Creativity tip: How Christmas can boost your creative thinking

For people who celebrate Christmas, things are quite different from the rest of the year.

And you can use these "different times" to boost your creative thinking.

Take time out to relax.

I know Christmas can be a stressful time. But try to find some time on your own, pour yourself a large one (or a cup of tea) and just relax. Just let your mind wander, and listen to your unconscious.

Learn from new people.

When you meet new people at the office party, drinks with the neighbours or family get-together, try to make real connections. You never know: something they say or do might just help you with an idea.

Do something you don’t usually do.

Visit a new gallery, watch a new film, or take a long walk somewhere you’ve never been before. New experiences make new connections in your brain, and that helps with new ideas.

The anniversary of a great Scottish poet. No, not that one.

Today (14th November 2010) would have been the 100th birthday of Norman MacCaig, one of Scotland's great poets.

This one of his finest poems. We've all known men like this, but not had the talent to celebrate their lives in such a beautiful way.

Praise of a Man

He went through a company like a lamplighter –
see the dull minds, one after another,
begin to glow, to shed
a beneficent light.

He went through a company like
a knifegrinder – see the dull minds
scattering sparks of themselves,
becoming razory, becoming useful.

He went through a company
as himself. But now he's one
of the multitudinous company of the dead
where are no individuals.

The beneficent lights dim
but don't vanish. The razory edges
dull, but still cut. He's gone: but you can see
his tracks still, in the snow of the world.

Seven Strategies for Success in Innovation

The UK press this week has been full of calls for greater innovation in companies and organisations following a speech by the Prime Minister on Monday.

But it's a lot easier to say " let's innovate" than it is to do. So I thought I'd give you a few ideas on how you can innovate successfully in your team, company or organisation. A few simple changes in attitude or behaviour can have a huge impact in terms of how ideas are generated - and innovations delivered.

So here they are - my seven strategies for success in innovation:

Recognise that everything is up for innovation. It’s not just about introducing big ideas, or new products and services. Look at how you work, the meetings you attend, and the way you engage with customers or clients. If it ain’t broke? Break it and put it together better.

Ask for help. Talk to your people on the frontline what causes the greatest problems, or the most complaints. Ask recent recruits what they’d change. Most people say that “good ideas can come from anywhere and anyone”. But very few organisations really accept that. Talk to your customers (What do we do badly? What do we do well that you’d like more of? What don’t we do that would help you solve a problem?)

Systemise it. Spend some time every week just dedicated to thinking about new ideas. Spend an hour couple of weeks with your team over coffee and cake just talking about new ideas.

Go look at other organisations. What do they do? What don’t they do well that you could do better?

Be prepared to fail. In fact, prepare to fail. If you’re not failing every now and again, you’re not trying anything new. Be comfortable with failure, and learn to fail quicker.

Get comfortable with creative thinking. Use the Headsurfing™ techniques (on our website, address below) to change the way you think.

Keep developing your people. Nothing succeeds in creativity and innovation like an enquiring mind.


If applying these strategies leads to huge success for you and your organisation, let me know. I won't demand a cut of savings or profits, but I would like you to send me a note!

FBI and CIA learn to "think outside the box".

There's a brilliant story in the International press this morning.

In New York, FBI and CIA agents have apparently been sent on a course at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to study classic paintings, with the aim of "refreshing their sense of enquiry".

What a fantastic idea.

By taking notes as they view the masterpieces, the hope is that they will improve the things they notice about a crime scene, and also their ability to describe it.

I fully expect a flood of complaints along the "total waste of money - just get them back on the streets" lines.

But I love it. By teaching them to look more closely at art, I can see the benefits in real life. In art, first impressions are often false, and there's usually more to the painting than initially meets the eye.

I'm no crime-fighting expert, but I suspect the same might also be the case in crime scenes.

And I think the course will go even further. By visiting places we don't often go (whether that be a gallery, a zoo, a new shop or even the pages of a new newspaper) we stimulate our brains in new ways. We give the brain new content with which to link. New experiences. New connections.

New ability to think differently. To think creatively.

Budget cuts and how to survive them

It's been a week of conflict and argument, most of it about the economy.

The UK Government Spending Review was released, there are blockades and riots in France over changes to pensions, and the papers are full of (sometimes) well argued opinions about which sector of society will be most badly hit by the budget cuts.

But in the midst of debate, work still has to go on. Companies still have to deliver, organisations still have to perform. We still have problems to solve, and we still have opportunities to grasp.

Anyway, the teams, companies and organisations I've worked with over the last few years didn't seem to me to be drowning in floods of excess money. Maybe yours was, but I doubt it.

So how do we to survive the budget cuts? Reframe the lack of money as something to get creative about.

In any case, money doesn't solve problems. Ideas solve problems.

If the problem is important, it needs to be solved. If the idea is good enough, it has to be done. If the opportunity is great enough, the money isn't a cost - it's an investment.

When times are tough, and budgets are cut, try to look at the lack of money as just another problem to be solved by thinking creatively.

No money? Find someone who has money - or something else you can use to solve the problem. Who could we partner with? Who could sponsor this? Who else has this problem that might share the cost of solving it?

Think of new ways to fund things. New ways of paying the bill. New ways of doing business.

Let's get creative!

Presentation Tip - You must end on time

There’s a Bob Monkhouse line popular with after-dinner speakers that your duty is to “Stand up. Speak up. And shut up”.

It makes a valid point. One of the first things an audience wants from you as a speaker or presenter is for you to stop talking.

Especially if the conference, event or pitch is over-running, they want you to finish on time. If you can cut your presentation down to the time remaining until the close, they’ll love you for it.

You may wish to aim for this and then ask if they’d like more, but leave it up to the audience.

Don’t simply think “I was given an hour, so I’m going to take an hour”. Audiences don’t like you taking them over time, whether they are leaving to go home, desperate for the loo or (heaven forbid) you stand between them and a free bar.

I failed on this point recently. I was given a very prestigious keynote spot for an audience of professional speakers. It was a big moment for me – I was closing the conference, and had just been made a Fellow of the organisation.

I had a great time. Such a great time I forgot it’s about them, not me. I over-ran, and some marked me down for that. Rightly so.

It doesn’t matter how much fun you’re having, or how much fun you think they’re having. Finish on time. And let them come up to you afterwards and say “I could have happily listened to you for much longer”.

Incidentally, if it’s a paid speech, check with the person paying your fee first. It may be that they’d rather move the end-time so that they get the full time for your fee!

Creative quotations - and a gag or two too

“Every collaboration helps you grow”.
Brian Eno

“The lion and the calf shall lie down together, but the calf won’t get much sleep”.
Woody Allen

“Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading is good for him”.
Maya Angelou

“Pizza Express sell garlic bread with tomato and cheese. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that pizza?”
Jimmy Carr

“You should have an idea of what you want to do, but only a vague idea”.
Pablo Picasso

“Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things”.
George Carlin

Creativity tip: find time to mull

And by mull I mean ruminate, cogitate, switch off and think in a relaxed manner. Not the island off the west coast of Scotland.

At a speakers’ convention last week I took pages and pages of notes. Too many, really, for me to act on them all.

So I planned some time a few days later to read through the notes, to mull them over, and then to decide which were the most important to act upon.

I suspect things might be similar for you – too many things to do, too little time?

I know the last thing you want me to tell you is that you must take time to think. But honestly, it will pay off.

Grab your notebook, get away from your desk, switch off the phone, and take fifteen minutes or so to mull things over. Let your mind wander, and take note of the tasks, actions and ideas that float to the surface of your consciousness.

Those are the important ones.

There's nothing so great as bad poetry.

Today is National Poetry Day in the UK, a chance to celebrate, encourage and enjoy poetry and poets.

Schools pupils bring in favourite poems, and radio and TV programmes have invited poets (or inevitably, celebrities) to discuss and recite poetry. Many newspapers run features on the nation's favourite poems, and events are taking place across the country - including a walking tour of the poetry of the Old Town here in Edinburgh.

But as everyone else celebrates wonderful poetry and great poems, let us take a different course.

Let's celebrate, encourage and enjoy the bad poetry too.

You know who I mean: William Topaz McGonagall, Poet and Tragedian.

Born (and died) in Edinburgh, McGonagall is most associated with Dundee, a town which hardly deserves such a fate.

Revered as "The World's Worst Poet", this sorry title hardly does justice to his perfection in choosing the least appropriate poetic metaphor possible, his complete inability to scan, and his habit of finishing lines with rhymes that, well, just rhymed.

You may know of "The Tay Bridge Disaster":

"Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay!
Alas! I am very sorry to say
That ninety lives have been taken away
On the last Sabbath day of 1879
Which will be remember'd for a very long time."

And so on, for 59 gloriously awful, wonderfully excruciating, terrible lines. It's fantastic.

Or "An Autumn Reverie" with, towards the end, its curiously relevant little bit of politics, my name's Ben Elton, good night.

"Oh! Think of the struggles of the poor to make a living,
Because the rich unto them seldom are giving;
Whereas they are told he that giveth to the poor lendeth unto the Lord,
But alas! They rather incline their money to hoard."

You'll have worked out by now that he was a great fan of declamation and the exclamation mark.

When everyone else does one thing, let us do another. So in memory of the great William Topaz McGonagall, I suggest you host a McGonagall Supper, with readings and recitations. To be accurate, you should serve in reverse order, starting with coffee and ending with the starter.

I attend one with old University friends every year, but I'm sure McGonagall wouldn't approve; one of his life's driving forces was the cause of Temperance.

"Oh! thou demon Drink, thou fell destroyer;
Thou curse of society, and its greatest annoyer.
What hast thou done to society, let me think?
I answer thou hast caused the most of ills, thou demon Drink."

I'll drink to that.

Seth Godin doesn't want you to rehearse. Seth Godin is wrong.

I subscribe to Seth Godin's blog. I love Seth Godin's blog. I find it inspiring, entertaining, educational, and enjoyable.

But not always. That's good, because if we agreed with everything we read it would be an awfully boring world.

A couple of weeks ago Seth wrote that "Rehearsing is for cowards".

He quoted Jackson Browne, who I suspect when he said rehearsing is for cowards was being controversial, confrontational, or both. Browne has sold more than 17 million albums, headlined live shows across the world, and written some of the most powerful songs of the last forty years.

And you don't get that good without rehearsing.

The next time you have a presentation to make, or a conference speech, or you're part of a pitch team, please don't fall into the trap of thinking you can wing it. Plan it, prepare it, and rehearse it.

I'm lucky enough to see a lot of great speakers in my job - indeed, I'm just back from the annual convention of the Professional Speaking Association, where I got to watch some of the best speakers in the world perform. I even got to do a keynote myself.

If great speakers look natural, confident, spontaneous and off-the-cuff, that's because they have put the work in to do so. I had a laugh at the convention with the brilliant after-dinner and conference speaker Graham Davies about rehearsing ad-libs. I was only partly joking.

Professional speakers plan and plan and plan. And then they start rehearsing.

Don't think that being under-rehearsed looks 'edgy', spontaneous or relaxed. It looks unprofessional, unprepared, and for the audience, it simply feels awkward.

Good. Quick. Cheap. Pick two.

I first heard that mantra from a production director in an advertising agency.

"When it comes to print, there's good, there's quick, and there's cheap. Pick two".

I suspect this 'pick two from three' applies to much more than just printing. In most projects, getting the work done quickly and cheaply rarely results in great work. Having good work done quickly is rarely a cheap option. And if you want good work done cheaply, you generally have to make allowances for a longer delivery time.

I was reminded of this the other day when I drove past a beautifully crafted sign outside a local business which had appeared almost overnight.

It looked superb - a nice typeface, beautiful spacing, nice balance between text and white space. A lovely piece of work.

Except for the spelling mistake in the headline.

Back in the day, I was account handler on the advertising for a large group of hotels. I've worked on several hotel groups, actually, and often they're not the easiest of accounts to run. You tend to take your instructions from the marketing department, but for local activity it's the General Manager's P&L account that pays for the work. So there's often just a little bit of friction.

Anyway, I had been asked to prepare new external signage for an Edinburgh hotel that had just been taken over and refurbished. A large board by the road, advertising the new restaurant and bar, and focussing on the wide range of fine wines and beers available. This was back when having a range of continental lagers was a big thing.

So, we found a great signwriter, got a quote, and I took the estimate to the General Manager. "Four hundred quid?" said the GM. "I can get it done for half that".

And he did. A few days later, as I arrived for our next meeting, I noticed the new sign was up. "Nice sign" I said, as I joined the GM in his office.

"Yes, and it only cost me two hundred quid" he said. "Tea or coffee?".

"Neither, thanks. Can I have a Continental Larger please?"

"You mean a Lager?"

"No, a Larger".

"What's that?"

"I don't know, but it says on your sign outside that you sell them".

He'd had it done quickly, and cheaply. But not well.

If we had done it, it would have been more expensive. But if we'd messed it up, I'd have been responsible for having it re-done, not him.

I know you want everything done quickly, done well, and done cheaply. But honestly, you have to pick two of the three.

Quotivations

Some motivational and creative quotes - and a gag or two.

“They asked me to be a Bond girl. I said the only Bond part I want to play is James Bond”.
Angelina Jolie

“All great deeds, all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning”.
Albert Camus

“The place of the father in a modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf”.
Bertrand Russell

“People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer if they’re happy’”.
Anton Chekhov

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things”.
Theodore Levitt

“I like ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon, Dad. But the version from ‘Glee’ is much better”.
Ellen, 12

Reasons to be cheerful

A great Edinburgh Festival Fringe We managed to see more than we usually do, and the weather has been pretty good. And I swear I saw a taxi driver smile.

University Challenge is back. Don’t know about you, but I feel great if I can answer just one question!

I have been taken by an irresistible urge to shake hands with famous people I adore. This month, Arlo Guthrie, Ian Rankin, Tom Kitchin, Johnny Vegas. Well, August in Edinburgh is a pretty starry month.

Presentation Tip: Your first priority is to start on time.

There’s a long running online discussion on the pages of a speakers’ group, about speeches starting late. It asked for reasons – in one or two words – why a speaker might not start their speech on time.

Several justifiable reasons were given – fire alarm, emergency, illness. But one thing that struck me was the number of reasons which (to me, at least) seemed to be down to the speakers themselves. “My laptop wouldn’t work”. “My train was late”. “I went to the wrong room”.

These aren’t reasons, they’re admissions of fault. It’s the responsibility of every speaker, every presenter, to arrive on time – indeed, to be there early. In any case, if you’re there early, you can get a feel for the room – and the audience! And you can check your laptop, have a run through – or just relax a bit. Yes, your train might run late. That’s why you get the train two before the one that should come in on time.

My tip? Imagine the worst thing that could go wrong – and leave enough time for that to happen, and you to still start on time.

Incidentally, if you look at the reasons given above, only a few were the one or two word answer asked for. Several responses ran to five or six words. Perhaps that’s why so many presenters also over-run?

Creativity Tip - Stick-to-it-ness

I recently read an interview with James Dyson, creator of both the cyclonic vacuum cleaner and my favourite recent invention, the Dyson Air-Blade™ hand drier. (Even although it makes my hands look like Buzz Lightyear’s face under G Force when I use it).

In the interview he repeated the fact that it had taken 15 years and over five thousand prototypes to develop the Dyson DC-01. Five thousand!

There’s a temptation to think of innovation and invention as an act of instant inspiration. For most creators, however, that inspiration is brought to life through hours, days, weeks – or even years – of development work.

So you need to stick to it. Honing, perfecting, improving – and if you believe you have a great idea, have faith and carry on.

And sometimes, the persistence you show pays off in unexpected ways. I was lucky enough to see the brilliant adman Dave Trott present last week, and he told the story of one of the most famous campaigns in British advertising, “I bet he drinks Carling Black Label”. The line fitted perfectly with the brand, and was at the heart of a campaign that ran for almost two decades (and was brought back years later).

But it wasn’t written for Carling – it was written for a pitch for the Milk Marketing Board. “I bet he drinks milk”.

Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it?

Stephen Covey would call it Win Win

It has finally struck me that I've got to that age. You know, the one where you turn into your Dad (or your Mum). And it's over music. Which is a bit hard on my Dad, because when I was 13 he took my brother and me to see David Bowie - and he fell for Bowie every bit as much as we did.

So much so that at Dad's funeral the chapel rang to the sounds of "Ziggy played guitar".

Anyway, my son Alex is 15 (16 next week), and some of his music is now getting a bit too, er, extreme. I'm going through the same reactions as a dad is supposed to go through. "Call that music? It's not even a new tune - the original was much better". And, of course, the killer - "You can't even make out the words".

Of course, none of this would matter - he has his own I-pod, and my noise reduction headphones are better than his. However, we spend almost an hour each way in the car together three times a week on the way to his football training, and the battle for control of the radio (Radio 2 vs Galaxy) has become intense. Until last night.

Until now, we had an agreement in place - one of his songs, then one of mine, then his. Interspersed with one of Ellen's (almost 13) if she's in the car too.

But it's not very satisfactory - he doesn't like mine (and sometimes on Radio 2, I don't either) and I don't particularly like his - especially the Ravey Davey ones.

But last night, on our way home, we had a great idea. A revelation. What Covey would call a Win Win.

Alex will make up a joint playlist for his I-pod (names so far include the AK, the AlKen, the Kenlex). On it, he'll put his music that he thinks I'll like - some of the less sweary Eminem, Jay-z, Biffy Clyro and such like. Then I'll put some in of my music - the reggae and funk originals of some of his samples, a bit of glam (although I think that will sound a bit effete for Alex) and 80s/90s hip hop that I think he'll like.

Sorted, as we used to say in 1991.

It was only after we both agreed this sounded like a great idea that I thought about Covey.

In "The Secret Habits of Highly Effective People" he talks about Win Win. And this one is perfect for us. We're both involved. We came up with the idea jointly. We both think it's a nice idea. And we might even learn something from the other's musical taste.

That's the beauty of seeking the Win Win position. Anything else - Win Lose, Lose Win, or even Lose Lose (which would have been the option of agreeing not to play music together at all) creates disappointment and resentment.

In solving problems with your team, your clients, your boss, seek the Win Win position. It's not simply a compromise (in which no-one really feels happy). It's a truly joint agreement which both can enjoy.

Should speakers and presenters use humour?

...only if they want to get paid. Or so goes the old cliché.

I take it even further. Speakers should only use humour if they want to engage with their audience. Or make a point. Or be remembered.

I believe that humour is an integral part of any successful speech or presentation. But I also believe that it has to flow as a natural part of the speaker's presence, and be an integral aspect of the presentation.

One of the best ways of developing a natural humour style is to watch and learn from the best.

So this Wednesday, August 25th, I have invited Jeremy Nicholas to deliver his superb presentation "Putting the U in Humour" to the Scottish Chapter of the Professional Speaking Association. If you are a professional speaker - or aspire to be one - you really should come along.

Jeremy (or Jem to his friends, like what I am) is an award winning TV and radio broadcaster, after dinner speaker, compere and media trainer.

Does his approach work? Let me give you just one example. In 2005 a politician named Barack Obama heard him speak, and now he's the US President. Given this track record, what could Jeremy do for you?

The venue is the Apex European Hotel, Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh. Timing is 7pm for networking, with the session starting at 7.30pm. Cost is £18 if you are a Member or Candidate of the Professional Speaking Association, £20 for guests (cost includes a networking supper).

Half-time at the Edinburgh Fringe.

It's the half way point of the Edinburgh Fringe 2010 - we're at the Amen Corner of comedy, theatre and music, ready for the back nine from now until next weekend. The Fringe finishes for 2010 on Monday, 30th August (although a lot of shows give their last performance on Saturday 28th).

So you have just ten days to get here by railway, take a plane, sailboat or any of the more unlikely forms of transport in that song. In other words, I don't care how you get here, just get here if you can.

Of the great things we've seen so far, most continue all next week. We were lucky enough to get tickets for the Gilded Balloon Press Show, at which the stand-out acts were Caroline Rhea (Former Auntie to Sabrina the Teenage Witch, now a great stand-up), and two musical comedy groups: the brilliant Dead Cat Bounce, and the er, awesome Axis of Awesome (take a look at their Four Chord Song on You Tube). Oh, and compere Jarred Christmas, also doing his own show at the Gilded.

Still on are Jason Byrne at the Assembly Hall (on The Mound - what an incredible venue, if you can get over the huge statue of John Knox glaring at you in the queue), Blood Brothers at C Too, and a huge number of current superstars including Tim Vine, John Bishop, Stephen K Amos and Kevin Bridges. And Diane loved Barbershopera - go figure.

Some of the shows we've seen have now finished their run - a brilliant Guys and Dolls by Forth Children's Theatre, The Rupert Pupkin Collective, and the incomparable Jason Manford.

Try to see something you'd never normally go to, as well as the bigger names. And if you're around, give us a buzz.

Why it's wrong to be right

When it comes to creative thinking, it's often wrong to be right.

It's wrong to be the one who knows everything. The one with the greatest experience, or the fastest mind. The one wearing the tee-shirt with the words saying "Been There, Done That".

Because when you think you know what works (and what doesn't) it can be difficult not to judge new ideas as they come along - and find them wanting.

New ideas need space to breathe. Room to grow. Time to mature. New ideas arrive undeveloped and raw. Sometimes (and these are the really great ideas) they initially sound silly or even stupid.

They don't come with a budget breakdown, a list of features and benefits, or a PowerPoint presentation to help convince the Board.

So we have to suspend judgement when generating ideas. And I mean completely!

No thinking about whether the idea (at this point) is affordable. No judging about whether it fits with the current campaign. No deciding whether it can or can't be done. At this point, it's just an idea. Get it up on the flipchart, and move on to the next idea.

The difficulty is, when we know it all, we find it hard to suspend our judgement. We've been recruited, or promoted, because we have a lot of experience. We think quickly. We know what works, and what doesn't. Or at least, we think we do.

To come up with innovative ideas, and new solutions, we need to stop being right. We have to say "OK, I'm prepared to open my mind to new ways of doing this. I'll pretend (at least for a while) that I don't have the experience, the knowledge, the understanding of what works and what doesn't".

In other words, when it comes to coming up with new ideas, you have to ban the boss-ness.

Or alternatively, ban the boss.

The Edinburgh Festival Survival Guide

As I’ve told you a million times, I’m not prone to exaggeration. But being in Edinburgh in August really makes you feel as if you’re at the centre of the world. Or at least the worlds of art, comedy, culture, music, dance and theatre.

And I say that as a Glaswegian.

When people talk about the Edinburgh Festival, they’re really talking about … festivals. Insert your own number, I’ve almost lost count.

The Art Festival started yesterday, The Jazz and Blues Festival starts tomorrow, and the multicultural Mela is from 6/8 until 8/8 on Leith Links. There’s even a brand new festival this year (which I’m taking part in): The Edinburgh International Marketing Festival. Oh, there's also the Television Festival, but that's trade only.

But the big four are the International Festival (the ‘proper’ festival), The Fringe (the big one for comedy, music, dance, theatre and kids’ events), the Book Festival and The Military Tattoo (not actually part of the Festival, but the tourists seem to like it).

I’m sure the Edinburgh Festival season generates its own version of Stendhal Syndrome – the panic attacks, breathlessness and hallucinations brought on by too much exposure to art and culture suffered by visitors to Florence. In Edinburgh, it’s brought on by too much comedy, music, and Georgian architecture, weird conversations with famous comics you meet in the Gilded Balloon bar, too many beers and too much deep fried pizza.

So, here’s my Survival Guide – How to Survive the Edinburgh Festival, written by an Edinburgh resident who still works the Festival like a tourist.

1. Plan in advance, but not too much

Book your tickets in advance for any big names, key shows, or your absolute “must-sees”. But don’t fill your days completely. Leave room – and plenty of it – for shows you hear about in bars, venues, or from your taxi driver. Be flexible, ask people for recommendations – and pass them on.

2. Get your bearings.

It’s actually quite simple. The city is centred on Princes Street (The Castle and the National Galleries on one side, shopping on the other). The Mound runs uphill south from Princes Street to the High Street (or Royal Mile) which runs from the Castle to Holyrood Palace. From Princes Street, Hanover Street goes north to George St (Assembly Rooms), Queen St (The Stand Comedy Club) and the New Town. I could tell you all about the New Town, but it would ruin some of my best material. Go up The Mound to the High St for free street shows (also at the side of the National Galleries) and on to The Gilded Balloon and Udderbelly in Bristo Square.

3. Get up early at least once. And stay up late often.

Apparently there are lots of great shows in the morning. They’ll be in the programme then. And there are loads of shows, gigs, events into the wee sma’ hours. Now those, I know about. The best known is Late’n’Live at the Gilded Balloon. It starts at 1am, and runs until 5am. But most venues have something on that runs until at least two or three in the morning. And if you’re all Fringe’d out, don’t worry. Most bars are open until four or five in the morning.

4. See something you’ve never experienced in your life before (and never will again).

It can be tempting just to go for the big ticket acts, or the most popular shows. But the point of Edinburgh is also to see and experience something weird, unusual and perhaps perplexing. If you don’t stagger out of a small theatre space with more people on stage than in the audience, thinking “What the hell was that about?” then you haven’t really ‘done’ Edinburgh.

5. There’s no such thing as bad weather…

…just the wrong clothes. (Billy Connolly). You know that song “Four Seasons in One Day”? Crowded House wrote that during a weekend in Edinburgh. (Actually they didn’t. But once when they played in Edinburgh I was their support act. Honest.) If you don’t like the rain, hang around. It will be sunny in half an hour. Or foggy, or snowing. So carry a mac, bring a jumper, and don’t forget the sun cream.

6. Take a break.

Get away from the culture fest for a couple of hours. Take a walk up Arthur’s Seat, a wander through the Botanic Gardens, or a dander along the beach at Cramond or Portobello. Or head down to North Berwick for “Fringe by the Sea” (10 - 15 August).

7. Get back in there.

If a flyer, or a taster of a show, or a long queue catches your eye, go for it. There’s always a drink close at hand, you can eat later, and sleep when you’re deid. It’s Festival time!

The old ones are the best

I took a trip out to the Falkirk Wheel yesterday - it's only half an hour from my home in Edinburgh, but like most people I tend to do the tourist bit much more when I'm on holiday, rather than visit the fantastic stuff here on my doorstep.

But yesterday, I thought I'd do something different, for two reasons.

Firstly, because I'm a great believer that to encourage your creativity, you should do something you've never done in your life before, every week.

And secondly, my kids have been on holiday for three weeks now, and I thought they should do something that didn't involve Call of Duty, Facebook, or the Disney Channel.

Anyway, it's a fantastic sight, and a fantastic piece of engineering. A boat lift that rotates through 360 degrees (the first and only one in the world), it bridges the chasm between the Forth and Clyde Canal (at sea level) and the Union Canal (35m, or 115 feet, above it).

No locks, no dragging the barges up the hill - just sail the barge in, and the thing turns like a wheel, raising one boat while lowering another. It's also quite, quite beautiful.

You can watch it here: Falkirk Wheel (and ignore the daft eejit who comments "It's fraud! It takes nearly five minutes").

Anyway, what's that got to do with "The old ones are the best"?

Well, think about it. One of these barges must weigh several tons. Or tonnes, if you prefer. And then they fill them with people.

So what happens when there's a barge on only one of the Wheel's 'arms'? Doesn't the weight imbalance cause a problem - if not a disaster?

The solution to this 21st century problem was over 2300 years old: The Archimedes Principle.

The volume of water displaced by the barge is equal to the volume of the barge itself, so by applying the principle, and making sure the weights are equal, it doesn't matter if the space is filled with water, or filled with barge and people.

I wish I'd been in the room when that happened. "So, any ideas on how we might solve this?".

"Hang on, what about that guy that went for a bath and then ran down the street naked, shouting "Eureka"? Wasn't that a similar problem?"

I love it - getting an idea not from what's going on around you, but from another time, another environment, or another culture.

Try it - it might just work.

Getting it done - lessons from Geldof and Kennedy

You'll have noticed that this week is twenty-five years since the Live Aid concert, "The day music changed the world".

The BBC celebrated the anniversary by broadcasting two great programmes which are, as I write, available to watch again on the BBC i-Player.

"Rocking all over the world" was the minute-by-minute story of the day itself - it was inspirational, emotional, and brought back great memories of a time when music, musicians and music fans really managed to make a difference.

Although some of the clothes and hairstyles sparked horrible, horrible memories - and that was only looking at my own photographs of the day.

The other programme, broadcast on Tuesday night, was "Against All Odds", the story of how the day was organised and pulled together in only twelve weeks from initial idea. Yes, twelve weeks.

As you can imagine, the central theme that Bob Geldof kept hearing was "it can't be done". He was told he couldn't get the acts, he couldn't get a venue, he couldn't get a broadcaster. He was told that America was impossible. He was advised that the stage wouldn't work. Experts insisted that they were right, and he was wrong.

And he refused to take no for an answer.

What impressed me then, and it still does, was his single-minded pig-headedness not to let people stamp on his vision. He knew he - and we - had to do what we could to bring relief to Ethiopia, and this was all he could do. To paraphrase Nike, his answer was "Just f**king do it".

(Incidentally, he never said "Give us your f-ing money". What he said was "F the addresses, give them the numbers". And he never said "Play it again Sam" either.)

I met Bob Geldof a couple of years ago, when he spoke at a conference I was compering.

They say you should never meet your heroes. What nonsense.

He is everything you'd expect - inspiring, warm, funny, informed, entertaining, open, witty. And no, he hadn't seen the inside of a barbers for a while, but he did have great trainers on.

One of the things he said that day has stayed with me.

He said that all that he did ("all that he did?!") was to challenge people to get things done, using their own initiative. He said "I'd get a phone call saying 'I'm a PA in an office, and want to do something to help". Bob would say "Excellent - you're now 'Secretaries for Africa' - go and raise money".

A few weeks later an envelope would arrive, stuffed with cash, and a note saying "Secretaries for Africa did a sponsored run - here's the money we raised".

He's not the first to say that if we give people responsibility, and let them find answers or solutions to problems, we'll be amazed by their strength, ingenuity and integrity. But why do we keep forgetting that lesson?

Geldof launched Live Aid with only twelve weeks to set it up. He announced the line-up when very few of the bands had even been contacted, never mind had agreed to perform.

They succeeded.

The target was to raise a million pounds. The final figure was one hundred and fifty million pounds.

In 1961, John F Kennedy announced that the United States should commit to the goal of "by the end of this decade, landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth". At the time, his experts expressly told him that it couldn't be done.

They succeeded.

Think big, and inspire others. Just because something is impossible doesn't mean it can't be done.

What do you remember from Live Aid?

It was twenty five years ago today. July 13th, 1985, at Wembley (and Philadelphia, and 6 other sites across the world).

A moment in TV history, but I didn't see any of the TV coverage until after the event. Because I was there!

The day the tickets went on sale, my brother Stuart happened to be in Edinburgh, and walking past the Playhouse box office. Seeing a queue, he joined it. (Well, that's what happens when you've been brought up in the Soviet Union during the beetroot shortages. Or East Kilbride).

Turned out the queue was for tickets for Live Aid - tickets we couldn't get near in London, living a mile or so from the venue. So on the day, we were there, and it was brilliant, from beginning to end.

Great memories, for a great cause, and as the programme on BBC TV called it tonight, the day music changed the world. OK, perhaps not forever, but at least for a while, and for some who might otherwise not have lived.

Tears, laughter, great sets from some of the finest pop and rock acts of all time. Bowie (of course). Queen. U2. Bryan Ferry. Sade. The Spandaus and Duran. And Quo kicked it all off, while Sir Paul Macca closed it without his mic being switched on.

What a day. Thanks Stuart, and thanks Bob.

When in Rome. So why not ... when at home?

You know what they say. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

We're planning a trip to Rome in early July, and when I say planning, I mean planning.

It's a long time since we visited the Eternal City, and as we have only a few days in this most romantic and historical and inspiring of cities, we're really putting the time in to make sure we get the most from our visit.

We contacted the Italian Tourist Board, who sent us a pack of maps, guides, details of festivals, walking trips and cultural events. We've checked the location of our hotel (near the Piazza Navona) and looked at walking tours and metro journeys we can take to the top attractions.

I've even used Twitter and Facebook to ask "What should we do in Rome" and had answers from friends who have been there, and more impressively, from locals living in Rome.

Which makes me wonder - why don't we do this for our home town?

Can we honestly say we spend time planning our time off at home? Looking for the best sites, the new recommendations, the 'inside knowledge' from others who live here?

Probably not. And yet, as I've said before, the best way to keep your creativity high is to continually look for new stimuli, new experiences, new places in which to immerse yourself.

Imagine you were visiting your home town as a tourist for a couple of days. What pre-planning would you do? Whose advice would you seek? What tourism resources would you investigate?

OK, now do it! And visit some new places next weekend!

Scotland supports England - well, mostly.

As I write, the World Cup is about to start. The opening ceremony is minutes away, the first match is this afternoon, and England's first game is tomorrow night.

So as a Scotsman, I have to make a decision. Who do I support?

The decision is made. I will be supporting England. You shouldn't be surprised at this. They are, after all, the nearest thing we have to a local team, and I was brought up to support the local team whoever they are.

In any case, you shouldn't believe that scurrilous rumour put about that Scottish fans support two teams... Scotland, and whoever is playing against England. It's simply not true.

We will always support England - unless, of course, they are playing against a country with which we have a lot in common.

Ireland, for example. Another Celtic nation, a land of romance, language and literature, just like Scotland. So when Ireland play England, we tend to favour the Irish.

And Wales. We've got to support Wales - they're Celts too. So that's Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

And France. Because of the "Auld Alliance". France and Scotland were friends long before we became friends with England. Assuming, that is, that we're friends now.

So that's it - Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France. And Canada - we've all got aunties and uncles in Canada. And Australia. And New Zealand.

Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Apart from them, we'll always support England.

Oh, what about USA? Come on - cowboys, hamburgers and Bugs Bunny? What's not to like?

But as long as you don't play any of those countries, we're with you all the way.

But Germany - we've got to support Germany. Come on guys, it was a long time ago. Get over it. And the same goes for Argentina. A long time ago, and they were a long way away.

So that's it. We'll support England forever, unless they play Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Germany or Argentina.

Hang on - Italy. Italy? Pizza, Pasta and Pavarotti. You can't go against the Italians.

Or the Spanish - remember the girl in Marbella that summer?

So to recap, unless they're playing Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Germany, Argentina, Italy or Spain, we're singing for England.

Come on England!

(Wait a minute. Brazil. Everyone supports Brazil, yeah?).

Find a mastermind group. Or start a mastermind group.

Since I mentioned my Mastermind group in a Tweet at the weekend, I've had a host of queries about how it works, and how to set one up.

In the spirit of caring, sharing, and the thought of hundreds of Mastermind groups named after me, I'm happy to let you know how we do it.

In essence, a mastermind group is a small network of like-minded individuals who get together on a regular basis to share information, offer support and advice, and cook a nice dinner (maybe that last one is just us).

If you work on your own, or you think you would benefit from talking over your hopes, fears, challenges and problems with others who are willing and keen to help (and you, to help them), then you should find, join or create a mastermind group. Here's how:

Find people you trust, respect, and like.

If you don't trust them, you won't feel comfortable enough to bare your soul about what matters.

If you don't respect them, you won't respect their answers or advice.

And if you don't like them? Why would you want to spend time and effort with people you don't like?

Who are my mastermind group members? Three people I trust implicitly, and respect totally. And I love sharing their company.

Each of them is superb in the mastermind group - and they are all great as speakers and advisers too.

Alan Stevens at http://www.mediacoach.co.uk is the leading speaker, author and expert in handling the media and creating business opportunities from new media.

Lesley Everett is famous for her programme of personal branding for career and corporate success, Walking Tall. An absolute expert in the importance of branding for individuals, she's at http://www.lesleyeverett.com .

Sean Weafer is a tour de force as a speaker and thought leader in the science and art of selling in the 21st Century. He's at http://www.seanweafer.com

Meet regularly. And commit completely to the meetings.

We meet once a quarter. And the rule is, we make it.

Everyone gets a chance to seek help, and give it.

We start with a catch up, and a sharing of news. OK, we spend a little while sharing the gossip and putting the world to rights. The core part of the day, however, we share in seeking advice. We have an hour each, where the meeting is focused on us individually, one at a time. We can ask for advice, look for suggestions on what we should do next, seek new contacts, suppliers and ideas. The hour is ours, and the help and support is completely invaluable.

Make it as much fun as it is "work".

We hold our meetings in each others' homes, and have dinner with each other in the evening. The importance of this time together is as important as the more 'formal' time, and we get as much benefit from dinner as we do from the meeting.

Try it, do it, enjoy it.

Reinvent yourself. Constantly.

There was a great interview on TV the other day with Neil Young, one of my all-time favourite musicians.

With Neil, it's all about the music - nothing else matters. Indeed, time and time again he has cancelled gigs, fallen out with colleagues, and upset fans because the muse has struck - and Neil always, always, follows his muse.

I suspect this is a common trait among highly creative people - as is one of his other habits: reinvention.

Talking about Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, the supergroup he joined in 1969, he said "You can only be 'that band' for so long before you have to do something else. You can't just do it again. It doesn't work. It couldn't, even if we wanted to."

Neil Young's career is a monument to successful reinvention - Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y, Crazy Horse, countless solo hit albums, even creative collaboration with Devo (yes, I said Devo) which led to one of his finest songs - Hey Hey, My My.

Reinvention - that's the key to Neil Young's creativity. And indeed, it's the key to all creativity.

Highly creative people constantly reinvent themselves. They look for every opportunity to learn new things, experience new stimulus, take new approaches. Reinvention is something that highly creative people apply not only to the brief, the work, the brainstorm. They also apply it constantly to themselves.

So, what are you going to do to reinvent yourself?

What new skill could you learn? What new experience could you take on? What new YOU could you create?

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

OK, so in thinking how the hugely successful grocery retailers use speed to kill off the competition, I couldn't help nicking the title from a Russ Meyer film.

But it will do until a better title comes along.

Anyway. I've been working with an organisation on how to improve their products, the service they provide to their customers, and how they engage their people. One of the techniques I've used is to introduce them to my "Innovation Provocations". These are a series of questions, challenges and thought provoking statements introduced randomly into the idea process in order to break normal patterns of thinking.

For example - "How could we make this faster"? "How would we do it if we were starting over again"? "How would change it if we had to give it away for free"?

The point is that you can apply these Innovation Provocations to ANY situation, not just the obviously "creative" situations like coming up with ideas for marketing and branding. One that really worked was "How can we make it faster?" - and that was in a discussion about training and development.

But examples abound in the real world of how this particular Provocation has been used to solve problems. Think about your local supermarket.

How can customers be 'processed' quickly, once they have filled their trolley? Of course, they don't want to rush you through the store - not while there's a good chance you'll make plenty of additional or impulse purchases as you stroll round.

But once you have joined the queue at the checkout, it's in their interest (and frankly, ours too) to get your money and get you out as quickly as possible.

One of the (several) large grocery stores round here has recently changed its check-out procedures. And with the "How can we make it faster?" thought in mind, I noticed that several of the changes seem tailor-made to make the transaction as fast as possible. Having spoken to a "company insider", my suspicions were confirmed.

Firstly, the checkout itself is much longer than before - it now takes almost a full shop from the largest trolley. In addition, the check-out operator no longer waits to say "good morning - can I help you pack?". As soon as the shopping hits their end, away they go!

Secondly, they no longer ask - during the payment stage - "Would you like cashback"? It's still available, but only if you ask. I'm sure this speeds up each transaction by just a few seconds, but multiplied out it must make a difference. (I'm sure it also leaves cash in their bank overnight rather than mine, but that may be an old-fashioned thought that has no reality to the actualite of modern banking?).

And here's the killer - if you do ask for cash, they don't ask you to sign for it any more. Why not? Well, I can only imagine that they did a test and found that the risk of fraud was so low that they could happily drop that stage and speed up the transaction by another few, vital seconds.

So ask yourself - what could you speed up. What ideas might that generate. And once you've done that, ask "What could we slow down?"

Speed is one thing, but you'll get more benefit personally - and for your team and organisation - by slowing down.

A game of two halves from Malcolm Gladwell. Or not.

Malcolm Gladwell hit Edinburgh last night, to speak at the Festival Theatre. Yes, that Malcolm Gladwell, the author of The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers. And a new one called "What the dog saw".

Well, what this dog saw was Malcolm Gladwell. For fifty minutes.

To open his talk, he made a decent joke about how he'd understand if anyone had to leave early to form a new government. And then started on his theme, which was serendipity.

He told us about the three types of serendipity, or happy accidental discovery (and admitted that this wasn't his idea, but that of Robert Friedel).

Columbian serendipity is when you go looking for something and discover something else (like Columbus discovering The Americas when he was searching for China and India).

Archimedean serendipity is when you're trying to find an answer, and suddenly find it in an unusual place, as did Archimedes when he realised the solution to his problem (how do you measure the mass of an unusual object) when he spilled water on getting into his bath.

And finally, Galilean serendipity, which is when you build a tool or process for discovery, and find something completely new. Galileo built a completely new telescope, to search the heavens. When he did, he discovered new planets, new moons - and by coming back night after night to the sky, realised that moons travel round planets, and planets round the Sun. In other words, our world was centred on the Sun, not Earth.

Incidentally, this led to him being attacked by the Church, charged with heresy, and placed under house arrest for the rest of his life. But don't worry, the Church finally expressed regret for the way he was treated in, er, 1992.

So back to Malcolm Gladwell.

The main content of his presentation was the role of Serendipity in discovery and research, particularly with regard to the search for cancer cures. His central story was that of a biotechnology research company on the outskirts of Boston, running two major programmes (or programs, I suppose I should say) of cancer drug research.

As everything around them failed, and they were about to collapse completely, they received unexpected news that one of their trials had succeeded, beyond all expectations. Serendipitously, a rare chemical they had sourced in the badlands of Soviet science had proven to be effective.

What an inspiring and exciting story. Until he finished with the punchline that in third level trials - the most important, large-scale ones - it failed.

And that wasn't only the punchline to the story, but the show. He said thank you, left the stage, and went off to sign books in the foyer.

We - and most of the audience - sat for a while as the lights went up. Was it an interval? Was anyone selling ice cream? Time for a quick one in the Pear Tree before the re-start?

No, that was the end of the show. Fifty minutes. For Malcolm, it was over in a ... Blink, I suppose.

I don't think it's the "Fifty Minutes for £17.50" I object to. Honestly - I didn't even pay for my ticket, it was a gift. But we did feel short-changed.

I think it was the "Is that it? Is that really it?" that hurt.

I like Malcolm Gladwell. I really like Malcolm Gladwell's books. But sheesh, Malc. Give a bit more to your audience, will you?

Top tips we learned last night:

1. It's good to leave them wanting more. But not that much.
2. If you are the one with ideas and knowledge, do a Q&A.
   
3. Resolve the conversation. "And then it failed" is not a satisfactory conclusion.
   
4. Suruchi across the road from the Festival Theatre does a fabulous curry.

Communication Tip - engage them with your opening.

I'm in Oxford as I write this, preparing to speak to an audience of Head Teachers tomorrow.

It's one of my favourite cities, and the location of a large part of one of my favourite novels - Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.

It's a vast, sprawling story of the relationship between Charles Ryder and Sebastian Flyte, and Sebastian's family. It was made gloriously famous by a Granada Television dramatisation in the early 80's (and less so by a film version a couple of years ago).

Thinking of the novel as I walked around the Oxford Colleges today, one thing kept coming to mind with regard to my speech tomorrow. The opening line of Brideshead Revisited.

The opening line of Chapter One (although there is a prologue) is "I have been here before".

It is spoken by Charles Ryder, on realising that the army platoon he captains (in the Second World War) is to be camped at Brideshead, home of Sebastian's family. "I have been here before".

The line sets up the whole drama of the novel, setting Charles on a journey through his memory of the preceding twenty or thirty years, from his first days at Oxford, to meeting Lord Sebastian Flyte and friends, Sebastian's dissolution through drink, Charles' marriage and development as an artist, and his relationship with Sebastian's sister Julia.

But it all starts with that one line - "I have been here before".

With the opening line, Waugh sets the stage for his story - and with an opening line, every presentation you make, every email you send, every report you produce will set the stage for how your audience will take it and understand it.

Work hard on that opening line. Is it strong, engaging, involving? If it is, you'll be some way to achieving your objective. (And you do have an objective, don't you?).

If it is weak, unengaging, banal - then you are off to the worst of all possible starts. And don't expect that your audience will come with you on the rest of the journey.

I'll be working hard on my opening for tomorrow's speech. But then again, I have been here before.

Presentation tip – Tell a story

One of the most powerful ways you can influence your audience is to use stories.

There seems to be some deep connection between people and story, perhaps going back to our childhood. Look into your own experience, or the story of your company, organisation or brand, to find stories that make a point.

Use the classic structure of conflict, resolution and point to make sure your stories resonate with the listener, and add to your pitch.

First, set up the conflict – what was the problem, challenge, danger?

Second, how was this resolved? How did you overcome it?

Finally, make the point. How does it uncover a greater truth? What does it mean for the listener? What did you learn from it?

Story is unquestionably powerful, and one of the best ways you can really connect with your audience.

Creativity Tip: It’s all about collaboration

"I tried to make ideas happen. Ideas that could change life".

The words of Malcolm McLaren, one of our great artistic directors, who died on Thursday. Next day, there was some bore on the radio fulminating about how disgraceful it was that Malcolm sailed a boat down the Thames with the Sex Pistols playing "God Save the Queen" outside the Houses of Parliament, during The Queen's Silver Jubilee.

Was it disgraceful? Perhaps. But it was funny, too. RIP, Malcolm. Rest in Provocation.

Although Malcolm McLaren created some stunning work himself (I love Buffalo Girls and Madame Butterfly in particular), his greatest skill was in collaboration. From his early collaborations in fashion retail with Vivienne Westwood and others, to helping bring together The Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, Bow Wow Wow and many others, he knew that great ideas, and great changes, come from bringing together the talents of others.

If you have challenges to overcome, or problems to solve, or need to come up with ideas (and who doesn't?), look to form new collaborations. Link with other teams, other individuals, people with new skills.

Creation comes from collaboration.

How to handle the hecklers, Gordon!

So Gordon Brown was on the receiving end of the first heckle of the election campaign.

Or as his political strategists might put it, he was involved in early interactive face to face voter participation in the ongoing national debate.

If you missed the event, you can watch it here: http://bit.ly/cw1wGb

Now, having been on the end of more than a few "interruptions" myself, I have developed a cunning three-option plan for handling those who wish to move from "audience", to "participant".

The three options are:

1. Ignore them.
2. Involve them.
3. Insult them.

The Prime Minister took the first option - Ignore them.

For you or me, when we're presenting to a meeting or conference, that's the correct option. Most times, the 'heckle' was only heard by the heckler and those immediately around them, and if it was a real heckle, you risk getting drawn off course.

But please note, Gordon, that isn't the best option when:

1. You're the Prime Minister standing for re-election,
2. It's in front of the country's TV, radio and press, and
3. The heckle is an appropriate question (even if the voter in question did seem able to get surprisingly close to the PM, and was suspiciously well caught by the TV cameras).

Second option, and moving it up a level, is to Involve them. This, I feel, is what GB should have done. He should have expressed concern, promised to look into it and get back to him (and done so). Then the TV pictures would have been about the PM handling things well, with one of his aides being seen taking notes.

That's the best response for you and me too, if appropriate. Firstly, because if it was a genuine heckle - that is, a pointed, nasty interruption - you taking your time to pause, and engage with the other person will usually embarrass them into silence.

However, if their point is valid, or interesting - and especially funny - you'll get great kudos from bringing them into the discussion.

The final option is to Insult them. This is by far the best option if you are incredibly good at thinking on your feet, prepared for a response which might be funnier than yours, willing to take a punch on the snoot, and you're doing the midnight show at the Comedy Store.

If you're in any other situation, hold the insults.

Unless, of course, you're John Prescott, who I understand has his very own way of dealing with interruptions.

Innovation Provocation - Beg, Steal or Borrow

"Bad artists copy. Great artists steal". At least, they do according to Pablo Picasso.

Looking at the work of others has always been a great source of inspiration for artists - and for writers, film-makers, advertising creatives, inventors, entrepreneurs and anyone else involved in coming up with ideas.

Of course, you don't want to simply rip off the ideas of others.

You want to take inspiration, pay homage, find that spark of inventiveness that starts a new train of thought which leads you developing something new, fit for your own purpose and answering your own challenge.

I heard a great example last week. I don't know into which category you'd put Rolf Harris - bad artist or great artist, but for me he's firmly in the latter category. (I still have to brush away a tear whenever I hear "Two little boys"). And anyone who can play "Stairway to heaven" on a wobble board in front of a capacity crowd at Glastonbury is truly great in my eyes!

Being interviewed by Jools Holland on BBC Radio 2, Rolf admitted that he'd heard a song by the great Harry Belafonte called "Don't tie me donkey down there, let him bray, let him bray". At the time, Rolf was performing every week at the Down Under Club in London, and looking for songs he could do with a chorus for the crowd to join in.

"I thought, if we change it to Kangaroo, and write some Aussie verses, that would do" said Rolf. And the rest is history - Top Ten in the UK, No. 3 in the chart in the USA, and Number One (of course!) in Australia.

Look around you - in other fields, other arenas, other organisations. What do they do that you could inspire new ideas for you and your team?

Use their Provocation to inspire your Innovation.

Be prepared for compliments as well as complaints!

I tried to compliment someone last week. I really tried. But now they'll never know.

I arrived late in a city centre hotel, with a full day of meetings and training the next day. So rather than go down to the bar or the restaurant to eat, I decided to order room service.

Nothing fancy. No large silver globes over the plates, no gangs of waiters setting a table on the terrace, no gentle pop of the champagne cork as I come out of the bath. (As you can tell, I've always rather fancied the James Bond lifestyle).

Just a club sandwich. A simple club sandwich. (OK, and fries).

It arrived, and in good time too. And what a club sandwich! Toasted ciabatta, still warm.

Succulent, chargrilled chicken breast. Crisp streaky bacon. Soft lettuce, sweet tomatoes. OK, the mayonnaise was in those annoying little packets, as was the ketchup for the fries, but this was delicious.

You might think I'm going over the top on a sandwich, but trust me, the food in standard hotels isn't usually this good.

So, on the basis that I always call down to complain if something's wrong, I decided to call down to congratulate and thank the restaurant. So I call the restaurant number on the bedside phone.

"Hello, reception," came the answer. "Oh!" I said. "I wanted the restaurant". "Putting you through now sir". She said. Cue a few minutes of Vivaldi (of course), then "Hello reception".

"I'm waiting for the restaurant?" I said. "Putting you through now sir". Vivaldi's back.

"Hello reception!" came the cheery but by now tiresome welcome. "Can I have the restaurant please" I asked. Still being pleasant. I hope.

"Putting you through now sir" she said. Of course she did. By this time, even Vivaldi has chucked it. The Four Seasons have gone, to be replaced by a "Welcome to the Hotel" message offering lunches, dinners and stay-overs at Christmas and New Year.

Yes, I know it's March.

Then, "Hello reception!".

I think I said "Oh, never mind!", and put the phone down. Assuming the poor woman didn't know it was me again, God knows what she thought.

So, a compliment, which they didn't receive. In fact, a compliment which almost turned into a complaint. Just because they didn't pick up the phone.

So, what did I learn? That some of our customers want to say thank you, and well done. And of course, some want to complain. But if we don't do the simple things - like picking up the phone - we'll never know.

Try it now. Pick up the phone, and call your own business. And see how they handle the call.

Innovation Provocation

Trying to come up with ideas? Stuck with a problem?

What would your old friends suggest?

I was watching one of my favourite films the other day - The Big Chill. It's about a group of University friends who get together for the first time in years, at another friend's funeral. It has a fantastic cast (Kevin Kline, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, Glen Close and William Hurt) and a superb soundtrack.

The film deals with how the group comes to terms not only with the suicide of an old friend, but also the way their lives have turned out after the idealism of their student days in the '60s.

Of course, we all move on from the people we were at school, college or university. But sometimes it pays to look back to the people we were, either to gauge where we are now (and where we want to be) - or to find an alternative viewpoint from which to come up with ideas.

If you're struggling with a problem, or trying to find new ideas, try this exercise: what would your friends from years ago suggest that you do?

Chances are that when you hung about with a big group of friends at college or university you (and they) were more free-thinking, more relaxed, less hung up about responsibility and "the rules".

Try going back to those days for a while - at least in your mind.

What would you have come up with in those days?

What would your old friends suggest?

Innovation Provocation

Trying to come up with new ideas? Struggling with a problem at work? Think about it in a new way.

Ask yourself a couple of questions.

What would the competition least expect us to do? What would surprise them? Scare them? Outrage them?

Put some ideas together that answers these challenges - perhaps it will take your thinking in new directions.

Where were you when Mandela walked free?

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela from a South African prison. Radio stations here in the UK (and, I expect) across the world have broadcast interviews with people recalling where they were when they saw those long-lens pictures of our first sight of a man who had been locked up for almost thirty years - a man who was soon to become the most respected man on the planet.

Listening to the stories, I realised I had forgotten that at the time, many in South Africa were terrified that his release would unleash a terrible revenge and payback by black South Africans.

They expected riots, reprisals and even deaths as black South Africa took revenge for years of repression under the apartheid regime. The fact that the country turned to majority rule and then reconciliation was due almost wholly to the integrity and humanity of the man whose release we re-celebrate today

Where were you on that day? We had gathered with friends to watch on TV and have lunch. As the release became more and more delayed, lunchtime went back, and back - and eventually became dinner. But at last the TV cameras picked up the image of a man - much older and weaker than we had expected - and the celebrations, across the world, could begin.

There are still problems in South Africa, and I know my friends there are doing what they can to improve things. But when you think that one of the first aims of the new government was to achieve a water tap within 100 metres of each family, you realise how bad things were beforehand.

What a day. What a man.