creativity Archives - Page 21 of 22

Does Your Business Have a “Hook”?

You’ve got a nice little business with all the things that a nice little business requires: a great product or service, a company web site, maybe even an expensive sales and marketing campaign. The only problem is, you’re not getting the customers. You’ve built it, but they’re not coming. What’s the problem?

You have no hook.

One of the primary reasons for the Beatles’ enduring success is that, above almost anything else, those boys could write a hook! Some little musical idea ...

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7
MAY
2010

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Customer Service, Producing Results, Work Ethic

Beatles, Beatles expert, Bill Stainton, competition, creative ideas, creativity, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, marketing, professional speaker, running a business, running your business, sales, small business, small business success

Stop Lurching Through Your Business!

Posted by: Bill Stainton

As a professional speaker, I get to visit with many different businesses in a cross-section of industries. I’m noticing some trends that I find encouraging—trends that I’ve confirmed with several of my speaker colleagues. Now, I’m not going to sit here and try to convince you that we’re completely out of the economic doldrums. You’re too smart to fall for that (except for you—the guy in the yellow flowered shirt—you’ll believe anything I tell you). But in broad terms, ...

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19
APR
2010

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Leadership, Producing Results, The Beatles, Work Ethic

attitude, Beatles, Beatles expert, Bill Stainton, change, competition, creative ideas, creativity, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership training, leading through change, professional speaker, running a business, running your business, small business, small business success

How To Lead a Creative Team

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I’ve never run a pre-school daycare, but for fifteen years I was the boss of ten multi-Emmy Award winning comedy writers, which amounts to pretty much the same thing. As the Executive Producer of Seattle’s sketch comedy TV show, Almost Live!, it was my job to keep a highly creative team motivated and productive. I learned a lot of things along the way, but primarily I learned that a creative team needs two seemingly incompatible things in order to thrive: ...

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5
JAN
2010

2

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Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams

attitude, Beatles, Beatles expert, Bill Stainton, creative ideas, creativity, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership training, professional speaker, team building, teambuilding, teamwork

Why Most People Miss the Brilliant Idea

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I’m tired of hearing people talk about “quantity vs. quality,” as if the two were mutually exclusive. [You: “Really? You’re tired of that? You’re hearing this conversation so much that you’re actually tired of it? What kind of lame parties are you going to, man? I never hear people talking about ‘quantity vs. quality!'”] Well, perhaps I hang out with a more erudite crowd than you. But the point is this: quantity and quality are not mutually exclusive.

In fact, when ...

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22
DEC
2009

5

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Creativity, Producing Results

Beatles, Beatles expert, Bill Stainton, creative ideas, creativity, innovation, innovative thinking, John Lennon, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership training, Paul McCartney, professional speaker

Why You Need to See Other People

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I think you need to see other people.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with your current relationship, or your current colleagues, or your current friends. I just think you need to see other people. We all do. Because if we keep interacting with the same people—just the same people—we’re going to keep hearing the same points of view, and sameness is the mortal enemy of innovation. Just this morning in Indiana, President Obama said, “The United States led the world’s ...

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5
AUG
2009

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Change, Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles

Beatles, Bill Stainton, creativity, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership training, professional speaker, running a business, running your business, small business, small business success

In Defense of Creativity

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I’m currently developing a keynote presentation and supplementary workshop/breakout session on creativity and innovative thinking, and a friend of mine advised me not to include the word creativity in the title because “creativity isn’t a very in concept.” To which I respond: really? REALLY?

He said I might get somewhere with “innovative thinking,” but nobody’s going to buy a program on “creativity.” Now, bear in mind that my friend isn’t an idiot. (Many of my friends are, but not this particular ...

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28
JUN
2009

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Change, Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles

Beatles, Bill Stainton, change, creative ideas, creativity, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leading through change, professional speaker, teamwork

You Need to Make More Mistakes

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Oscar Peterson was one of the greatest jazz pianists who ever lived. He could find chords on the piano that would just turn your heart inside out, and his blazing speed on the keyboard was legendary. A former piano teacher of his once said, “I don’t think Oscars’ fingers could make a mistake if they had to.” I had the privilege of intervewing Oscar once, and I mentioned this quote from his teacher. He gave me a huge smile and ...

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21
JUN
2009

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Change, Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles

Beatles, Bill Stainton, creative ideas, creativity, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership training, professional speaker

How to Get “Buy-In” for Your Ideas

Posted by: Bill Stainton

For 15 years, I was the producer of a sketch comedy TV show in Seattle. Each week we would have a “pitch meeting,” where we would sit around a table and read our new material, hoping to get it onto the show. Although the ultimate decision was mine, it was actually a pretty democratic process: if we laughed at something, it had a good chance; if we didn’t, it was out. Some pieces were clear winners or losers, but most ...

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9
JUN
2009

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Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams, The Beatles

Beatles, Bill Stainton, buy in, creative ideas, creativity, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership training, making decisions, professional speaker, running a business, running your business, selling ideas, sharing credit, small business, small business success, teamwork

How Much Are Your Blinders Costing You?

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Don’t look now, but you may be going through life with blinders on. Actually, we all are to some extent—some of us more so than others. What do I mean by this? Well, I grew up in Amish country, where horses and buggies are a common sight. Because horses have amazing peripheral vision and are easily distracted, the Amish put blinders on the horses so that they can only see straight ahead. This is a very good thing for a ...

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2
JUN
2009

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Change, Communication, Customer Service, Leadership, Producing Results

Beatles, Bill Stainton, creative ideas, creativity, customer service, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership training, lifelong learning, professional speaker, running a business, running your business, sales, small business, small business success

Don’t Change Your Business; Redefine It

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Last week I was the guest on a radio show—two hours talking about the Beatles, which is heaven for me. One of the things we spent a great deal of time talking about was the Beatles’ incredible growth and evolution from album to album. I mean, in roughly five years these guys went from Please Please Me through Sgt. Pepper and the White album all the way to Abbey Road. That’s a growth curve that’s unprecedented and, so far, unequaled ...

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31
MAY
2009

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Change, Creativity, Producing Results, The Beatles

Beatles, Bill Stainton, branding, change, creative ideas, creativity, customer service, exceeding expectations, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership training, leading through change, professional speaker, running a business, running your business, small business, small business success