creatorbase

Cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence

Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance. 

A visionary cultural leader, Sir Ken led the British government's 1998 advisory committee on creative and cultural education, a massive inquiry into the significance of creativity in the educational system and the economy, and was knighted in 2003 for his achievements. His latest book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, a deep look at human creativity and education, was published in January 2009.

In this poignant, humorous follow-up to his fabled 2006 Ted Talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning -- creating conditions where kids' natural talents can flourish; this video clip is just under 17 minutes and worth the time to watch and share:

What do you think about this topic? 

April foolin

Did April just fly by or is my imagination playing tricks? This has been an interesting month with a number of business and personal activities that have been keeping me very busy. How about you?

A recent trip to Captiva for the Email Insider Summit was highly productive and enjoyable. Here's the highlights post including video from a great conversation with Hayle Chun of NBC Sports & Olympics. He touches on how and why email, social and mobile were a winning combination for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games:

And, here are some twips (tips you can tweet) from the 45 Tips in 45 Minutes panel I moderated at the Email Insider Summit, including speakers from Barnes & Noble, Responsys, National Hockey League and eHarmony.

I've also been heads down with a dual request for proposal (RFP) process that is generating some great feedback and ideas. A number of companies and industry experts are participating in the process and I appreciate their efforts! 

Your thoughts?

Online Marketing Summit 2010

This year’s Online Marketing Summit (OMS) was a first for me and I was impressed with the caliber of content, speakers, and participation from roughly 700 marketers. Aaron Kahlow and team did a great job to create a collaborative, educational and open environment that was highly productive and enjoyable. I had the pleasure of speaking on an integrated marketing panel and I also dropped in on a few great presentations. Here's a video clip from Tom Hoehn's session regarding Kodak's social media strategy:

Read the complete OMS review post including more video with Gary Spangler from DuPont and my conversation about social media success with Steve Ennen and Eric Bradlow of the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative. 

Next up in mid April is MediaPost's Email Insider Summit 2010 in Captiva, Florida. I'm going to: co-host a Lyris client and event speaker (Hayle Chun) from NBC Sports & Olympics; moderate the "45 Tips in 45 Minutes" panel with speakers from Barnes & Noble, NHL, eHarmony and Responsys; do some blogging, video, PR and networking. Here's the agenda for Email Insider Summit -- stay tuned for tweets and a review post.    

MarketingSherpa Email Summit 2010

Looking back on MarketingSherpa's fifth annual Email Marketing Summit, I'd say it was a very good event for more than 600 marketers. There were a number of talented speakers and contributors who always make Email Summit a good investment and the Miami setting in January was a nice perk, too.  Here are some thoughts from the event and (4) video clips of conversations with customers and industry leaders. Next week, Online Marketing Summit in San Diego.

 

Jamie Oliver's food for thought and action

We first met Jamie Oliver as the "Naked Chef" from England. He's been creating in the kitchen since childhood and developed a passion early on for fresh, honest food and family experiences. A tireless author, entrepreneur, practitioner and TV personality for a number of years -- he is now on a mission to help Americans make needed changes in lifestyles and diet. In particular, he is focused on educating children on how to change course with this rally call: 

"I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again, and empower people everywhere to fight obesity."  

Tune into his passionate talk (~20 minutes) recorded at TED on February 10, 2010. I believe Jamie genuinely cares and has great ideas to make a huge impact with food-related issues:

To learn more about Jamie Oliver's wish (and plan) to help educate children, click here for more details and ways to contribute to this important cause. 

What do you think about this post? How do you feel about Jamie's wish?

A conversation with John Mast of Expedia CruiseShipCenters

A cruise on the warms seas with extended stays in a variety of ports; that sounds very appealing right now. My conversation with John Mast, vice president of marketing at Expedia CruiseShipCenters, at MarketingSherp's 2010 Email Summit in Miami is a reminder of how much I enjoy tropical pace and weather.

John presented at Email Summit about his permission marketing strategy including CRM and tri-messaging work. Like many online marketers, John and his team are achieving significant results by integrating email, social and mobile channels to engage and serve on-the-go consumers and influencers. It's all about creating customers for life with memorable experiences. Learn more about the Expedia CruiseShipCenters success story in this brief clip:

Alexis Ohanian at TED on "losing control"

In this November 2009 TED talk, Alexis Ohanian of Reddit describes how losing control on the Internet can be a very good thing for individuals, businesses, nature, society, etc. I think you'll agree that his passion for the topic and youthful delivery is a bit infectious. And in true Twitter-form, Alexis is brief and to the point.

Is there a lesson here for 2010? Perhaps a resolution-nugget? Hint, letting go and not being afraid of the unknown can pay dividends.

What leads to success?

I sometimes ask myself this question. Fortunate for us, a high school student met Richard St. John on an airplane and was curious about this too. Richard had an idea -- ask the same question to hundreds of successful people who participate at TED, and here is what he came up with. A little over 3 minutes of video and 8 words of wisdom. FYI, the video is from 2005 (and not new to the social web) but I think the tips and humor are timeless. Do share with others.

The Living Climate Change initiative. Worth sharing for your kids.

I couldn't resist two nights in a row of IDEO posts. I think this topic is worth learning more about and sharing because we all have a stake in our climate, especially if you have children. Tune into Tim Brown's brief video about the Living Climate Change initiative: 

Learn more about this conversation by visiting the website.

Tim Brown of IDEO: Apply Design Thinking for Today's Questions

IDEO and Tim Brown are institutions in the world of design and innovation. I say this with much respect and admiration for the Palo Alto, CA based design firm and well-traveled designer. Tim Brown's recent presentation at TED 2009 in the UK is a good, 16 minute overview of how and why to apply "design thinking" for today's tough challenges. Yes, and for those questions that need a creative approach and mindset:

 

Truth be told, I interviewed at IDEO in 1998 during the same period I was interviewing at Sun Microsystems. To this day, the two rounds of IDEO interviews were the most unusual and stimulating I have ever experienced. The questions they asked seemed odd to me at the time. Years later, I realized they were applying a form of design thinking during the interview process -- probing not only to see if I was qualified for the job but also to determine if we were a good fit for their unique culture. 

Long story short, Sun offered me a solid marketing position and salary that I decided to accept. The decision was made because Sun was a more recognizable brand, a technology leader that seemed right given my career path, and the offer was better than the compensation range that IDEO was discussing. More honesty: To this day, I wonder if I made the right decision by going with Sun. No regrets, though. 

Funny thing is I was so impressed with IDEO in general (and my interview experience) that I eventually hired them for an "eBusiness Innovation @Sun" consulting project, including Tim Brown and Tom Kelley; one of the Kelley brothers who actually interviewed me years earlier. I will always remember the thrill I experienced during our one day workshop in San Francisco with a diverse team of Sun and IDEO talent; I want more of that creator juice and experience.

I'm a fan of IDEO because they continue to lead in their industry, they impressed me with their work while at Sun, and I continue to find their ideas, practices and thought leadership timeless and highly useful. So it goes without saying that I will apply their design thinking in a new, creative project I'm leading now with a diverse and talented team at Lyris. More on this another day.