What is a course correction?  When a spacecraft gets off of its trajectory, or path through space, it must be put back on the right path. The location of the spacecraft is determined and its course vector (the speed and direction of its flight) is calculated. This is compared with the path it should be on. A new vector is computed that will put it back on course. The ship’s attitude thrusters aim the ship and the main thruster pushes it along the path. (Source)

As we entered 2010 I hope that many of you created some goals for yourself with respect to your creativity.  Perhaps you wanted to learn a new skill.  You began to plan that art retreat.  You bought a new camera with the goal of weekly photo outings.  You resolved to set aside two hours a week for your writing.

Today is the Summer Solstice.  Those of us in the northern hemisphere officially entered summer.  This is a wonderful time for you to take stock of the year so far.  Between now and the end of the month I encourage you to set aside some time to review your personal and professional goals, especially with respect to your creativity. Ask yourself questions like:

• What is working well with respect to my creative goals?
• Where am I getting support?
• Can I amplify support?
• What important goals do I still want to include in the year?
• What might get in my way?
• What one small thing I could do to lower the obstacles?
• What’s one easy thing I could do for myself this week?

If you are pleased with your progress, Bravo!!!  You may only need a tiny course correction.  You may feel like you can add some more fuel for greater progress.

If you’d like a kick-start or some temporary support for your creative work you might consider a sample coaching experience to get clarity or encouragement.  You might find the formal structure of a workshop gets you out the door.  You may benefit from a commitment to a buddy for monthly creative-time.

Wherever you are in your “path through space” a course correction will certainly move you closer to your destination.

To infinity and beyond!!!

But I get weary of the awkward recitations of a persona’s credentials.  Where you went to school…the amazing positions…or, the worst, Two Truths and a Lie.

The next time you’re connecting with a team suggest the alternative resume as a beginning exercise.

The Alternative Resume

Not only is it a more intriguing way to enter into a new connection with a colleague.  It’s also a fascinating exercise to do.  Whittling down to the essential adjectives is thought-provoking.

The most exciting part of the study for me was this:

About 60% of CEOs polled cited creativity as the most important leadership quality, compared with 52% for integrity and 35% for global thinking. Creative leaders are also more prepared to break with the status quo of industry, enterprise and revenue models, and they are 81% more likely to rate innovation as a “crucial capability.”    (source: Fast Company)

That’s right.  Sixty percent of the CEOs surveyed felt CREATIVITY is a crucial skill.  Leadership is not all about operational excellence and squeezing the budget.  It’s more about creative problem-solving.  Leadership is about challenging the status quo.  It’s about doing the creative thinking to innovate.

The challenges of leadership today, and, especially, in the future REQUIRE creativity.

So what might that suggest?  I can think of a few things:

• Assess the composition and creative strengths of your leaders and leaders-to-be.
• Invest in development that builds 1) capacity to do collaborative creating (versus competing and evaluating) and 2) skills to use tools and techniques beyond brainstorming
• Reward creativity (as uncomfortable as that might be when compared to compliance)
• Assess your culture for how well it supports creativity

Even if you’re not all convinced we can well imagine that CEOs are looking ahead.  The fact that they recognize the value of creativity is good news for us all.

You can read a summary of the report in Fast Company.  You can access the entire report here.

Foment the Revolution.

I want this in MY town!

Have fun!

Here is Sir Ken is concern: schools today are over-focused on a narrow definition of intelligence.  Standardized tests determine everything from school funding to who gets into elite programs and colleges.  Perhaps you’ve read A Whole New Mind or Five Minds for the Future.  Perhaps you believe that employers are seeking creativity, the ability to solve complex problems and do more than simply provide the ‘right’ answer.

The world needs flexible, generative minds alongside the analytical, logical minds.  And our curricula and assessments do not reflect that, sadly.

For many years my Element has been dance.  For many years I studied ballet (and tap, and jazz and even baton twirling!).  When I studied dance technique I was definitely not in Flow.  It was painstaking learning.  But eventually, I got better and became a trained dancer.  I haven’t performed in years but I still seek opportunities to dance.  I do lose track of time and enter ‘single-minded immersion’.   What a gift to have found something for which I had some aptitude and loved so much.  I also believe that my training in the arts prepared me to make a broader contribution professionally.  I studied math and science.  I took ballet lessons.  Both improved my brain.

What is your Element?  What have you pursued with passion and aptitude?  If it’s been a long time since you’ve found yourself in Flow may I suggest that you find a way to get back to what you love?  You and the world will be better for it.

I treated myself to a day of rest over the weekend and I was astonished at how often I reflexively headed for my computer.  Without it I was a little lost.  But then I took the dog for a leisurely walk.  And then I did some writing.  And then I did a lot of reading.  It was nice, all that space.

OK, I admit that by the evening I did have to indulge in some technology via Netflix.  Still, I went to bed early and slept well.  And the next day I did notice a lot of energy to dig into my more unformed work.

And, if you absolutely don’t have time to take a Day of Rest…well, then you really, really need it.  Here are a couple of strategies:

• Plan a trip and then cancel it at the last minute.  I hadn’t planned on canceling my most recent trip.  But once I did I had this empty calendar.  Days of unscheduled time!  What a luxury!
• Choose a day three or four weeks out and put it on the calendar.  Get your people to support you in this.  Then, escape the house and office.  Then do it twice a month, then three times a month.  Then every week.

Trust me, if you are a working professional you will feel lost.  But then your brain will begin to occupy itself in different ways.

Let me know what happens…

So, this week, on my second round of antibiotics and hopped up on vicodin for cough suppression (whee!), I am pondering the gifts of inaction.  What am I to learn here?

Fallow Time

Farmers let their fields rest.  My body has enforced rest upon me.  I don’t think I was stressed or burning the candle at both ends.  Still, my life is FULL.  I like to take big, gobbling bites of life and maybe it’s time to slow down and pare the To-Do list a little.  I feel completely guilty watching multiple versions of Jane Eyre.  I am catching up on TV via Hulu in my sickbed.  Modern Family had me laughing aloud (again, love the vicodin).  I feel better when I rest.

The Essence

I have had to cancel things left and right.  Some wonderful events I could not attend.  Others have been pushed out.  The only thing I am doing this entire week is showing up at family Easter dinner.  What’s most important rises easily to the top when choices are narrowed.

Incubation

Hours in bed, wandering around in my head, is giving me time to ponder.   I am making notes in my journal about my delayed plans.  The Incubation process is a well-documented aspect of the creative process.  My dreams are gaining momentum with the forced stillness.

Reflection

I have also taken my own advice to reflect on the first quarter of the year and ask big and small questions: What have I harvested and what do I still want to accomplish in 2010? Here are a few of the things that popped to the top of the Harvest list:

• Fed kangaroos and petted a koala in Australia!

• Managed to sustain the first three months of weekly newsletters.  The public commitment compelled me and, what do you know? I LOVE writing it.

• Initiated external work on our home.  We have a new roof and the primer paint is going up!

• Made a really cool travel journal (a la Mary Ann Moss)

Meanwhile, I leave for Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.  Oh La!  Living La Vida Loca….

I am engaging in balance myself.   I will be on vacation until March 2nd.