ReThinking, Innovation, ReInvention Derek Cheshire

Using negativity, especially within the workplace, is something you should try to do.

We all have a few people around us, in our businesses or our circles of friends who are a little bit negative, don't we? I like to call them the Mood Hoovers. Some of them are so bad that they do actually suck the goodness out of you. But they can actually help you without realising it.

Reverse or negative brainstorming is absolutely ideal for this. It can be slotted into short periods of time, such as coffee breaks, train journeys, or whilst you're waiting for somebody.

And if you're bored, you can always let your mind wander a little and venture off into springboards to. Anyway, if you want to use this technique, then simply select an issue or a topic about which you need to generate some ideas. The fact that some of you will be more familiar with the topic than others in the in a group, doesn't really matter at all for this exercise.

Everybody will get benefit from trying out this technique and swapping notes afterwards. The topic you select should be positive and present a possibility.

Who are the successful innovators? In this episode, I talk to the entertaining Samuel West, founder of the Museum of Failure. Apart from having tales of who has failed spectacularly, Samuel West answers the question about who is actually good at innovating.

Some believe that you cannot plan creative activities. Simon Raybould and I take the wonderful topics of chaos and planning and weave them into a conversation. Obviously there's a bit more to it than that, but to get the whole story you will need to listen in.

The very nature of Innovation means that things will look different. Here I discuss the future of work with Scott McArthur. Listen to discover how our businesses might be organised, what skills we might need and which technologies will become dominant. There's more but you need to listen in!

Innovation is great and solves many business issues like surviving and beating the competition. It gets overlooked though because some CEOs see too much pain in the way. What if I could highlight some of the potential issues and then we could solve them together? Wouldn’t that be great?

Are you frustrated by traditional methods of planning or creating 'to do' lists? Maybe you find them too restrictive? Its nice to know what you have to do but sometimes the methods of capturing this information seems a little too rigid. Virtual gardening might be the answer you are looking for!