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Browse every published article connected to Paul Sloane, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
Articles
Browse every published article connected to Paul Sloane, or search within this exact expert archive.
How can you think of things that no-one else thinks of? The answer is by deliberately taking a different approach to the issue from everyone else. There are dominant ideas in every field. The brilliant thinker purposefully challenges those dominant ideas in order to think innovatively. Albert ...
Many people shy away from telling jokes because they once told one that fell flat or they are afraid of appearing silly or of offending someone. Jokes are canned humorous stories which are subtly different from personal anecdotes. With personal anecdotes you have the authority to tell them ...
We live in a world with information overload. We are flooded with data, facts, statistics and information in all forms. Definitive answers to specific questions are immediately available from search engines on the internet. But people want more than facts. They want understanding. They want meaning. They want context. They want stories. Children ask their parents to tell them stories because they like to fit the pieces of the story into a context they can understand. It is the same with adults. Audiences at conferences do not want to be bombarded with data and figures.
We tend to assume that if we work hard and save money then one day we will end up wealthy. This is wishful thinking. We are more likely to end up with some modest but useful savings. If you want to accumulate serious wealth then there a number of approaches you can use and some are much more ...
MBA students are taught to treat business in a rational, scientific way. They analyse situations, develop financial models, critically examine management decisions and logically examine different scenarios. When they emerge from the hallowed halls of academia they are often surprised to find ...
Very few people can claim that they have achieved all that they are capable of. In the Western world most of us do moderately well. We get an education and a succession of jobs; we have some relationships that work; we are well fed; we avoid penury and destitution. We can take comfort in ...
Dear Daughter, You are a wonderful person and your mother and I think the world of you. It will not be long before you leave home to make your way in the world. Can I please give you some friendly advice? Here are some things that I think you should never do. 1. Never Despise Yourself. You ...
Bill Gates recently said, ‘We are in an economic downtu but an innovation upturn.’ Most people are focussing on the downtu and the dangers it poses rather than on the opportunity for innovation. Most businesses are restructuring and streamlining their operations. How can you maximize your ...
Nobody plans to become poor and yet a great many people end up poor. Here are some of the best known ways of ensuring a life of penury: 1. ‘We don’t need no education…’ If you drop out of school or fail to achieve a basic education then you will severely restrict your chances of employment. What is more it is difficult to acquire further skills if you lack the basic ones. However this method does not guarantee poverty as there are some exceptional people who, because of sheer hard work or innate ability, succeed despite little formal education. 2.
Ten Great Ways to boost your Personal Creativity Let’s say you are wrestling with a tough issue – maybe at work, at home, with your children or in your social life. You have been stuck for a while and you can’t seem to make a breakthrough. You want to come up with some really creative ideas. ...
If you are going for an interview as a prospective employee then you should do some research. Read the job description and requirements carefully. Browse the web site to see how the organization presents itself. Search for news items and comments about the company on news sites and blogs. For the interview itself you should dress smartly and appropriately. It is important to have some questions prepared and here are a few that could really help: 1. What exactly would my day-to-day responsibilities be?
You probably shy away from some people on social occasions. Their conversations are tedious. You groan inwardly when they approach for you know that they are unremittingly dull company. Equally you may be fortunate enough to know some brilliant conversationalists who can enliven any ...
Use it to boost your Self-Confidence. Do you ever feel overwhelmed, lethargic or depressed? Most people do from time to time. Here is a simple thing that you can do to reinforce your motivation and self-confidence. Read your book of successes. Of course before you read it you must write it.
How would you describe to a stranger what your organisation does? When you meet someone at a social or networking event and they ask about your company what do you say? Take a moment to write down how you would portray your organisation in one sentence. Many people give very bland statements or quote from their company mission or advertising tag lines. The elevator pitch is a phrase coined to describe the situation where you meet someone important in an elevator and have just the duration of the elevator ride to tell him or her what your business is and why it is special.
If you work in a large organization and are ambitious for career progression then here are a number of things that you can do to assist your journey. 1. Do your job well. I know that this is stating the obvious but it is the starting point. For promotion it is a necessary but not a sufficient requirement that you perform your current duties diligently. Many people think that this is all they need to do and that the rewards, recognition and promotion will follow. Corporate life is not ‘fair’ in this sense. Many people do great work and are passed over.
The CEO of Black and Decker once said, ‘People don’t go into a DIY store because they need one of our drills. They go because they need a hole in the wall.’ Wonderbra in their internal communications to staff say this, ‘We do not sell underwear. We do not sell lingerie. What we sell is self-confidence for women.’ Harley Davidson does not sell motorbikes. It sells the concept of freedom to middle-aged men. What is it that your business really sells? What is the true value that customers get from your products or services?
The brainstorm (or thought shower as some people now call it) is the most popular group creativity exercise in business. It is quick, easy and it works. But many organizations have become frustrated with brainstorms and have stopped using them. They say brainstorms are old-fashioned and no ...
Thinkers relish the challenge and stimulation of brilliant games. They enjoy games for the pure thrill of exercising their minds and judgements in pursuit of victory. You can take pleasure in any number of great games. Here is a selection of recommended pastimes. Add them to your Christmas ...
So you have written a book and had it published. Congratulations. Now you are faced with the challenge of what to do next. Many authors think that marketing is a job for the publisher so they sit back and wait for the royalties to roll in. You might have a very long wait. The market for ...
Every time that we approach a problem, in any walk of life, we bring to bear assumptions that limit our ability to conceive fresh solutions. Our experiences condition us to see any new situation in terms of situations we have seen before. We make assumptions unconsciously and put things into a framework with constraints that limit our thinking. Innovative thinkers are always aware of assumptions and deliberately confront them. There is a story told about a northern pike, a large carnivorous freshwater fish. A pike was put into an aquarium, which had a glass partition dividing it.
Ten great ways to crush creativitynnby Paul Sloane Managers and leaders have much more power than they realize. They can patiently create a climate of creativity or they can crush it in a series of subtle comments and gestures. Their actions send powerful signals. Their responses to ...