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Innovative Solutions:
Express route to success
Innovative problem solving and decision making skills are increasingly critical in today’s constantly changing workplace. Risk taking becomes more commonplace and the need for quick responses becomes more essential. How we approach these issues and find their solutions makes the difference between success and failure. What helps creative problem solving to thrive is a constructive workplace culture, team collaboration and practise.
Your entire team can benefit from Innovative Solutions intervention, a dynamic, yet simple system, which is easily learned and implemented.
The results
- You are able to more efficiently and effectively gather and evaluate relevant information
- You create new opportunities by encouraging and guiding "outside the box thinking".
- Your team gains new skills and techniques they can apply resulting in impressive solutions.
- You walk away with with one process that improves efficiency, reduces costs and creates greater profits.
- You and your team will be able to align internal initiatives, and rethink strategic plans and strategy.
- Each member of your team gains greater appreciation for others, resulting in improved team cohesion.
- You will be able to outsmart your competition, building or maintaining industry leadership.
The process
- Active Listening Session where your intentions, goals, issues and strategy are explored.
- You confirm the goals, expectations and financial implications of the issue.
- Working with you we identify the gaps between what works well and what doesn't.
- Next your challenges and opportunities are clearly defined.
- Working within the reality of your situation, we recommend what will work best to achieve your goals.
- With your team, we develop timelines, assign responsibilities and impliment the recommended programs.
- At a set time, we come back to work with you to review successes, measure outcomes and recomment next steps.
An example from my world
The situation
A company was struggling with the impact of the recession, causing sales to slump due to the cost cutting of their own clients. As well, morale was dropping as staff worried about the safety of their own jobs. The workplace was in a difficult position.
In order to keep ahead of their competition, their challenge was to re-invent themselves and be consistent, without changing their core business. At the same time, they needed to keep a sense of urgency in the workplace.
The solution
A meeting was held with the consultant and the two top senior executives to find out the leadership style, workplace culture, cohesiveness of staff and how they communicate with each other and with their clients. Past and future marketing and sales plans were included.
Creative problem solving inventories were completed by each staff member to find out their style of decision making and the strengths and talents of their thinking styles.
Problems, goals and desired results were discussed, listed and challenged.
A one day problem solving session was implemented once the actual problem was discovered, separating it from the symptoms of their challenge.
Considerable brainstorming which involved divergent and convergent thinking stimulated the participants to arrive at more open minded possibilities.
The result
During the problem solving process, staff interaction changed and humour was included as people now appreciated their differences instead of feeling irritated by the same behaviours.
A new strategic plan was created.
People took responsibility and made commitments to carry out the changes.
Morale rose and fear levels dropped.
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"Your facilitation skills ensured that we uncovered root causes for complex problems and achieved clarity on where to focus our efforts. …we have been able to reduce inventory levels, reduce multiple bottlenecks in our custom publishing program, and establish a preliminary plan aimed at leveraging new industry technologies. In addition, you also made the problem solving process fun!"
Jarrod Hann BSc, MBA
Vice President of Academic Solutions and Special Markets
Nelson Education Limited
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