should I buy?

· Which of these hundred TV series should I Netflix?

· Which of these hundred Kardashians should I ignore?

For those of us fortunate enough to live in the developed world, we’re faced with a mind-boggling number of options every day. But, for the moment, let’s leave mayonnaise, Netflix, and the Kardashians out of it.

Let’s just focus on business.

Whether you’re a solopreneur, a ...

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14
SEP
2016

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Change, Communication, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, team building, teambuilding, teamwork, thought leader

They all came from a creative idea.

In order to understand this, you have to understand what creativity is—and what it isn’t. Because your next million-dollar idea will be, by definition, a creative idea. And creativity, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t come from nowhere.

In order to understand this, you have to understand what creativity is—and what it isn’t. Because **your next million-dollar idea will be, by definition, a creative idea**. And creativity, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t come from nowhere.