By the left, quick ... think.

I can't quite believe it's almost the end of the first quarter of 2012. I hope your year has gone well so far.

Mine hasn't started quite as I planned. A few days into January I had what is known in medical circles as "a wee scare".

I woke with strange pins and needles down the left side of my body, which qualified me for a visit from two very nice paramedics and a trip in an ambulance.

A few days in the stroke unit at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, some investigation and tender loving care from a battalion of quite brilliant doctors and nurses, and now, a diet made up completely of food which is low in fat, low in salt, and very definitely low in flavour.

There was no advance warning, and in fact, no visual, long-term proof from the various tests I've undergone. But it seems I had some sort of stroke on the right side of my brain.

And my goodness, I've undergone some tests. MRI, Cat Scan, blood tests, urine checks, heart monitor, that one with the iodine to test for starch, a gentle popping noise to show the presence of hydrogen, and several flame tests to indicate positive metal ions.

Actually, I might have mixed some of those tests up with Alex and Ellen's Chemistry revision.

The upside (apart from surviving) was that I got to talk to a lot of doctors, including many who are specialists in the workings of the brain.

And guess what? It turns out that all that HeadSurfing stuff I've been banging on about - that actions you take with the left side of the body can help stimulate the right side of the brain - turns out to be right on the money.

One of the things that always intrigued me about the highly creative people I've been lucky enough to work with - the copywriters, art directors, graphic designers and stand-up comedians - was how many of them were left handed. In every agency I worked in, the proportion of lefties who worked in the creative department was always much higher than the general population, and the same was true of comics.

Following my "incident", the doctors and physios were keen for me to keep exercising the left side of my body, in order to rebuild and reconnect the nerve endings in the right side of my brain. And as the right side of the brain includes more of the centres which involve creativity, humour and ideas, it makes sense to me that stimulating those areas will help you come up with more ideas and more innovative solutions to your problems and challenges.

So if you'd like to develop your ability to think creatively, I'd urge you to take time to do things which engage more with the right side of your brain.

Yes, you could exercise the left side of your body - try writing or sketching with your left hand. But other activities could include listening to music, using colour rather than black and white, exercising rhythmically or watching or reading something that makes you laugh.

Me? I think it's important to develop the rational as well as the creative side of my brain, so I'm doing the John Travolta dance moves from Saturday Night Fever.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

Going the extra mile - or standing still?

In his latest blog (see below) Seth Godin talks about a "cyborg tool", recently unveiled at the annual TED conference of scientists, futurists, artists and thinkers.

The cyborg tool will remember names, find connections and bring all sorts of external data to us the moment we need it. This will allow us to make links instantaneously - "Oh, yes, David, he's the guy I met through James at the marketing conference - he'd just taken a new job with P&G".

Seth is underwhelmed. He reckons that "The first time it happens to you you'll be blown away and flabbergasted. The tenth time, it'll be ordinary, and the 20th, boring". He believes it's like hotels remembering your name and preferences - just a database trick.

Well, here in the UK, I wish hotels would use the "database trick" more often when we check in!

I stayed last week in one of my favourite "boutique" hotels, in the north of England. I was delighted when I found that in my room (not the same room as before) they had left the window open just a little - exactly as I like it, and exactly as I had left the window on my previous visit. The Gleneagles Hotel (one of the best in the world) used to use the 'window as you like it' as an example of their fantastic service, and it featured in a series of ads by the late, lamented Hall Advertising in Edinburgh.

All evening, I thought "how cool is that - they noticed, they remembered (or their database did - I'm happy with that) and they made sure to make the room exactly as I like it on my next visit".

Just before retiring for the night, I went to close the window a little. They hadn't remembered. The window catch was broken.

Ah well, business as usual.

But why can't hotels get this simple little aspect of customer service right, even when you've stayed there three times in the last month? Why can't they ask me how my journey was (my home address is right there on their computer, I assume). Why can't they say "On your last visit you dined out, Mr Harris - this time would you like to try the hotel restaurant, or can I recommend a great restaurant nearby?"

The data is easy to capture - all they need is to add the human element by actually using it.

And if you've got a hotel and you do this stuff (or a client hotel who does) let me know and I'll stay there next time.

PS: Seth Godin's blog is here: http://sethgodin.typepad.com