I’m excited to announce that Chris Ryan will be joining the Creative Ventures team in the capacity of General Manager.  Chris brings a rich history of support and a dynamic personality to the team.  He’s the most connected person I have ever met and we hope to leverage his keen business insight to provide our clients with an entirely new level of service.

February is a month that will see a number of big Creative Venture client projects get a ton of planning and design attention.  It is exciting to be involved at such a deep level with significant projects.  From team and organizational design, to skill development programs, to helping launch a new communication platform - things are NEVER boring at Creative Ventures!

There is a major movement in new organizational structure – the push towards TEAM FRAMEWORKS.  We are working with three different organizations in three completely different industries that are committed to the shift from individual performance to team or cooperative functionality.  But with all shifts in structure there are inherit ant problems, problems that if ignored during the beginning or “genesis phase” can spell disaster for the team goal:

• Team or Not:  Did you put the desired outcome through a thorough thinking process to determine if a team structure is the best plan?  Many times, we think a team is the best option - you know, all that talk of synergy: of the power of many being better than the power of one - but many times, the task at hand is much better served by what the US Marines call a “Single Leader Unit”.  Don’t be too enamored with teams being the only solution to the long term issue.  Be sure it’s the right structure.
• Silo Thinking:  Most organizations, through both conscious efforts and by organic development, find themselves encased in structured silos.  Whether by product, client base, geography, or any other criteria, the process of sales has been isolated by expertise.  Do you have a strategy that can break these barriers and build bridges?
• It’s All About Me:  Sales are traditionally rewarded as an individualistic pursuit.  Why work together? Where’s the return on an investment of “group time?”  You must position a value to this change of behavior to gain a true team performance.
• What is a Team?  Believe it or not, most groups only have a very loose ideas around the dynamics that generate successful teams.  They don’t have a communication strategy, they move too quickly without thinking, they lack the clarity of simple and powerful goals, and make decisions without consulting the team.  These mistakes spell doom for an emerging team structure.

Before embarking on a team structure, take some strong thinking time.  Use your thinking tools to deal with these barriers and develop a strategy that leverages the best of your ideas with the highest talents of your people.

Is there a simple formula for success?  Is there a map that if followed will lead to increased revenues, profits and shareholder happiness?  Forget it; this mythical  map to business El Dorado doesn’t exist. But if you want an idea, think about FOCUS:

• Know What Works:  The Beryl Co. (http://www.beryl.net/) is a leader in outsourcing customer service functions for the healthcare industry.  Talk about a tough gig!  Surprisingly, their focus is not on the hospital customer, but instead on their EMPLOYEES.  Employee satisfaction their primary focus, they invest more money in their own people than any of their competition.  In a world where all you do is deal with complaints, you better have happy people. Not surprisingly, they start with the hiring process, where only 5% of their perspective hires make the team.  Does this focus work?  They are a leader in their niche. 
• Let Them See:  How many times do you have to be told?  You know that the shift to Rich Media isn’t a trend, but a necessity, and those that grab it have the advantage. Two recent studies continue to confirm that internet users (your customers of TODAY) pay more attention to ads viewed on the computer than on TV.  What are you doing in the world of rich media?  Do you have a simple, short video that tells a story?  Are you visually compelling in the way you communicate?  Do you touch not only your clients but your teams with exciting stories?  Spend some of your FOCUS time on this and watch the IMPACT!
• Connect to Emotion:  Nothing gives a greater return than when a customer has an emotional connection to what you do.  It is the cornerstone of strong relationships - yet when was the last time you focused on the emotions of your customers?  Burger King is in the middle of an emotional hurricane with their new ad campaign “take away the Whopper”.  They have filmed the response of their customers when told the Burger King has stopped making the Whopper.  Just watch the impact.  It varies from disbelief to real anger.  It shows an emotional connection.  Then they created a special web site to connect the impact with rich media – www.whopperfreakout.com .  Focus, emotion and rich media – a triple play winner!